Ok, so since May of this year I have been using my mountain bike to commute to and from work. I would have been using it before then but I didn't buy it until May. My previous mountain bike had died the final death about a year before that so I'd been reduced to jogging and riding the bus. I don't drive downtown because I don't like paying for parking. Well, actually it is because I don't like driving in downtown traffic and get confused with the mutable one-way streets. Anyway, I digress.

Last night I headed towards home sometime around 7pm. The ride was pretty normal but the drivetrain was starting to act up a bit. I hadn't had time to tune the bike in three weeks so the rear derailleur was a bit off. The chain is also getting a little stretched since I've put a hard 500 or so miles on the bike. Not to mention that the rear wheel is a hair out of true since doing some jumping a couple of weeks ago. So the bike has been ridable but every day I'm reminded that I need to do a bit of work on it.

As I start to head up the hill towards my apartment I notice that something seems a bit more off than normal. I look down at the chain and Whack run straight into a parked car. Let me paint a little more clear picture of this. I'm headed uphill in the right lane of a three lane one-way street at around 15-20 mph. The right lane turns into parking after about half a block. It is dusk, and the car is black. Still, the car is quite easily visible. That doesn't stop me from nailing it dead on though. Since I wasn't looking and was going at a good rate of speed I'm not quite sure of the order of events. However, I definitely went headfirst into the tail of the car banging my forearm in the process. I'm feeling a bit stunned and hop up onto the curb. I don't feel anything broken but notice that my face is bleeding pretty good. I wipe off my bloody cheek a couple of times until the bloodflow slows down a bit.

Then I decide to check the car. The collision was quite loud, and I expect to be leaving a note on their car with my contact info on it. I look really closely. There doesn't appear to be any damage to the car. There's a 1 inch mark on it that could have come from me but doesn't look like it. I'm pretty amazed at this point the car is unscathed. Thank the gods for plastic, cheap Japanese sports cars I guess.

I decide to walk a couple of blocks to a clinic that is nearby. Unfortunately it is after hours and closed. I hop back on the bike and head home. I'm sure I was an interesting sight with blood all over the right side of my face and a bloodsoaked shirt sleeve. I make it home and head to the bathroom. After washing the blood off, there is approximately a 1 inch horizontal slice under my cheekbone. It is deep enough for me to be unsure as to whether I should just butterfly it and call it good or get some stitches. Consequentially I head on down to the hospital in my car.

At the hospital information directs me to the emergency ward. I get looked at and eventually patched up with some glue to seal the cut and a couple of strips to hold it together. I've now had time to do an inventory of myself. I have a very large deep bruise on my forearm, the right side of my chin is swollen, my lip has a big cut from my tooth and is swollen, and my cheekbone is swollen where the cut is. I'm guessing that pretty much anyone else would have ended up with a broken arm and a skull fracture. I'm honestly amazed I didn't break off a tooth because one of my teeth was a major impact point.

Once I headed home I noticed after awhile that there is a decent sized knot on my shin also. Hmm, hadn't even felt that. I did my normal workout before bed(situps, pushups, weights) and made sure to really work my right arm to keep it from bruising up. Woke up a bit sore this morning and didn't ride in. I figure I should at least work over the bike before riding again. The swelling has even gone down enough for me to open my mouth most of the way now.

So let's recap. I ended up with a good story, found out how to get to the emergency room, and made a blood sacrifice to the gods of luck. I call that a win win situation. Oh, here's a quickie snapshot of me today thanks to a coworker's Mavica. Good thing I don't bruise much, eh?