Good grief, I had one of those days!
Due to basic laziness, I got a kind of late start heading out the the bank, but I figured that it would be no biggie, since they’re open until noon on Saturdays. So I headed downtown with my paycheck in hand, ready to take care of some business. I got downtown only to learn that the downtown branch of my bank isn’t open on the weekends.
Yaaay, right?
So I figured I still had time if I really hustled, to catch the midtown branch before the magic noon hour. Well, I missed it by about 10 minutes, so I just rolled around to the drive-through, thinking I would just go ahead and take care of my banking that way. They wouldn’t help me out! They said that it’s policy not to serve pedestrians who come up to the drive-through, that it’s a liability issue, that I could get run over or mugged!
Shit, I could get run over or mugged anywhere, any time, if I’m unlucky or stupid. I don’t think I’m at a higher risk at the bank, but policy is policy, and when policy is policy, you can’t do much to fight it. Commenting that cyclists and pedestrians are NOT the same thing would have done me no damn good anyway, so I just accepted defeat and left.
I was pretty close to the Westport grocery store, so I thought I’d go ahead and pick up a few things, but then I realized that I was riding my singlespeed, which doesn’t have a rack, and was carrying my Camelback, which doesn’t have a terribly large carrying capacity.
So, I figured I’d just scurry home and switch bikes…get the ol’ Trek, strap on the panniers, and come back for food.
I did just that. Busted a move home, switched bikes, and hauled ass back out toward midtown. At that point, I was trying to wrap things up pretty quick, so I’d have time for a decent lunch before heading out again this afternoon for the ACME ride.
Well, speed and the ol’ Trek 800 don’t so much mix, and I took a corner too tight at too much speed and laid it over…HARD. My right arm is lightly roadrashed from wrist to armpit, with a particularly gnarly hamburgular contusion on my forearm right below my elbow. My right leg is also rashed from knee to boot top, with a major concentration of gore right on the knee itself. I tested yet another helmet, which passed with flying colors, and also dinged my glasses. The right side bow has a small crack in it, so I’m a little nervous about them holding together for the long run. If/when I get some money, I’m going to see if my eye doctor can replace that bow.
I know not everyone wants to see this kind of thing, so I’m not going to inflict it on the unwilling, but if you want to see some pretty grodacious damage, I uploaded some pictures of my current roadrash status to my semi-private photodump.
But I did accomplish my shopping and get home with enough time to take a bath and get the worst of the road grime out and off of my injuries, clean up a bit, nosh some leftover saag paneer, and leave for ACME.
Heading out, I decided that I’d ride my road bike, since I was kind of tired from all of the ass-hauling I’d already done, plus feeling a bit wimpy after my wreck. I decided that I wanted the lightweight zippiness that I enjoy with my singlespeed, plus gears. My other geared bikes tend to be pretty portly, but the Burley is zippy and easy to ride.
So my day may have begun rife with frustration, inconvenience, and injury, but I did manage to ride three different bikes in one day, and there’s got to be something to be said for that!
That really sucks, Michelle! I’d be super-pissed if my bank had that policy. I hope you’re recovering nicely from the crash. You’ve donated blood to the bike gods – so you should be crash free for awhile!
Things are pretty much okay now. A little achy in a few places, a little twingey in others, but the scabs are in place and nothing seems to be permanently damaged.