I apologize for the blanket note to the list, but it's easier this way, and I'm confident my CR friends will understand. I owe responses to several, and shipment of parts to at least a couple or you. These will come soon, as I hope get back to something resembling normal within the next couple of weeks or so.
Last Thursday evening, my son was hit by a car while riding his bike home from work. My son is grown, lives on his own, and hopefully will again soon. He got out of the hospital late Sunday, and will be staying with me for a while until he's able to manage on his own at his house. He has a fractured vertebrae and a fractured ankle, as well as lots of scrapes, cuts and bruises. As bad as it sounds, it's actually quite amazing that he faired as well as he did, all things considered. It could have been much, much worse. His evasive maneuvers, what little he had time for, probably saved his life. In stead of being in front of the Mercedes that turned into him, he shaved off just enough speed, and steered right just enough, to strike the leading edge of the right front fender, rather than having the car hit him full-on. He sort-of folded into the car, bounced off and hit the ground. The bike slid under the car and under the rear wheels. My son missed the same fate by mere inches. The first eight hours at the hospital were very traumatic. No one was sure if he would even walk again. Things are much brighter now, and he's expected to make a full recovery, although a slow one. I'm afraid the poor Bridgestone XO-1 he was riding is history. There's not a tube on it that isn't bent, cracked or broken. If we are lucky, we'll salvage the front hub and one bar-con shifter, but not much else. I don't think I've ever seen a lugged steel frame sustain so much damage from an accident. Needless to say, life has not been normal for the past few days, nor will it be for a while. There will many medical and legal issues to deal with. And, of course, I'll have to build my son another bike, so it's there when he's ready. My family is extremely grateful that my son's injuries were not worse, and that his prognosis for a full recovery is good. Just having imagined the other possibilities was frightening. Please be careful out there. Ride defensively, because there is someone out there just waiting to get you. Thanks - Wayne Bingham - Falls Church VA