After cycling into work, in the dry, I was prepared for the forecasted wet ride home.
To get ready for the return leg, I dressed as usual with the addition of some leg ‘warmers’, overshoes and a rain jacket.
My trip home consisted of riding along the canals, mainly the Birmingham Fazeley, to Castle Vale where I left the canal to follow various paths to re-emerge near Spitfire Island.
After ascending Castle Bromwich hill, I continued along the roads heading for home.
Where possible, I try to pick the quieter roads, so I found myself trundling along a quiet residential street running parallel to the main road.
It was still raining but, on the whole, I was dry and warm.
As I was moving along, I spied a school kid stood at the side of the road, their gaze fixed on their mobile phone. I gave a quick ring-a-ding on my bell to alert her but then as I drew close she just stepped out into the road, still glued to her phone.
I had nowhere to go and so we collided.
My bike and I stopped suddenly. I’m not sure what trajectory I took but I found myself lying on the road next to my bike and the downed school kid.
After making sure that she was alright and being comforted by her friends, I checked myself and the bike for damage.
My left elbow was hurting, in fact, most of my lefthand side was hurting but nothing appeared to be broken.
Checking the bike, I noticed that the front wheel and handlebars didn’t quite line up and I was unable to move the front derailleur.
I cautiously continued on the bike, arriving home about five minutes later, soaking wet and somewhat battle weary.
Back at base, I was lucky to have my other half at home to help me disrobe as I relayed the previous events.
My elbow was very swollen with a few abrasions. Everything else seemed normal but my ribs were aching a bit. After icing my elbow and then my ribs, I took some Paracetamol and Ibuprofen.
The bike was stashed away in the bike shed to be examined at a later date.
Over the next few days, the elbow returned to it’s normal shape and size whilst my ribs continued to hurt. The hardest bit was trying to get comfortable enough to sleep as I couldn’t lie on my left and going the other way, aggrieved by dodgy right knee.
A Week Later
I have put off examining the bike mainly because I’ve been busy doing other stuff. When I finally got around to looking, about a week later, I found that the handlebars were, indeed, out of kilter. Loosening a couple of bolts enabled me to get the bars and wheel re-aligned.
The brake / gear lever wasn’t right and a bit of investigation revealed that the gear change mechanism was broken. After much Googling, I have found and ordered a new left hand shifter which should arrive in about a week’s time.
Until I can get the lever changed, I have adjusted the stops on the front derailleur to keep the chain on the larger ring and as long as I don’t encounter any big hills I should be okay. Basically my eighteen speed bike is currently only nine !
Apart from a few new scratches that was about the extent of the damage.
During the time my road going bike was out of action, I still managed to ride using my smart trainer clocking up one hundred and thirty six miles in the week.
Yesterday, I did venture out, IRL, managing to cycle to and from work with my nine gears. Luckily, I picked a route with no major hills and coped just fine.
My elbow has gone through a few colour changes as the bruising has developed and ten days post-crash is now turning a fetching shade of yellow.