In the blink of an eye...

It was over in a matter of a few seconds. The shock however lingered for weeks. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the great start to my 2012 season was over. My form that was approaching and likely to eclipse my best season ever (2008) was gone, over. The never ending legs that I could simply ask for more no longer mattered. Suddenly the things that seemed so critical were no longer important.

On Friday, 30 March, I set out for a training ride much like any other day. Except on that beautiful day, I took off work early to get a long hard ride in on the other side of the Hudson River. All I wanted to do was suffer through some hill repeats and enjoy the beauty that is Henry Hudson Drive and the Palisades Park. Unfortunately I never made it there. I came to an intersection, the light was green and the intersection was clear so I proceeded straight through the intersection...except I never made it to the other side.  Instead, a full size work van traveling the opposite direction made a left turn and sped across the intersection hitting me on my left side, what cyclists know as a "left cross."  Moments before the impact, I saw the van speeding toward me however there was no escaping the inattentive driver this time, he was simply going too fast to give me any option other than a direct hit.  And a direct hit it was, throwing me well clear of the accident up the side street.  Weeks later, it is a memory I have yet to shake.  To add insult to injury, I was also a victim of the "I never saw you" excuse...except that I was right there in plain sight in broad daylight for all to see in a bright white jersey.  "I never saw you" is an admission of negligence, not that that amounts to anything in this country.  Miraculously, I suffered no life threatening injuries.  I have suffered injuries however this is not the place nor the time to go into it, I'll let the doctors and lawyers deal with that.  I'm lucky, it could have been so much worse.

Since the accident, every day has presented its own set of challenges.  Initially it was the constant physical pain, then the mental toll had to be dealt with once everything settled in.  Now I am left with the lingering after effects.  Unhealed injuries, doctors, physical therapy, lawyers, missed work, and on and on.  The disappointment has been overwhelming at times on so many different levels.  The lack of rights a victim has as a result of "the system" is staggering, sickening.  And in the end it almost equates to more punishment for the victim.  Maybe one day I'll go into the full story because it is an eye-opener, but for now I'm simply trying to move on.  I'm thankful every moment of every day that I'm still here and in one piece.  And the craziest thing of all is why I am even in this situation in the first place...because one careless person was in a big ass hurry to get to where, the next red light a few hundred feet up the road?  Yep, that's what it amounts to.
Be safe out there.