Van Ness at Turk
The worse part is that I don't remember what happened. I have spent a good deal of time going over it in my head, always coming up blank. I was on my way to the climbing gym; going down the hill on Van Ness. At Eddy, I had gotten a head start on traffic and had a green light at the next intersection. If I kept up to traffic speed, I could hit green lights all the way to Market. However, I never made it through the intersection at Turk. An oncoming car turned left into me -- I saw the car, but it was too late to avoid it.
I remember lying on the pavement and sitting up. I remember an off duty nurse stopped and talked to me for a while and somebody named Sarah directing traffic around me. But I don't remember how I went from my bicycle to the pavement.
To make it worse, I did remember the whole thing as I sat on the ground. I gave the police officer a story of how I hit the car and flew over the hood. I told the paramedics I did not black out. Only later did I realize my memory was false; that I was telling myself lies. The damage to my bicycle and my body simply doesn't correspond to what I thought happened.
For one, I don't remember hitting my head: flying over the hood of a car won't involve banging into anything. Yet, my helmet has a very clean crack above the left ear and many other cracks spidering though its structure. I can't explain them. I came out of the ordeal with only a scraped shoulder and a scraped knee. I can't explain how I went from 35 km/h to 0 and came away with a little rough skin and a few sore joints. It bothers me that there are a few seconds of that night missing. But in the end I was Trauma Tango, a BVC that was able to walk out of the ER -- that is worth remembering.
I remember lying on the pavement and sitting up. I remember an off duty nurse stopped and talked to me for a while and somebody named Sarah directing traffic around me. But I don't remember how I went from my bicycle to the pavement.
To make it worse, I did remember the whole thing as I sat on the ground. I gave the police officer a story of how I hit the car and flew over the hood. I told the paramedics I did not black out. Only later did I realize my memory was false; that I was telling myself lies. The damage to my bicycle and my body simply doesn't correspond to what I thought happened.
For one, I don't remember hitting my head: flying over the hood of a car won't involve banging into anything. Yet, my helmet has a very clean crack above the left ear and many other cracks spidering though its structure. I can't explain them. I came out of the ordeal with only a scraped shoulder and a scraped knee. I can't explain how I went from 35 km/h to 0 and came away with a little rough skin and a few sore joints. It bothers me that there are a few seconds of that night missing. But in the end I was Trauma Tango, a BVC that was able to walk out of the ER -- that is worth remembering.