Some well-deserved gratitude

WABA's Cider Ride was on Saturday--it was a great ride, and if you want to know more about it, my friend Rootchopper does a nice job covering it on his blog. I was assigned as a sweep to the 47-mile route, and around mile 34, I got into a wreck.  As we were riding down Arena Drive near FedEx field, a driver hit me square-on from the rear, and he was traveling at about 25-30 miles per hour.  He did not brake before he hit me. He was old and couldn't see very well. This was the second accident I've been in in about a month--the last time, it was due to some really shoddy road construction.

First, what sucks about this--having a scraped up face, sore shoulders and giant bruises down my butt and legs, feeling shaken up and freaked out by cars and loud noises, having the crash replay again and again in my head like a 4D horror movie experience, having a wrecked bike that I was really very attached to, and having to deal with police reports and insurance bullshit.

But what doesn't suck about this is that I got incredibly lucky--blessed, if you will. If the car had been anything taller than a sedan, it would have crumpled me instead of knocking my bike out from under me.  If I had managed to take off my rack that morning, like I tried and failed to do, the car would probably have done more damage, but the rack took a lot of the force. If I hadn't been wearing a helmet, I would have smashed my forehead instead of the helmet.  If the weather had been warmer, I wouldn't have been wearing all of the layers of clothing that very literally saved my skin.  After a quick ride to the emergency room, I got to get up and go home.  I am fully aware that many (most?) of these accidents do not end so well.

Mostly, what doesn't suck about this is the reminder that I have one of the best support networks anyone could ask for.  From worried parents, grandparents and a livid sister/brother-in-law out west, to a close (and also livid) friend in Indiana, to a worried boyfriend who offered to come get me (and waited for 6 hours at the ER the last time this happened), to the two cyclists who were with me and took care of me at the scene, threw themselves in front of the car to make sure the driver stayed there, then came to the hospital, to the staff of WABA who took care of my bike and drove us home from the hospital, to the housemates who offered to make me tea, to the friend driving me to pick up the police report tonight, to the many friends who have called/texted/emailed/tweeted at me to see if I'm OK and/or have offered to bring me food and/or alcohol and/or to keep me company--it's kind of overwhelming, in a good way.

I try not to gush, but I can't remember a time when I've felt more grateful.  There's not enough flour in the world to churn out the number of baked goods that I want to make to thank these people.  A blog post doesn't really cut it, but guys, I just have all these feelings.  So--thanks, everyone.