While I was writing my post yesterday, Donna went out for a bicycle ride. She wanted to get some miles in early before it got too hot out. I dumped the gray water tank and was thinking about getting the ladder out of the trailer to reseal the trim on the bedroom slide-out. My cell phone started ringing, I saw that it was Donna on the caller ID. I thought she must be having bike trouble – a flat tire or something.

I was surprised to hear a male voice asking if I was Mike Kuper. The caller identified himself as a paramedic with the City of Mesa Fire Department. My first thought was, “Oh no, Donna’s been hit by a car.” I flashed back to 2005 when I was hit by a car while bicycling here in Mesa, Arizona. I was heading west on Guadalupe Road approaching the intersection for the Loop 202 on-ramp. This is a controlled intersection with stop lights. Cars coming from the west only enter the on-ramp on a green arrow. My light was green. I was cruising in the bike lane at 22 mph (I had just looked a my speed on my bike computer). Suddenly a car was in the intersection. The young male driver was coming from the west and had blown through the red light and turned left for the on-ramp right in front of me. I slammed on my brakes and went into a skid. There was no way I could avoid contact. I flew over the hood of the car and my left shoulder crushed into the roof pillar next to the windshield. I felt and heard my collar bone break. I fell to the ground. The driver got out of his car, still talking on his cell phone. He was shouting, “Oh my God, I just hit this dude on a bike.” The City of Mesa Fire Department responded.

I was jolted back into the present when the paramedic told me Donna was okay. She had crashed on Power Road and had her bell rung. A good Samaritan witnessed the crash and stopped to help her. He loaded her bike in his SUV and drove Donna to the fire station. The paramedic said her helmet was trashed and she was dazed. Other than that, he didn’t think she had any serious injuries. He told me that she would be transported by ambulance to the ER at Banner Baywood Hospital to have her head injury evaluated.

We still had Lana Jansen’s Toyota Highlander here, so I drove over to the hospital. I had to wait for a few minutes before they took me back to Donna’s room. I saw road rash on her legs and left arm, but she was in good spirits and didn’t seem to be in too much pain. She told me that when the guy stopped to help her, she thought she might be able to ride her bike home, but she couldn’t remember where home was! When the paramedics asked her what year it was, she said, “Can we circle back to that one?” She obviously had a concussion.

Donna in good spirits at the ER

They took X-rays of her chest and left knee. Then she was wheeled away for a CT scan of her head. About an hour later, the doctor came in and said she would be fine. They gave her a prescription for pain medication, cleaned up the road rash and sent us on our way.

She didn’t remember much about the crash. She said the handlebars seem to be wrenched from her hands or her hands flew off the bars like she had hit something. We drove past the crash site on our way to pick up her bicycle at the fire station. The bike lane looked good. We didn’t see any pot holes or obstacles.

The firemen were very helpful. They showed me her helmet and said it really saved her. The left side of the helmet was scraped and the high density foam liner was crushed and cracked in multiple places. It absorbed the impact and saved her from serious injury.

The left side of her helmet hit the pavement

Cracked liner

More cracks

Another broken part of the liner

The fire captain told me that the good Samaritan had witnessed the crash. He said there weren’t any cars ahead as he was approaching Donna from behind. He said she suddenly flew from the bike and he thought she may have caught the curb with her right pedal. They helped me load the bike into the back of the Toyota. Donna had told me her bike was damaged. She said the handlebars were askew and the wheel wouldn’t turn. I didn’t see much damage on the bike. The left brake lever and hood had some scrapes. The handle bar was straight and the wheels turned fine. A bang on the head can really play havoc with your mind. Donna insisted the bike had been damaged.

As we were driving home, I told Donna what the fire captain had told me. She didn’t believe she caught the curb with her pedal. When we got back to our coach, I examined her bike closely. She obviously went down on the left side. I also found fresh scrape marks on the right pedal. She told me that right before the crash, she had looked down at her speed readout and saw 17 mph, then bang! I think she must have drifted to the right of the bike lane, caught her pedal against the curb and lost control.

She’s sore this morning and has some road rash, but it could have been much worse.

Ouch!

Road rash and bruises on her arm

Donna here: About 20-25 minutes before my crash, I witnessed what could have been a fatal wreck involving a motor home and a Jeep. I was cycling east on McDowell. A motor home came up from behind me and it was moving right along. As it approached the intersection, which is a four-way stop, I realized that it was not slowing down. The driver was going to blow right through! I was screaming, “Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” because just then, a red Jeep entered the intersection. I saw the motor home swerve at the last minute and then straighten up as it barreled through. Miraculously, the Jeep made it across. I stopped to talk to the driver, a young man, who had pulled over just beyond the intersection. I told him that he was one lucky guy. He said he saw the motor home coming and floored it. And then his engine died – probably blew a radiator hose. As I pedaled away, he said, “Have a safe ride!”