Wiiiiipppeee Out

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Dear, FSM, I swear it is just crazier out on the bike path than any other time in my memory.

Last night I was on the homeward leg of a post-work ride. I was northbound at Ohio and the LSD on ramp, right next to Lake Point Towers, waiting for the green light. There were a couple cyclists on either side of me and about 5 coming towards us southbound.

I pushed off just before the light went green to get some breathing room. The southbound cyclists clear me as I cross the tiny median and pedal through the right turn lane that leads to LSD. That's when I see them.

Two hipsters are coming down hill to the intersection. They're moving var too fast for conditions. The dude's in the lead and his line is good. The girl is taking a wider arc. I'm under load and don't have enough speed to be maneuverable yet. All the same I try to shift right.

It all happens in a fraction of a second. I'm hit. It was just my duffel bag. I'm still upright! Then I hear the sickening sound of steel and aluminum bouncing along the black top.

I turn around and she's laid out on the medium. The dude, her boyfriend, is just turning around to get back to her. He's back to her before I get turned around to check on her. She's beat up. She must have gone over the handle bars in a Supermanesque dive. Both her forearms are road burned from elbows to wrists. Her knees had seen better days. But she's standing and moving and says she's OK. Considering she didn't have a brain bucket on she was lucky not to have cracked her noggin open. The two continued on. Hopefully at a more reasonable pace.

I've gone down before. It hurts. I guarantee she's in considerable pain this morning. I hope she's truly OK and has access to some good pain meds.