2016-12-08 - Rider Down, Stamford Street SE1 9NH 20:14, Velocio

Some good news.

I'm healing. Pretty damn fast.

1. Nearly all bruises have visibly gone except the ones under the road rash on my lower right leg.
   
2. Most of the light road rash and grazes (on the hips, thigh and arm) have already scabbed up and are healing.
   
3. The larger road rash is doing it's best to try and scab, but some bits are weeping occasionally. It's getting there.
   
4. The horrible knee remains bloody and full of puss, but I can walk without too much pain, and no longer want to vomit when I change the dressing. It looks less angry than it did and now it's a lot cleaner it looks smaller than it did (the worst area can just about be covered by a 6cm x 10cm dressing).
   
5. Most aches are gone.
   
   

Yesterday I was exhausted and slept most of the day. Today I'm feeling back to normal and at work.

A forum member has identified a possible car that matches my description, and I've gone and had a look at it.

Things I definitely know about the car:

• Small hatchback, 5-7 years old, has the older aerodynamics and smaller size of that time (more horizontal bonnet, more of an angle between bonnet and window)
  
• Dark coloured, either black or dark blue
  
• The wing mirror is more squarish than rounded, I recall the wing mirror vividly because of the way the car moved in fractions of a second before I got hit by the car
  
• I was hit by the rear passenger side of the car, and the levers were bent in, I believe there should be scratches or damage at that point from the bike.
  
  

Thing someone else said:

• A black hatchback was spotted at the same time outside the White Hart on Cornwall Road (which is where the hatchback that hit me turned).
  
  

Thing someone else said:

• A resident of the area who heard about this incident thought my earlier description of the car matched one in the area... and lo and behold, walking to the shops Saturday morning he spots the car, and it has a fresh dent exactly where I described the impact point should be.
  
  

This morning I went to the car:

• I measured the height of the dent on the rear passenger side panel... and yes, it's the exact height for the handlebar impact point on the Serotta.
  
• The wing mirror is definitely the same make and model of the one that I recall
  
• The car itself is a 3-door Vauxhall Astra with a 2009 registration, in black. Which hits the description I have of it and even the age estimation.
  
  

I have a TODO list:

1. Visit Southwark Police Station tomorrow to ensure an entry is made in the CRB (Collision Record Book) and to re-file the report giving the information on the car.
   
2. Get the Serotta into Cyclefit for a full inspection and service (depending on the inspection).
   
   

I've also been connected with Sgt Simon Castle of the Met who is involved in the Cycle Safety Team and may be able to help advise how to navigate the system, what needs to be done, etc.

Additionally, insurance. I've yet to determine whether it's worth doing anything because I don't yet know what the eventual cost will be or what can be imagined.

I have now visually inspected the bike and the carbon handlebars I'm going to replace out of caution at the very least, the levers are scratched up but should be fine (taking them apart will reveal if there's damage or if they are fine, they visually look fine).

The frame and fork has a few scratches to the paint and I cannot tell if there is structural damage just by looking at the paint. The wheels both appear OK but they're also carbon and require a check. First glance, could be OK... only way to know is to get Cyclefit to strip it down and take a proper look at it.

The best case for the bike: Carbon handlebars and bar tape = £500
The worst case for the bike: Frame and forks, front wheel, bars, levers = new bike, the Serotta was just shy of £10k.

I won't know that stuff until Cyclefit can get their mits on it though, and pre-Christmas they are inevitably busy.