You Let Your Mind Out Somewhere Down The Road

Riding home from work on a beautiful spring evening, I didn't mind the detours which took me down the road which wound along the river.  This stretch is one of my favorite local roads, and I was soaking in the dying rays of the sun, and looking forward to being home after a long day. 

This is how a mishap happens on the bike. 

Whoops!  Bang!

I mean, with literally no more warning than that, the bike is on its left side at a four-way-stop, in rush hour traffic.  My left leg is under the bike, and I'm wondering, "What happened!"

Two septuagenarians were walking their pedigreed pekinese, rushed to my aid.  They insisted on helping my right the bike.  I was a bit dazed or I'd have politely refused, there was a greater chance of them being hurt than of me needing their help getting the bike back up.  

I saw that the front wheel had perched upon a very large piece of gravel, which had slid out when I stopped, toppling me and the bike.  

Here's the damage:  Left turn signal dangling and mangled.  Scuffs on the left side frame puck.  A slight bruise on my left calf.  And of course, wounded pride. 

The smoke-colored lens was shattered and the wires pulled loose from the stock left front blinker.

Scratch marks on the frame puck, but not a scratch anywhere else.  The puck did its job. 

The real issue of course was the mindless reveries, the complete absence of situational awareness, that put me in this position.

The bike started back up and I rode it back home.

After I rode the bike home, I gathered my wits and decided that I needed to return to the scene of the crime and study what I did wrong.  I was determined to make this a learning experience. 

 

Here's the scrape the gravel made as it slid across an 8 foot arc.

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Here's the gravel which I ground flat on one side. 

Here's some of the smoke-colored turn signal lens left as debris in the roadway.  

But more important to the lesson are all the things I failed to observe in the 30 seconds prior to the crash:

• I missed the construction side half a block before the intersection, with its earth moving equipment parked along the street. 
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• I missed the sand, clay and gravel strewn out into the street, dragged there by the construction equipment entering and leaving the construction site, and concentrated into the center of the lane by the continuous stream of traffic traversing that debris field. 
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• Why was I riding in the center of the lane?  Had I been riding in one of the wheel tracks, I would've been fine. 

So what happened?

• I wasn't paying attention to road conditions. 
• I was lost in thought. 
• It only took a moment