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took a spill on my bike

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

It's funny; I was involved in several collisions in Tokyo, but all of my bicycle mishaps in Canada have been solo.

Tonight on the way home I was caught in a heavy rain shower. It got bad enough that I ducked into the Europe Bound clearance shop and picked up a poncho that I can add to my bicycle kit. Still wearing that, I rode out the worst of the rain and was on the final block of my ride when I fell.

Stupidly, I decided to signal my turn by holding an arm as I crossed the wet street car tracks. The front wheel slipped into the groove of the track and I went down in 1/4 of a second. One of those full out body blows.

As I hit, my hip made a disconcertingly loud sound, and my entire leg was momentarily numb and unmoving. I was sure I'd finally broken a bone, but managed to get right up before any of the cars I'd been signalling to came upon the scene. Deciding that I should get home before the pain really kicked in, I limped home. A fellow with a German accent came after me with a piece of my bike that had popped free, and three young women approached to see if I was okay. Happily, I seem to be fine aside from some bleeding scrapes and a left side that is sore indeed.

We're planning on heading out of town to visit with Grandma this week; I suppose it's just as well that it's raining.