As we were coming down a slight decline, Andy and I were single file and cruising along at about 20-25mph when we approached the intersection of a local shopping center. It's usually busy so I'm always cautious around this area. So we are just cruising along and I see a car up ahead looking to pull out. I notice him and come closer looking for eye contact to make sure he sees us. No problem. I make eye contact and am positive he is staying where he is. I keep on coming and as I'm about 10 feet from his nose he pulls out into the intersection. This is where my day gets bad...
I proceed to grab my brakes which was only about 1 second before the impending impact. So I instead focus my effort on getting my body higher to make the impact easier. I guess it worked. I remember unclipping - flipping over with my head on the hood - closing my eyes preparing for impact - and then the impact occurred when I landed on the pavement on the other side of the car. As soon as I landed I look back to see my roommate screaming ....SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!! as he also hits the car(he was 10 feet behind me and couldn't avoid it either). I remember seeing him hit - his body tumbling forward over the hood - ATTACHED TO HIS BIKE. He didn't unclip but he then did in mid air as he was flying over the hood and launched his bike another 20 feet further than his body as his Cervelo whizzed through the air over my crumpled body lying on the ground. So there we were lying on the ground writhing in pain with carnage every where.
The first thing I assessed was my knees. They were both numb and they felt like both knees or legs were shattered. I started moving them around and still numb I could feel that they weren't broken but not in good shape. All I saw was two large tears on each knee through my PI Amfib tights and my knickers. Blood was close by underneath... I seemed to be doing ok so I turned to my buddy to see if he was ok. He was in a lot of pain and complaining that his ankle was hurt. I kept asking him over and over and we both agreed we were kinda ok just banged up.
Since the intersection was pretty busy there were PLENTY of witnesses. One lady ran over in tears since she - in her own words - "thought we were dead." They were amazing giving us support and warm blankets and jackets as we were freezing sitting on the nearby guardrail waiting for police and ambulances to come. The help was a little sluggish and unorganized but we got our ride to the hospital and the care we needed.
The results were overall very good. Andy was released with only cuts and bruises after examination and x-rays. I was also released with only cuts and bruises but a few more than Andy. My left knee is completely swollen with a large abrasion and a few below on my shin. My right knee has a few abrasions on it as well as my right shin is beat up and my right ankle is a little sore. Not too bad for two schmoes hitting a car at 25 and both flying over the hood. I REALLY want to see video of that...not that it exists.The aftermath...
We went to the local PD that covered our accident and had to go pickup our bikes and answer a few more questions for the officer in charge. He wanted to know what the aftermath of the injuries were and we informed him that we were very lucky - he agreed. He gave us the update on the driver as well. The guy was an 84 year old man that said he saw us and then proceeded to pull out anyway. He said that he thought he had the right of way and couldn't believe that we hit him...WTF??? Are you kidding me? The driver was issued a summons for careless driving and will have to retake his driving test to get his license back. The officer also took notice of the driver's car and he said the front end looked like it got hit by a car. There was so much damage he couldn't believe that it was hit by 2 bikes.
The casualties of the day were my Lemond Versailles and Andy's Cervelo Soloist. Mine definitely took the brunt of the force. My front fork was sheared off, my front wheel taco'd, and my back wheel demolished as a few spokes were torn from the spoke bed. The spine of my frame is carbon fiber so I won't trust that as it was probably compromised in the accident as well. My pants and knickers are also gone as the knees were totally ripped open and the medics sliced them any way to treat my wounds. Andy's front fork was ripped from the steerer tube and his front wheel was demolished as well. He also had a carbon seatpost that was torn off the bike with his seat getting mangled as well. This is only upon initial inspection as I'm sure we'll find more as we're starring at the carnage.
All in all what a day. Day 6 of my 2009 training. Both ok, safe, battered, and bruised. I'm hoping I'm getting the bad luck over with early...
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