SPUD*

*SPontaneous Unplanned Dismount


Most people who ride bicycles are very aware of the dangers of automobile traffic, so it is somewhat ironic I should be the victim of a hit and run bicycle/bicycle collision. Here's what happened:

Smoked on Sunday

Last Sunday (July 6) I was riding my road bike westbound on Lougheed Highway. I wasn’t going anywhere in particular, just out for a lazy Sunday spin. I am a very experienced cyclist. I was wearing a helmet and operating a well tuned and perfectly functional bicycle. I was travelling about 20-25 kph, slightly off the traffic lane, about six inches off the fog line. I was positioned exactly where I feel I should have been. There was a fresh green light in my favour, it had just changed as I approached the intersection. I ensured that no approaching car travelling in the opposite direction was going to turn left in front of me.

From my right hand field of vision, a man on a bicycle appeared in an instant and within a second he collided into me. He appeared to make no effort to avoid this collision. He was travelling southbound down a very steep hill on Beta St. in Burnaby.

He obviously made the conscious decision to ignore the yellow light, ran through the red light and was planning on travelling down the highway on the wrong side of the road in the wrong direction. Coming down the hill and around the corner this man cut through the lane of opposite traffic on Beta St., and apexed his turn in the crosswalk/corner of Lougheed and Beta.

By my estimate and crude calculations of force, I figured this guy hit me with more than twice the force of impact than I had on him. (me: 140 lbs x 25 kph. the jerk: ~175 lbs x ~ 40 kph) You do the math. Its no wonder that he was able to walk away unscathed, as I took the brunt of impact.


When I saw this jerk on a bike there was no time to react. Collision was imminent and unavoidable. I hit my brakes and tried to avoid him to the outside (my left) but with no chance.

We collided with a mighty whack.

I didn’t lose consciousness, and ended up in the right hand traffic lane. I landed on my left side and was fortunate that my pedals both released and I didn’t get twisted up in the bike at all. Still I landed in a twisted position, but again, fortunately, don’t seem to be suffering any ill effects from that.

So I landed on my left hip and felt relatively unscathed, more angry than hurt, until I went to pick myself up and could not raise my hip off the pavement. I realised immediately that my leg was probably broken.

I saw that the other bike rider had been dismounted as well. He was almost directly behind me, I could see him when I looked back over my shoulder. I suppose I should have relaxed some and took a very good look at him, because I think the description I ended up giving to the police was pretty much useless. Also I had a small digital camera in my jersey pocket--but totally forgot about it, or I could have snapped a few candids of the jerk on a bike.

I was lucid enough to be righteously pissed and began a blue streaked harangue at the jerk. I think I less than politely mentioned what a stupid fool he was for his stupid and criminal actions. “You broke my f-in leg, you c***” was an oft repeated phrase. The jerk started to get up. “Stay there! Don’t you go anywhere!” I was screaming at him.

By this time I noticed that traffic had stopped on my side of the highway. I saw that a large SUV was stopped in the right hand lane, a vehicle that would have been my agent of doom if it had been passing me at the time of the collision. I clearly saw a blond woman in the passenger seat of a small silver car was stopped directly beside me, but in the left hand lane. She had a look of detached curiosity, even though by this time i was shouting for someone to help me, as I saw that the jerk was getting up and picking up his bike.

It seemed a police cruiser was there very quickly, the officers later said they were driving down the highway and moved up to investigate when they saw traffic had stopped. And although the police told me they spoke to some witnesses, they said no-one actually saw the collision. This is not too surprising, considering that it happened so quickly, and both cyclists and jerks on bikes are pretty much invisible to car drivers.

When I saw that the other bike rider was on his feet and pushing his bike back up the hill through the intersection, in the direction from which he had originally come, is when my visible distress became acute. I began to flair my arms about and yelling for someone to help. It seemed many people were quite content to sit in their cars and watch things unfold, as if it were on TV.

So I was flailing about, begging for someone to help, begging for someone to stop the jerk who I could see was getting away. I saw a man in glasses and a faded red tee-shirt approach from the stopped traffic. I asked him to stop the guy who had hit me, that he was getting away. Apparently the jerk’s bike was still functional, as I was later told he rode off through Brentwood Mall parking lot, and was not found by the bystander or police.

In time, fire fighters and paramedics arrived where I lay. The mandatory neck brace was put in place, my helmet removed, then they managed to get a spine board underneath me. One of the paramedics put his index fingers together in an L shape and said my femur was broken like this, and they were going to have to pull the leg bone back into alignment. So they attempted to fill me up with nitrous, but that doesn’t really mitigate the pain, just makes it seem not so important to you. Then they gave my left leg the big yank to rejoin the ends of the fractured bone.

I was taken to Burnaby General Hospital where a surgery was performed, round about eight in the evening. The collision occurred about 3:30. The surgeons put a rod in my leg to stabilize the bone and also some kind of clamp around the upper part of the break as there were longitudinal fractures up the bone towards the hip joint.

I spent four nights in hospital, fortunately without complication, only discomfort and pain. I’m back home now in my little north Burnaby apartment.

The real challenges begin now, though, as I live alone and don’t know too many people here in town. I seem to be managing so far, but everything now requires three times the effort. I am trying to remain positive.

Every medical professional I talked to asked if I was wearing a helmet, and of course I was, although the other guy wasn’t. He rode away, and I’m left appreciating what a nice day it would be for a bike ride...

So just another reminder to be careful out there (as if we need that) and to always wear your helmet. Most of us are very cognizant of the dangers of auto traffic , but remember too that the SUV with your name on it might just be a jerk on a bike.