A young woman passed me yesterday on a quiet street. She got out of the saddle to go up a slight incline...and then her chain slipped. A wobble for less than a second and then she went face first over the bars. Absolutely no chance of recovery, and a really chilling sight. I got there in about ten seconds. She was understandably shocked, a bit tearful and had some blood on the end of her nose, and a few grazes on her legs. She went to the kerb. I picked up her bike. Somebody else retrieved her helmet and D lock from the tarmac. Somebody asked if anybody had seen what happened. "Her chain slipped". We were now all standing on the pavement wondering what to do. I rummaged in my pockets for a handkerchief so she could wipe the flow of blood from her nose but realised I wasn't carrying anything remotely presentable. Out of nowhere, someone appeared with a box of Kleenex. Then a mother with a toddler in a buggy said "I live over there. Why not come and sit down for a bit and have a cup of tea?". A procession formed with the mother, toddler, victim, bike wheeler and baggage porters. The whole episode lasted less than three minutes.
I got on my bike wondering " How did he get the Kleenex so quickly?"