Week 5 - Not Good

This week's ride took us back up to Tramway since the winds were going to be calm. I was feeling confident with my bike nicely tuned up. I find that at the beginning of the ride, I am not the fastest, but not the slowest, so I am somewhere in between and often left alone with no coaches or mentors. About 10 miles into the ride Heather and I were approaching the Tramway/Central intersection. Another rider, Dale, sped up to catch up to us so it was the three of us crossing the intersection. We made it across and were going through the light when things went seriously wrong. I was looking to my left to make sure there were no cars around and when I looked up, I saw Dale right in front of me and panicked. I thought I was going to hit her. The next thing I know is that I am on the pavement in the middle of the intersection. Things flew off my bike and I was trying to collect them. I looked up and saw Dale falling on the ground. I grabbed my bike and went over to where she was to help her. She stood up and was having a hard time walking so Heather and I got her to a place to lay down.

Several people stopped to see if we were okay which was nice, but then you ge the a_ _ holes that honk at you to get out of the way. We called 911 right away because she was in serious pain and could not stand or sit up. A guy in a TLC truck stopped and assisted with a emergency kit he had. Heather and I did what we could to clean off any cuts and scraps that were visible. Eventually, the team that was behind us showed up and helped us with bikes, helmets etc. When AFD showed up they took over with her and only then did I notice blood oozing from my body. Needless to say, I have severe road rash. As I was peeling off my clothes Frank noticed that I had road rash in places I don't remember hitting. The good thing is that I am ok. Dale on the other hand did not fair as well. She broke her wrist, hip and pelvis. I feel just awful and have been racking my brain to figure out what went wrong. I may have just clipped the back of her tire that made her out of balance when she looked back at me. I don't know.

This horrible experience has made me question what I am doing. I am totally freaked out that I may have killed someone or myself. While I understand that we need to go longer rides, should we be on Tramway? Is there a better place for me to ride as a novice. Do I continue and ride with guilt, or can I overcome this experience and learn from it. Right now, I want to crawl under my blankets and hide.


My thigh is looking pretty in purple.


My knee bled and bled and bled and...


Grease and more bruises.

And, there are many more I will not show you. Please pray for Dale! She will be in rehab for 6 months as part of her recovery.