bike crash

Rode in to work today -- nothing remarkable, other than that I was 5 minutes late for my bus across the bridge -- which just meant that I was 25 minutes early for the next one. (ha!)

On the way home, however, because I was at work so late, I decided that I would just catch the bus in front of T-Mobile rather than ride over to Bellevue. I also decided that I would just wear my street clothes home. On my way down the hill a car turned in front of me into a driveway. I braked hard, locked them up immediately, and went over the handlebars.

Wow.

There was this moment when I realized that, yes, I was going to go over. Don't remember much after that; I quickly got up and picked up my bike and tried to get out of the way (since the car was now blocking traffic). I limped off down the sidewalk, trying not to cry, muttering curses. The driver mouthed "Sorry!" and I just kept walking, not knowing what else to do. It wasn't until I was at the crosswalk that I realized that my chain was off. Decided I could wait to fix it until I was across the lake -- more room there; more privacy.

Got the bus, rode to the end of the tunnel, and then flipped the bike over to reset the chain. Except that it was trapped, somehow, and I couldn't get it back on the cog. Much fiddling, a bit of metal bending, and I got it back on the crank -- but it wouldn't turn very well. Also discovered that the rear wheel is bent -- not sure if the spokes are okay, but the wheel is definitely out of true.

The bike couldn't be ridden, so I pushed it a few blocks to where I could pick up the 28. Then the 28 home to Ballard. Now here with my knee iced and elevated, my elbow cleaned and bandaged, and my head pounding a little. I'll be taking Silver over to Eric's for a visit to the vet. A tiny bit worried about my knee, as it's very swollen and sore.