“Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely...but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke...and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a ride!”
—Hunter S. Thompson
Bicycling the San Francisco is one of the most bike-friendly cities in the United States. Riding across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most exhilarating things to do. In fact, Bill and I, friends Jimi Hunter and his wife Jennifer have done a variation of this ride several times together. This time I invited my son-in-law Kyle Lewis, an avid cyclist to join us. We hooked up with Jimi and Jen—who were spending the weekend in San Francisco—near Fort Point. The views of the San Francisco Bay and the bridge are utterly breathtaking.
Once crossing the bridge that is famous worldwide for its signature orange-rust color and immense size, we made our way to the quaint city of Sausalito in Marin County. Jimi recommended to Bill, Kyle, and I to see the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Bay Model Visitor Center which has a large functioning 3D hydraulic model of the Bay Area.
We continued riding and when we reached Harbor Point in Marin County, I hit a bump while attempting to grab an energy bar from the back of my jacket, lost my balance and crashed into the ground (photo). Everyone was at my side. I was dazed and confused, had pain in my ribs on the left side of my body, the palm of my right thumb, scraped knees, the tops of my hands, and upper left arm. Frankly, I didn’t remember going down, and was in a state of shock and confusion when I was assisted in getting back up on my feet.
I noticed the right side of my bike helmet with MIPS technology my son Jason gifted me was abraded. The MIPS brain protection system is a helmet-integrated with a low-friction layer designed to reduce rotational motion transferred to the brain from an angled impact to the head. Bill had told me later, he was amazed I was able to continue riding ten additional miles to Tiburon—albeit slowly—to catch the Ferry back to San Francisco. While Bill rode his bike back to the parking lot to get his SUV—so I didn’t have to ride anymore—the rest of us had lunch at Red’s Java House, a waterfront landmark since the 1930s. We ordered take-out for him. On the way home, Bill offered to drop me off at Kaiser Permanente in Santa Clara to be checked out. After spending three hours in the ER, the doctor on call reviewed the X-rays of my right hand and chest, as well as ct scan of my brain. The diagnosis was a concussion, rib contusions and possible fracture(s) and abrasions of my knees, and hands which were attended to before I called Cecile to pick me up.
Postscript: I won’t sugar coat it. Physically, I feel like I went a round with Mike Tyson. However everyone agreed it could have been worse. Emotionally, I view it as being in a state of Amor fati: A Latin phrase that roughly translated means “loving your fate.” It is used to describe an attitude of accepting and embracing the conditions of your life exactly as they are. I will ride again, I told myself. I felt grateful for the commraderie of friends who had my back and the joy and beauty I experienced on Saturday before the incident. One would never know looking at all of the photos taken of me after the fall that I was wounded.
The following is a Vimeo video narrative reenactment of my fall at the "scene of the crime" by my good friend and former competitive racer, Jimi Hunter, who has had his own share of thrills, spills, and injuries over the years, much more serious than mine. He and Jennifer video all their rides.
