First Crash

May 12th, 2016, riding through Chelmsford, MA I was hit by a car, well, I struck the car, is what the police report says, and that's true.  I hit the passenger door as he was taking a left turn.  There was a line of stopped traffic in the direction I was traveling in, and a truck and car (looking back I actually remember the big truck not moving to let the car pass through, I'm not sure how I remember) parted just enough so that he could get through the intersection, so I didn't see him and he didn't see me, probably because of the big truck.  I had a green light, I'm not sure if he did.  I don't think either of us hit the brakes until after the collision, well I would have if I could reach them.

I should have suffered more injuries, I'm extremely lucky.  I flipped through the air, and I'm still not sure how I landed.  I just remember that my feet were over my head at one point and I ended up sitting on the pavement looking back at the direction I was riding from.  As I was sitting there I saw my bike fly through the air, vertically, and crash down in front of me with the back wheel pointing towards me. I just stood up walked to the sidewalk and took my helmet off.

The driver was very considerate.  He pulled over and we exchanged information, and someone else called the police to send an officer.  So we both waited for him. He basically just documented what happened, took our info, and made sure we exchanged information.  He asked me for my license, called it into the station over the radio and handed back to me and started to take some notes.  It didn't seem like he was going to take the driver's license information until I asked him if he was. No tickets were issued.  The officer also asked if I needed an ambulance and I said "I'm not sure yet." Then it came up that an ambulance ride would be expensive, and I said that the driver's insurance would cover that.  The officer then said that it would only be covered by the driver's insurance if he was found at fault, and he said he didn't think this was the driver's fault.  That actually made me mad. First of all, all Massachusetts drivers have PIP (personal injury protection) that would cover an ambulance ride at no fault to either party, so the officer didn't know this.  Also I don't think he should be saying anything about fault at the scene of an accident, the police report seemed a bit biased. Also, fuck you for insinuating to a cyclist that he might be at fault for an accident where he just flew 15 ft through the air.

Luckily another co-worker was driving by and one of my fellow riders flagged him down and he gave me a ride to the nearest commuter rail station to get a ride from another friend on the other end.

Everyone kept asking me "Are you ok?!" And I wasn't sure.  I just checked to make sure I wasn't in pain, bleeding, no bones sticking out.  I didn't respond, I still wasn't sure. I walked around and people kept asking "Are you ok?!" I still wasn't sure, but I felt fine. I just remember other people's stories where they are involved in a crash, feel fine at first, and then notice an injury later.  I straightened the handle bars, checked the front wheel (still not sure how it still has air, it was brand new and now bent slightly), and actually rode the bike for a couple seconds to see how I felt.  Squeezing the left brake lever caused a little soreness in my left hand now.  I didn't hit my head, my back, or my butt, I felt like I needed time to just see what injuries are setting in.  I didn't want to leave without being sure I didn't injure myself and then have the insurance company ask my "Why wasn't this in the report?"

It just seemed like "Are you ok?!" wasn't the question to be asked in that situation.  "Are you bleeding?", "did you hit your head?", "can you see straight?" seem more appropriate.  My hand didn't hurt until a couple hours later, when it swelled up, and I thought it was broken.  The x-ray came back and showed no fractures or broken bones, but it still hurt a couple days later and was slightly swollen. Other than that, the injuries are very minor, just some bruises and scrapes.  I didn't want to say I was ok when I wasn't sure.

The toughest part about this was getting the doctor's office visit (x-ray) covered and the repairs to my bike, too.  I actually waited until the next morning to get the x-ray done because the emergency room was the only place I could have gone and I didn't want to chance paying exorbitant prices for an x-ray; the doctor on call said I probably didn't break my hand (without having an x-ray done yet, but she turned out to be right, even though it was my call not to go to the emergency room).

Josh Zisson, the bike lawyer, really helped me out though, he took care of everything communicating with the insurance company, how I should get my bike repaired to make sure it was covered, and made sure the auto insurance covered everything.

It was a pretty crazy experience all-around, but I know most crashes are much worse than mine.  So I am thankful it wasn't worse.

Bike train

Endless bikes for miles and miles! Just like the corn fields!

Peace flags

Shenendoah was a great little town to ride through.  The them there was "Peace, Love, Bikes." They painted little bikes and wheels and hung them from the light posts, these peace flags were down in the center of town, I really enjoyed the theme there.  There was a car filled with flowers and I got my face painted with flowers.

It was the only place I was able to get a free shower (with a hose, and a suggested donation).  It was all I needed though, wash the shorts off at the same time.  

There was also a double rainbow while we were listening to a band play Purple Rain.  It was a really great night there.  

There was also a train in the middle of the night.

Outhouses

We were lucky enough to have these outhouses available on the route!  More privacy than a corn field, and soy bean field! A lot of people were signing their names.  There were a few places to sign your name in different towns on quilts, maps, poster board, signs.  It was pretty cool to be able to leave your mark.  

Bike law gear

My new #BikeLaw gear.  They help with advocacy and legal issues across the country.

Loading up in Muscatine

At the high school in Muscatine, Iowa. Got here a little early, but we'll be able to sleep on the bus. The airbnb was great, no trains in the middle of the night this time. It's hot... And muggy. It will still be fun though. We'll take the bus to Glenwood and see the madness that ensues there!

Journey to Iowa 7/21

We're still on the road, in Illinois on I-80. The bikes on the back of the car make me a little nervous, but they're hanging in there. The closer we get to Iowa, the more corn we see, and also soy beans? Landscape is really flattening out here now too.

Climate Ride Northeast!.

The biking continues... After getting back from the bike trip I started working for Next Step Living, performing energy assessments.  This required driving to peoples' houses with a car full of light bulbs and advising them on how they can save money by completing retrofit projects on their home.  The work was great but the driving part was a big down side.

About a year ago, I started designing solar systems, again, still for Next Step Living and this allowed me to bike to work again.  And this time the commute is much shorter; 6.5 miles each way as opposed to 18 or 30 each way.  So, much less time commuting, which is good for allowing time to cook meals or join an ultimate frisbee team.  This also allowed me to become more involved with the biking community at NSL and all over Boston.  There are a ton of organizations that encourage biking. Being involved in the advocacy side has been a great experience.

Another way that I'm getting involved in the advocacy side is by joining the Climate Ride with Next Step Living.  We're raising awareness about the need for sustainable transportation and raising money for SAHA global, a non-profit organization currently bring access to clean water and electricity to rural areas of Northern Ghana.  Both of these are important issues, so I'm raising money to support them.  The money I raise will go to both organizations and the goal is $2,800.00 by September 17.  If anyone is able to contribute please clink on the link and it will take you right to my page on the Climate Ride website.

I appreciate any support I can get.

Happy Riding!

Officially made it to SF!

The trip has officially ended and im just spending a week in SF to have some more fun and see my friends.  It has been great but i am sad that the trip is over.  We are all still really good friends, because we've heard that some groups end up not talking to each other after a trip like this but we're doing really well. I wish we could keep riding but it does feel good to say we finished it. 

The Pacific!

Our first view of the Pacific!

Sonoma, CA

Hanging out at the Sonoma Springs Brewery and Crisp bakery watching the bakers and brewers.  The Roche Winery was a nice stop last night too.

Napa Valley

Having dinner at downtown joe's in Napa Valley.  Ok, so it's not a winery but the beer is pretty good and we'll hit up the wineries tomorrow.  We made it to Nevada City, CA after leaving Reno and stayed in Carmichael along the way with a couple very generous hosts. Last night we stayed at a co-op at UCDavis and slept under the fig tree. Apparently thats where the guests sleep but it was still awesome.  I dont think we'll find any fig trees here to sleep under.

California!

Just a few more days now!

Silver Springs NV

Stealth camped here and we're on our way to Reno. It's about 40 miles and we're ready for a day off and a shower.

Middlegate, NV

We're in Middlegate at the only bar in town. Probably the only thing in town. It is a 100 year old freight station that also became a pony express station. There are a ton of one dollar bills on the ceiling. This place is pretty cool.

Loading up in Eureka,NV with some food and water before heading out on a 68 mile stretch of no services or service. These towns are small but they do exist.

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Majors Junction, NV

Yesterday was brutal with the head winds but we were able to pick up the much needed, and much appreciated, care packages.  There's a wind farm in this valley so that can give you an idea of how steady the wind is here. We made it to Majors Junction, barely, where theres only a bar/inn/RV park. I don't think i would have been able to keep climbing past this bar, so we went and grabbed a beer and set up the tent.  The night ended well.

What a day!

So we made it to Cedar City, not the way we wanted to but it was interesting. We camped just outside Zion the night before and had some trouble finding a safe place to put our panniers. eventually we found out we could leave them at the lodge after talking to many park workers.  We hiked up angel's landing at zion and got some food afterwards before finishing up our ride for the day.  We still had 60 miles to go at 3 pm.  Whoops.  On the way we ran into a couple of touring cyclists and stopped to talk to them for a while. So we didnt have enough time to finish up our ride at all.  They said we could stop for the night in Kanaraville which was closer but we would have to ride on the freeway.  So we kept riding through toquerville after i fixed a flat and made it to the freeway. It was a bad idea we only made it about 2 miles and we had about 7 to go but it was too dangerous.  We got off so that we could find another way around but there were no other roads up that way. We knocked on doors asking people for a ride to frontage road and eventually found someone willing to do it. We offered $20 and he actually took us all the way to cedar city.  So we gave him $30 and he dropped us off in a park to camp.  The sign at the park said "no camping". We should have listened to that too.  The sprinkler system turned on at about 230 am and i made a mad dash to get the fly on the tent but we were all pretty wet.  Then it turned on again at 5 am or another zone turned on.  And someone told us this morning that we should pack up the tent before the cops see it since it could be a $1000 fine. But we've dodged that one too. So, we're in Cedar City and we'll be in Nevada by tomorrow.

UT

Made it to Utah!