Wear a helmet kids

On Saturday I was hit by a car while riding my bike through my neighborhood on the way home from a long ride around downtown. Luckily, Christopher was a couple minutes behind me, so he didn’t actually see it happen…had he witnessed it, I’m sure he would have freaked out.

Basically what happened is at the corner of Dexter and 26th Ave there is a 4-way stop and I was headed north on Dexter. I stopped, well I technically didn’t put my foot down, but I did come to a stop and I saw a car approaching going west on 26th, but they were not at the intersection and I had the right of way…so I went. As I crossed the street I noticed the car getting closer and closer, no horn, no screeching brakes, nothing, and then they hit me square on the right side of my bike. Since I saw them coming I lifted my right leg out of the way, letting them take the bike out from under me, and I braced myself against the car, rolling to my left and bouncing back out into the road where I landed on my left hand and then rolled back smacking my head on the pavement.

Thank God I was wearing a helmet.

Three people hopped out of the car to come see if I was alright and I immediately jumped up, threw my helmet, and started cussing them out at the top of my lungs. I have never been so mad in my life. What kind of jackass do you have to be to completely blow through a stop sign on probably the busiest street in Park Hill? What if I hadn’t been wearing a helmet? What if I were some lady with a stroller crossing the street? This asshole seriously could have killed someone. His excuse: he was late for his daughter’s graduation. So late he couldn’t stop for 3 seconds at a stop sign…or even notice the fact that there was a stop sign. I should have called the cops and made them take me to the hospital, but instead I gave them more consideration than they gave me.

I ended up with whiplash, a sprained wrist, and a few bumps and bruises; not too bad considering what the alternative could have been. I’m lucky I was wearing a helmet, I’m lucky I lifted my leg out of the way before they hit, and I’m lucky that I didn’t go over the top of the car. But as fortunate as I feel, I’m still pretty shaken by the whole thing. I’ll be back on my bike as soon as my body feels up to it, but I don’t trust cars anymore, period. Never again will I assume that a car is going to stop at a stop sign or stop light. And I’m never going anywhere on my bike without a helmet, I think I may have just been turned into their biggest advocate.

So wear a helmet kids, you may not ever “need” it, but when you do it will save your life.

Arvada Trails Day Ride

In celebration of National Trails Day the city of Arvada had all sorts of fun stuff going on, so Christopher and I decided to join in on their 20-mile bike ride. There were about 65 riders that showed up bright and early Saturday morning for a guided tour of the gorgeous trails that run through Arvada.

As you can see, it was a recreational family ride, so it was definitely on the easy side, but there were still a few hills that had everyone breathing hard. It was funny how in awe people were of my single speed, and I’ll admit I snickered a little as I passed people going up hills on their silly geared bikes.

After the halfway point, it was a pretty easy ride back to the Majestic View Nature Center…unless you ride through water in road tires. I took a really soft turn on a sidewalk that had a little bit of water on it and fell flat on my ass, right in a puddle. Christopher was happy to capture the moment too, we wouldn’t be very good Brightkiters if we didn’t, would we?

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Switching out my brake

The Schwinn I got a little while back had a bit of weirdness going on with the brake. First off, it’s just the wrong type of brake for this bike — the look isn’t right.

Secondly, it’s bent. I’m not really sure how this even happens, but with the bolt bent like that the brake is aligned crooked and that’s just no good.

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I'm throwing in the towel

Bye bye crappy bike with crooked frame, busted breaks, and pedals that won’t stay on.

Hello cutie.

Mikado

Just got new rims and tires for my 1980-something Mikado Lancer single speed, making this bike rideable…until something else breaks.