Note to Self: Stay off Bicycles

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my bicycle accident. I decided last Wednesday that it was time to exorcise (and exercise) those demons and climbed on a bicycle for the first time since. I rode up the Green River trail to Southcenter and back the Interurban trail. It was uneventful.

So today I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and repeat the loop that I've actually done numerous times in the past. I cut the loop short due to trail maintenance being done on the section of the trail near the Riverbend golf course. That meant the last part of my ride would involve a short stretch of travel on a busy section of James Street where there is no bicycle lane (between the new Kent Events Center and the West Valley Highway). Unfortunately for me, I crashed yet again... an SUV traveling the same lane barely gave me any room which forced me near the curb. On this particular section of road the transition from asphalt to cement is not flush. The cement section is about an inch higher and my wheels caught it causing me to fall off the bike and on to the sidewalk. My hands took the brunt of the fall but I also have some pretty good scrapes on my right knee and a knot on my left shin where it impacted the crossbar of my bike. I rolled up on my bad shoulder, too. Not enough to tear my t-shirt but enough to cause a bit of road rash.

This was nothing compared to my Boise accident but it was bad enough to leave me a bloody mess by the time I peddled the last mile to my condo. It's pretty likely that I sprained my wrist again and probably reaggravated my shoulder.

Maybe it's time to retire the old bicycle?