Today one of my customers came in with his Bottecchia.... in two pieces.
He was in one piece, but with a lot of staples in his skin and he has to wait for the staples to come out before they will do an MRI.
Apparently some foolish person made a left hand turn in front of him at Stone Mountain Park, our little Dollywood managed refuge away from Atlanta craziness. We all ride there, its got bike lanes and some nice climbs.
2 witnesses said they saw her hit the brakes before she decided to turn in front of him. She said she didn't see him at all, which was kinda hard in his radioactive, asparagus pee green Pearl Izumi jersey and bright red helmet.
He went through the windshield and bent the roof of her car up, pretty much totaling it. We get going to about 28 mph on this downhill and I suspect he was doing about that. Sadly he doesn't remember very much, having come to in the ambulance.
Anyway, my rant is against the drivers who don't look, the lack of driver's skill and knowledge here in GA and the abuse my customer just took because someone couldn't wait just a second to make sure oncoming traffic was clear. Even if it was a bicycle.
My fear is for my son, my boyfriend, my friends, my customers and myself. We ride there a lot.
I wouldn't be so angry, but this is the third person I've known personally who has gotten hit by a clueless driver since October - on a vintage bike. The first one got hit when the driver made a left turn in front of him. The second, when someone ran a stop sign. Later that gentleman claimed "that stop sign was on the wrong side, so of course I didn't see it." In that case, the judge took the man's license away because it was clear he was not competent to drive. Thing is, I don't know every cyclist in Atlanta, so knowing these 3 people personally??? How many DON'T I know that are getting hit?
Sigh....
Ann Phillips, Decatur GA