Shortly after my mom died in May of 2023, I had a serious bicycle accident. Since that day, I haven’t ridden a bike—until today. That bargain basement Huffy above is my new bike, and I took it on a very short shakedown cruise this afternoon.
I had a subscription to B Cycle back in 2023. This non-profit company set up kiosks in Houston where you could check out a bike for a modest fee. (In my neighborhood, the average B Cyclist seemed to be a drug dealer—it had a somewhat sketchy clientele.) I was riding home when a car hit me. The car was at an intersection and had just started from a stop, so it wasn’t moving fast when it hit. I rolled over the hood and fell to the ground. I felt banged up, but I could walk. (The bike was unscratched.) Fortunately I was less than a block from the B Cycle docking station, and a couple of blocks from home. I returned my bike and limped back to my apartment.
I was scraped up a little, and my left arm was quite sore, but what really hurt was my lower back. It felt like I had torn a muscle in my sacroiliac region—which has happened to me before. I know from experience that when I throw out my back, in takes a really long time to heal. Consequently, I just lived with the pain, taking a lot of Doans and applying a heating pad to it.
After a few months of me just hoping it would get better, I bowed to the reality that something serious was wrong with my back. I finally went to see a doctor and she x-rayed me. I had fractured two vertebrae and rupture two discs. I had permanently injured my back.
It has taken a while for my to get my courage to get on a bicycle again. Once I got back in shape, I was eager to ride. (When I say “I got back in shape”—my back still aches constantly, and I take gabapentin every day for it.) I would have gladly hopped on a B Cycle, but they shut down their Houston bike share network in 2024. So I did a little online research about getting a new bike, and bought an inexpensive new Huffy. Wheee!
Furthermore, I am of the opinion that Trump must go.
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Good for you, Rob.
Welcome back!
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