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| Dinosaur Graveyard |
2005 was my first year as a bicycle commuter. George Bush II was president, and that summer the US was building up to the invasion of Afghanistan. I noticed then that car drivers seemed to have a "don't cross me" attitude, as if they were using their cars to express their anxiety, frustration, fear and anger. I am sensing that again in this summer of pandemic quarantine measures, economic uncertainty, political tension over the presidential election, and demonstrations sparked by racial issues.
Possibly I'm feeling a little bit hostile toward cars myself just now. On June 18th I returned to work in my retail job, beginning with a store meeting where we were trained in safety procedures - wearing masks, routine sanitizing throughout the day, tallying customers entering and leaving the store, etc. - and the following day I worked my first full shift since mid-March. Since the buses are running limited schedules, I rode my bicycle, and that evening had a painful crash on the way home.
It was at the roundabout at Hwy. 99 and Slater Road, where I turn left to cross over the freeway to get to Ferndale. The pavement there is cracked and pot-holed, and some holes seem to have been filled in with loose gravel. As I started through the curve I heard a car coming behind me and I glanced back over my shoulder. It was big and dark and seemed to be gaining on me, but I couldn't guess what the driver intended to do. I signaled a left turn so they would know I meant to continue through the roundabout and turn on to the overpass. With one hand on the handlebars and my attention split between the pavement and the car behind me, I hit a patch of loose gravel and wiped out on my left side on the rough pavement, probably moving at around 15 mph.
Moments later a county sheriff came along and the nice young officer helped me up, wrapped some gauze around my elbow and gave me a big band-aid for my knee, which were both badly scraped. He suggested I should maybe go to the ER, but I was worried about the cost, and also tired out from my first day back at work, and just wanted to get home, clean up and have a nice dinner and sleep.
I didn't sleep very well. A deep cut on my elbow required a visit to Urgent Care the following day, for some stitches and antibiotics, and I took the next two days off work to rest up. Also tore up the sleeve of my nice new Goretex jacket. Bike was OK, though. Always fall to the left. On second thought, this is the third time I've landed on that left elbow. Maybe I should start going to the right.
