View attachment 19676
View attachment 19675
Feeling a little better today so here is my account of yesterday's ride.
Set off on a short expedition to spot and report potholes on the route that I hope to commute along in a month or so. The first one was huge and while already marked by the LA is well overdue a fix. I reported it again. A short part of the route passes along the busy A536. Pulled onto this with no problems followed it for about 500m and prepared to turn right. Took the primary and all was well. Moved towards the centre of th road and, with a break in the oncoming traffic, I accelerated to make the turn. The bike skidded out from under me and I fell very heavily on my righthand side in the middle of the road.
Cars both ways stopped and asked if I was okay. Being a man and also being pumped up with adrenalin (from the accident) I tried to make out that I was okay. I sat by the side of the road for a few minutes and assessed my situation. By this stage I was shaking and in considerable pain. Cycling home was not an option. I tried to get my phone out of my back pocket and this was so difficult that I began to suspect a broken bone in my shoulder. I started to ring my wife but half way through the painful process of dialling, I decided that on balance I needed an ambulance with medically trained professionals - not my wife.
The ambulance arrived in less than five minutes and agreed that they were the correct people to call as they could see me slipping into shock and in considerable pain. They put the bike into the ambulance, laid me down and off we went. As I live opposite the hospital this was all very reassuring.
To cut a long story short, the consultant told me of how he had had to certify a few cyclists as dead who were not wearing helmets. The radiographer was a keen cyclist himself and regailed me of the story of a road biker he had x-rays who broke his neck coming off second-best in a fight with a pothole (along with telling me about his own carbon bike). It appears that I was lucky, just badly bruised and shaken.
On arrival home I unpacked the bag with my gear in. My jacket is filthy - covered in black slime which must have contributed to the slip. Most sobering was my helmet. I have no clear recollection of banging my head but the evidence is clear.
I feel pretty lucky!