Left house early. Monday morning and 2 weeks to go. The morning fog and drizzle stopped. I had a break at Wawa 10 miles on. Next stop Downingtown for a real breakfast. I started past Westchester on 322 Business West. As I rode I imagined 8-19 heading toward Lancaster - cornfields surround me- This is what it will feel like. Three miles to go to breakfast and then... WHOA... out of control on a open grate bridge. A sway, a skid. a veer... I’m losing it ... OH SHIT!!! Wham! down I go... Head thud... Ten second headache... grinding, grating stop on pointy metal spikes. Cars behind me stop. Then one goes around on his/her way. I get up, pick the bike up and carry it to the side. A woman pulls alongside and asks, “Are you all right?” I look at blood dripping on my clothes and the road and have no idea where it is coming from but my gut tells me to say, “No.” She pulls over, opens the hatch on her minivan, and hands me a pile of paper towels to compress the hole in my arm that is spurting blood. She calls 911 for an ambulance. I say to her - that bridge just wiped out my dream - I’m injured and my bike surely is, too. I tell her how I just quit my job on Friday so I could ride across the country and now my dream is over. I look down at my right leg and see a swelling ridge across my shin. She says its a swollen vein and will subside with ice, elevation, and compression. Glad it’s not a broken leg. We wait for the ambulance. She tells me she is a nurse and is trying to determine other injuries. My helmet is broken with a 4 inch square chunk missing. (I rode helmetless for many years but since buying this bike and realizing the downhill speed, I decided a helmet was a good idea - may have saved my life!) The nurse let me call home and have Peg pick me up or head out this way with Troy’s cell phone and I would advise them of where I am and where the bike is.
The ambulance arrives about 15 minutes later and they ask the woman to pull ahead of the curve. I think she eventually just left. The EMTs were Mike and Mabel. I asked them if I needed to go to the hospital immediately or could I wait for someone to pick me up. After checking me out, they said it could wait, but I had to sign a waiver refusing treatment. They stayed with me and bandaged and iced what they could. Got my bike off the side of the road and indicated that my injuries probably would NOT inhibit my trip - yahoo! They called and got the nurse’s name because I never got a chance to thank her.
Called Troy's cell phone and determined they were about 15 minutes away and soon after the EMT's left, confident I was OK. During the next 10 minutes I got on the bike to see how much damage had been done. Surprisingly the bike seemed OK! When Peg and Troy arrived I was riding in circles in a parking lot of a nursery. We loaded the bike into the CRV and headed not to the hospital but to the bike shop to drop it off and have it looked at. (Hey it was on the way!)
Next stop, the emergency room near home...Doctor says, this shouldn't set me back, the stitches will be out in a week and you'll be healed by the 2 week mark. An hour and a half later I had 4 stitches in my arm and started walking home...Later in the day the bike shop called to say the bike was fine... a few small repairs...nothing major... the panniers saved the derailer from any damage...Evan retaped the shredded handlebar grip tape. What a relief. The trip is still on!