Tag: rear view mirror

Bike Safety 101: Riding the Roads

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, CyclingLeave a comment

This morning I had planned on getting up at 4:30am as usual for my bike ride but because I went to bed at 11pm last night, I was still too groggy so I decided to sleep another hour.  I don’t have any place to be so why not right?  Darrin, thinking that I’m awake comes into my room at 4:45am to make me read an article in the newspaper about bicycle safety.

When I got up at 5:30 I read the article and thanked him for thinking of me.  Fortunately I already know everything that was in the article so I was already covered.  Luckily I don’t have to spend too much time on the road with cars to have to worry, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be reminded of the rules of the road every now and again.

I noticed that the article was written by the Chicago Tribune so I went online to find it and here it is.  Bike safety 101: Riding the roads – Chicago Tribune

That article has some good points but there are some things that they didn’t mention so I am here to add something to the list.

When you are riding with a helmet, and make sure you are, also buy a helmet mounted rear view mirror so you can see the cars and cyclists behind you.  This helps me see the cars behind me on the road and it also helps me see when there are a bunch of cyclists speeding towards me.  The article says that assume that there are drivers who are either drunk, texting or just not paying attention.  You can’t be looking behind you constantly so it’s a good thing to have that mirror.  And not handlebar mirrors because in some cases you can’t really look down, that would be too distracting.

Unfortunately, as with cars there are blind spots, even with helmet mounted mirrors.  This morning as I was coming home, I left the bike trail and got back on the street with traffic and there is a stretch of road that curves.  Well, in my mirror I can see behind me but there is a blind spot.  Unless I turn my head to look completely, I won’t see the cars that are driving directly behind me in the right lane, only the cars in the other lanes.

I had stopped because of all the traffic.  I usually go out into the left hand turning lane in the center of the road to get back into the neighborhoods and it’s usually safe in that spot but this morning after all the cars passed by I started to ride again and as I was picking up speed I noticed out of my peripheral vision a black SUV that swerved to stop before it hit me.  That was my fault because I shouldn’t just look in the mirror, especially when I stop like that.  I need to turn my head around so I can see to make sure there aren’t any cars still coming.  I was still looking in the mirror so that’s why it was puzzling that I didn’t see it.

As I was getting in the turning lane I looked over at him and waved saying “SORRY!” and he waved back at me as if to say “it’s ok”.  If I had gotten hit, it would’ve been my fault because I wasn’t paying attention to my blind spots.

So that is another tip to think about when you are riding in curved roads with cars.  Check your blind spots before going into the turning lane otherwise you might get killed.

The funny thing is, I was thinking about that article when that happened so my mind was elsewhere.  I was thinking about bicycle road safety when I was unsafe.  Oh sweet irony.

I learned a huge lesson today about safety.  I also learned that if I can’t leave the house as early as 5am then perhaps I need to just stay home because it’s much easier to get into that turning lane early in the morning when there are no cars on the road.  I would much rather be safe with no cars than get hit by a car because of a stupid blind spot.

My New Leg Injury

On By Michel McDonaldIn Doctor, Exercise, Health, HumorLeave a comment

I’m sitting here in my room reading “Official Book Club Selection, a Memoir According to Kathy Griffin” on my Nook and I hear the ice cream truck. Darrin hears it too and he tells me to go stop him. I opened the door and saw he’s already across the street, he says run to stop him.

I’m in my bare feet and I’m running and waving like a maniac. They aren’t looking in the rear view mirror either. I think they get off on that.

I pass about 6 houses and figure they aren’t going to look in the mirror and they are driving the same speed that I am running which means, I have to pick up speed to catch up.

That’s when it goes horribly wrong. I pick up speed and just then “POP” my left calf makes this popping sound and I can feel the pop too. Crack one of your knuckles, that’s the popping sound that I heard.

I immediately had to stop because my calf tightened up, sort of like a Charley horse. Not only could I not continue running but I can’t even walk, heck, I couldn’t even stand up straight. My left leg hurts like hell when I have it straight like my right leg. The only way my leg is comfortable is if it’s lifted up in the back, like I’m on crutches. The tendon is tightened so that it hurts when I straighten my leg out.

I look towards our house to see if Darrin has come out of the house to come to me as if I had stopped the truck and he sees me bent over and I used a sort of sign language, as if I’m mimeing like I’m driving a car but rocking the wheel too far to the left and right. That was my way of saying, get in the car and come get me.

He’s not coming and I’m standing there with my leg bent back, I can’t go anywhere but I start hobbling towards the house. I saw the white car coming around the corner and he stops at where I’m at and opens the door and I painfully got in.

He drove to where the Ice Cream truck is because I’ll be damned if I hurt myself in vain. He gets our “Mama Flip” ice creams which is soft serve in a cup with chocolate syrup and sprinkles.

We come home and I’m not only about ready to throw up but I’m also about ready to pass out. He goes in the house to get the crutches that we have had since his mother broke her leg in 2000 and I go in the house with the intentions of laying down with some ice on it with hopes it will get better. It’s not getting better.

I went to WebMD.com and looked it up and it tells me to immediately go seek medical help so we went to the E.R. where I sat for about 3 1/2 hours waiting for them to call me. After 1/2 hour I told Darrin to go home, I’d call him. No sense in both of us being bored and losing internet time lol.

The doctor couldn’t do an emergency MRI or even x-rays but he bends my leg back and forth and moves my foot and he gives me his diagnosis which I couldn’t remember (remember that I have a learning disorder?) but all I can say is he thinks I must have torn a muscle which is what I figured out right when it happened.

He tells me to rest and put ice on it for 15-20 minutes several times per day for the first 3-4 days then after that replace the ice with heat. He also gave me a prescription for Motrin and a muscle relaxer. I can’t say the name of it because I can’t read his writing lol. I have some ibuprofen from when I had the neck and shoulder pain so I can take that until we can get to the pharmacy tomorrow (followed by Subway or Panda, you know, while we’re there lol).

I have to report to my doctor in the next 1-2 weeks to let him know what happened and maybe perhaps get an x-ray or MRI done if it’s still hurting by then. Oh and I get to be on crutches for a while too which in a way is a good thing because now I don’t have to take the dog out, I can’t if I’m on crutches (wicked evil grin).

Unfortunately, I can’t count on Darrin to do the dishes for me and when I make dinner he’ll have to bring it to me. If I leave dinner up to him we’ll be eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for a while. Or soup, he loves making soup lol.

I was afraid I would miss my shows but when I got home it was some hometown sports show plus the Closer is on tonight instead of my Sunday night Fox cartoons. Oh well, I’m glad I didn’t miss them but it would’ve been nice to know they weren’t going to be on so I wouldn’t have been stressing about miss them during my 3 1/2 hour wait time lol.

Anyway, so I’m off to go rest and ice my leg.

Bad Luck

On By Michel McDonaldIn CyclingLeave a comment

I have the worst luck of anybody in this whole universe.  I don’t know what I ever did, maybe my karma sucks really bad.  I went to ride my bike for a minute or 2 so I could see if the bent tire would be ok and as soon as I opened the back gate then set my bike up with the kickstand so I could close the gate, the kickstand went back in and the bike fell and guess what?  My brand new rear view mirror broke right off.  So now I need a new one.  I’ve had bad luck with crazy glue and plastic.  If I glued it with crazy glue then every time I adjust it, it will fall off.  ARGH!

“Stuff”

On By Michel McDonaldIn Products I LikeLeave a comment

We went to Snider’s Cyclry today to get the parts for my bike.  I got a new stem that has an extension so that my handlebars will be high enough so I don’t have to raise them as much to get height.  I also had to buy new hand grips because in order to take the old stem off and put the new stem on I have to take everything off the right side of the bar to slide it through.  I don’t really have to take the grip off the other side but then it will be lopsided so I really kinda do have to.  All that was $25

Then we went and got my glasses frame which was $35.

And lastly we went to Target to buy a new computer because the magnet fell off the spokes when I had my accident and when I was putting the bike in the car today to go to Snider’s the wire snapped so I needed a new one.  But instead of buying another 20 function computer for $15 I bought the 12 function because I don’t need that computer, just the parts.  The 12 function computer was only $10 and I would’ve spent that on the magnet plus $2 on eBay which would’ve been a total waste of money.  While I was in the bike department I bought a new rear view mirror that goes on the rubber grip on the outside of the bike, not on the inside so I will now be able to see and I bought gloves with the tips missing.