Since everyone keeps asking, I decided to create this blog post to contain most of the details of what happened. I would've used Storify, except I wanted to host some photos on here and wanted to keep it outside of a 'normal' social network.
Saturday
This pretty much summarizes how the bicycle ride that led up to the incident started:
My original plan for today was to hang out at one of the many local cafés, but then I realized that would've been a pointless endeavor.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 24, 2012
Instead, I'm biking around Lake Washington. twitpic.com/bg49zi
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 24, 2012
Oh boy, time to start heading north! twitpic.com/bg4k9v
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 24, 2012
About 32 miles in, near SR-520, I went down:
It looks like I only managed to do around 32 miles before going down.I really should've brought food for this ride. twitter.com/takeshita_kenj…
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 26, 2012
I'm almost certain I went down somewhere along one of these orange lines. #cycling twitter.com/takeshita_kenj…
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 26, 2012
I was taken to the ER at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue.
I don't really remember the details of when I was out aside from the world seeming like a dream (like every concussion I've ever had), but I ended up with some wraps on my elbows and knee (just one knee), as well as stitches in my upper lip and just below my right eye. Oh, and a tetanus shot.
I've seen better days. twitpic.com/bg6lz7
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 25, 2012
My father picked me up and brought me to their place for supervision, since I had a concussion after all. Once there, he fixed my glasses for me, since one of the bits of the frame was twisted.
My father fixed my glasses. twitter.com/takeshita_kenj…
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 25, 2012
#stitches twitter.com/takeshita_kenj…
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 25, 2012
Sunday
It's the next morning, and I have inflammation under my eye. twitter.com/takeshita_kenj…
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 25, 2012
I gave some thought to my current situation.
I'm thankful for: no broken bones; health insurance; family who can watch over me after I maim myself.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 25, 2012
I'm also thankful for friends who care enough to come running when bad things happen.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 25, 2012
I think a large part of the cause of the incident was allowing my blood sugar to drop enough to affect my thinking ability.Living is hard.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 25, 2012
Considering this is me, I was obviously concerned about the status of my bicycle. My father and I, at my persisted demanding, went to the Kirkland Fire Department headquarters, which is closed on the weekends. I then looked into all of the fire stations, until I merely guessed that Fire Station #22 was the one we wanted based on the memories I was still piecing together. That was indeed the right fire station, however my bike had been taken to the hospital. We ended up going back there.
Thankfully, it was pretty much undamaged aside from a few minor scratches.
Thank goodness I know how to take it apart, since it's too big to fit in my father's car.
And after that and some nausea, I was home.
Back home.My father's driving styles leaves me nauseated, but I still really appreciate what he's done.
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 25, 2012
Since the worst was all over, I just went about my normal Sunday: farmers' market shopping, bread baking, and so on. I also set up plans to take Monday off, since I definitely couldn't handle the mental stress of work yet. I also went over everything that had transpired and made the above maps.
Oh yeah, I also got a new helmet since the old one could be potentially bad. This one is a tad larger and doesn't cut off blood flow like the old one did.
I like how my new helmet isn't too small. twitter.com/takeshita_kenj…
— 竹下憲二 (@takeshita_kenji) November 25, 2012
I leave you with the following lesson I've learned multiple times.
Some other lessons:
- Don't get hopped up on caffeine before riding.
- Eat enough for the ride. I've done 56 miles at once before, but always with food along the way. I didn't eat anything on this ride.
- Drink enough for the ride. I've gotten better at that, but the caffeine likely dehydrated me on this ride.
- Get a larger helmet than the 'normal' sizes because my head is larger than 'normal.'
I already learned the lesson of not 'forcing' myself up hills, and to not be 'too proud' to downshift.
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