Then he ran, the kid just sprinted for the kerb, didn't look, didn't stop. I shouted and grabbed the brakes hard. I had scrubbed off most of my forward momentum when I hit him. I had tried to steer for the gap, but it vanished.
The bike pretty much just stopped and fell over, falling around the kid. As it fell left, I fell right onto my knee , elbow and back. And there I found myself, lying in the middle of a damp cycle lane on a main road in the rush hour.
Damn.
I looked back along the road…nothing close. Motorcycles use this cycle lane too, thankfully it wasn't one of them that hit the kid, and thankfully there wasn't one bearing down on me now.
OK, mental inventory... I'm conscious, don't think head hit the ground. No searing pain. Ok...try and move.. Moving, this is good.. Try to stand…success.. As I stand, I pull my bike up too. The kid had crawled out from beneath the bike. I got onto the pavement and put the bike up against the wall. A brief check and the kid is standing with his mother, being shouted at, and being checked.. He looks fine, he's got a damp t shirt.
A kind person tells me she's from the house behind, and asks if I'm ok, if the bike is ok. If she can help. The mental inventory tells me I am basically OK, but can feel the adrenaline surge. Something's not quite right. Another lady says the mother has called the police. OK…unexpected. The family appear to be North African, her English is patchy at best. I ask if the police have been called and she tells me that they will be "a few minutes" . I don't want to be the bad person who just legs it. I try to explain that I'm first aid trained and offer to check the kid .. She doesn't understand.
It turned out that she had given a confusing address to the emergency services. A friend of hers has turned up and speaks better English, she also says I cannot leave unless I leave my details. That's not going to happen, not with a "non official" person. So I wait...in the end I talk the ambulance crew in to our location.
The kid and mother go into the ambulance, his main thing at the moment is to scowl at me. One of the crew asks how I am. The "not right" thing is now clear. My right knee took the main hit and twisted as I fell.. I get offered some pain relief and give them my details and the police arrive. I give a statement , the key question the PC asked when I said the kid ran out was " wasn't the mother in control". Nope. They take a statement from the mother too and then tell me nothing more need come of it. Our statements match and the kid is basically fine. The police give me a lift the last little but to work and, 2 hours late, I get on with my day.
By Saturday , my knee was a balloon, I didn't ride in. I was back riding on Monday. It's not right. It still hurts, but I'm back into a normal routine commuting on the bike.
This Friday, I was riding up the same stretch of road... I spotted a family of four walking to the bus stop. No buggy this time and all of the kids holding hands in a little line. As I drew level,the kid on the end looked at me... It was "the kid" .. He seemed fine. He scowled at me…I smiled and waved. It looks as though they may have learned a lesson. I'm just glad it was a slowing me that hit the kid and not a scooter or motorbike.
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I've been doing the odd sketch for Sarah and Dan at ProWomen'sCycling.com including a "technical drawing" of a bike to help Sarah with her basic tech knowledge.
It seems to have been quite popular, to the point that someone asked if t shirts would be made available.. So, I set up a Zazzle shop and the "This Way Up" t shirt is now available here:
And, even more surprisingly… I've sold three !!!
So yeah, fashion designer, crash test dummy, blogger, cyclist, mechanic, etc…
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I think there will be another blog entry soon as there are one or two projects that look to be coming to fruition now... more to follow soon.. ;)
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