I was hit by a car while riding my bicycle

The inevitable finally happened, I was hit by a car while riding my bike. It was a Friday afternoon noon, I finished work and I was excited to go out and enjoy the beautiful day. The weather was perfect, I decided to put on my castelli wool summer jersey and assos summer cycling bib. I was ready for a great ride.

I head to the usual route and begin day 21 on my get fit or die trying challenge (cycling and running everyday). This day, I actually almost died. I was going down a fairly quiet road, the light ahead turned green and just as I went through the intersection, I was hit by a car turning left. I smashed right into the driver’s windshield. My life did not flash before my eyes but I knew it was going to be bad. I do not remember hitting the windshield, I only remember bracing for the world of pain.

After I was hit, I freaked out real quick but was able to assess the situation after seeing what had happened. A lovely woman who was crossing the road called 911 for me and stayed telling the dispatchers what had happened. I saw blood all over my right arm. Shards of glass were in my arms, multiple people came out of their homes to assist me. Thank God for the great people of Hamilton.

I was taken to the hospital by paramedics. I began to start feeling pain on the right side of my body. My right knee started swelling. I felt very awake and I expected to be in greater pain but I was not. I was told this was the adrenaline kicking in. The pain decided to go up a notch in ER. I was then given 4 pills that was supposed to be like morphine except without the high. I did not dare call my parents, I called my sister since I trusted her to not tell any one and be the only one in my family not to freak out. I also texted my wonderful boss and some close friends.

I was finally able to see a doctor, I told her I wanted my head checked just in case. They found nothing. They also x-rayed my pelvis, legs, and stomach to make sure there was no internal damage. Nothing was found. The doctor said I was extremely lucky from this unfortunate event. I felt very lucky as well. I was told to be prepared for the incoming pain for the next 20 days and if the pain became worse to go back to ER.

It’s crazy how something that happens in mere seconds can drastically change your life. I was lucky to walk out of that accident with just cuts and bruises. It has now been a little over two weeks and the recovery is going great. I am still not at 100% but I hope to be back to work next week. Only time will tell. The soreness has almost disappeared. My right knee still gives me pain but it’s much less than before. I do have headaches but they have lessened since the accident.

What is my future looking like after this? When this happened I thought about the worst case scenarios where I wouldn’t be able to walk again and even worse, always needing someone to care of me. I do not want to burden anyone especially my family. That is a hefty thought I do not want to give. I have decided to only cycle indoor on my trainer and when I cycle outdoor it will be on gravel roads and registered events only. I will focus on running and lifting more weights. While talking to a friend, he mentioned that because I had a muscular build, I was able to take the hit. If I had a cyclist build, the injury may have been much worse. He may be right.

I love cycling. I’ve cycled all my life and it’s hard to see myself stopping. I will always cycle but I am changing directions in order to cause less stress on my family and for safety reasons. I will still create YouTube videos and virtual cycling videos but the scene might be completely different than what I usually do. My bike is a write off, I can’t ride that on the road after that accident especially since it’s a carbon fiber frame. I write this as I lay in bed thinking about life. I got lucky and maybe there’s a reason why I got lucky. I do want to show the world what I can do and I still need to give back. A new chapter in my life begins.