Yesterday on my way to work I got hit by a car at Broad and Spring Garden. Whole works, ambulance, ER etc etc. Bumped and bruised, but I’m walking around, my bike is in the shop, we’ll see what the damage is on Monday. Lo and behold, Philebrity gossipers noticed the run of bike incidents. Reading the comments on that post gets me very irritated. I think the “Ride Smart. Don’t aggravate motorists. Earn their respect and we’ll all be safer.” and the “the new trend is to not even think about pausing at stop signs or red lights if you are on a bike.” comments most get to me. I was not being an angry biker, I was on my way to work, riding in the bike lane, crossing with a green light. I don’t fight motorists, in fact, I respect the cars. Not because they deserve it, mind you, but because they are bigger and heavier than me and can kill me. A healthy fear/respect.
What I find even more interesting is that apparently I was the third biker brought into Hahnemann hospital that morning, all of us wearing helmets. As much as I hate wearing the thing, when I felt the impact with pavement right on the helmet I thought- Ah ha! Proves its usefulness.
I highly recommend all riders don head gear. Yup, its unattractive, hot and awkward when walking around, bumping into people while attatched to your bag. But you know what, its all worth it.
