Message posted by: Tony D.

I just started training again in Feb. after my biking accident last year that left me w/ a broken pelvis and hip. Due to this I try to stay away from traffic and ride as safe as possible. I have been riding around a local golf course that has a bike lane and is one of the safest places to ride in my area. I thought….

The plan was 25 miles at a good pace. I was feeling good and warmed up. I was coming into a right hand turn at about 19, as I start to tip it in I see a silver Toyota mini van starting to make a u turn. At this time I’m committed and start to apply front and rear brake. Now I realize that no matter what, this van and I are going to meet due to the fact that she u turned into the bike lane. Now I was just hoping to “not” hit the van head on.

I continue to slowly squeeze the rear brake until I feel the rear start to lock and I slide the rear around and I’m able to get parallel with the van (I road raced motorcycles and that was a huge help in learning how to handle sliding)but I was not able to avoid the collision.

Crazy thing was that as I was getting closer to this van and I was looking into the window I saw a beautiful little baby girl with only two or three teeth staring at me from her baby seat with her eyes and mouth wide open.

I hit the van sideways, my shoulder hit the side and I was able to get my right foot out of the clip-on as I hit the van. The force of the impact and the release of my foot from the clip-on allowed me to push myself away from the van and not land under the vehicle.

A few very nice people came over to assist me and I greatly appreciate that we still have some people that will try to assist others in need.

Funny thing is that the first thing I did was assess the condition of my bicycle! This very nice lady (that was totally freaked out) ran over to make sure I was OK and found a tiny little scratch on my ankle (I mean tiny).

The scratch was the only damage to me and my bike. We came out of it OK and with only a scratch.

Guys and Gals, please stay safe and aware on your training rides. Even when you think your safe!

Semper Fi!

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