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@Sam
Riding east along Chiswick High Road last night at approx 5:40pm, I was just overtaking another cyclist before I had to slow down to let a ped cross at the crossing right opposite the church on the common. Supposedly the next thing that happened was the car behind me (a silver Mercedes people carrier, I know this as I had filtered in front of him a few yards further back up the road at the x-roads with the HSBC and The Packhorse pub) gave me a whack from behind.
I have a vague memory of flying through the air, then the next thing I can remember is being helped into the Read Recruitment agency right opposite where I hit the deck. My only witness (Chiswick High Road at 17:40 on a Friday, where did the other cyclist or the person crossing the road go??!!??) says that the driver stopped, helped me to the side of the road, then drove off. The witness got his reg number, but after speaking to the police later in Charing Cross hospital, it seems as though he wrote it down wrong. But hopefully they can trace the car by doing a partial search of the number.
Had xrays on my face and right knee, but nothing's broken. Lots of swelling around my right eye socket and jaw, my right knee has been carved open, my left hand has has the skin taken off the knuckles, and my right forearm and shoulder have a bit of road rash. Discharged from hospital just before 10pm, I finally got home to Maidstone at a quarter past midnight.
The bike?? Well, it looks like I've just let it fall over, the saddle and plastic bar end plug are a bit ripped and that's it.
When I was lying on the bed in A&E I thought how lucky it was that the bike hardly got a scratch, then how lucky it was that my cycling gear didn't get torn or ripped (apart from my manky old track mitts that I was about to chuck anyway, plus the toes of my Sidi's have got a bit scuffed), then I started to actually think about myself. Anything could have happened, as far as I am concerned, I have got off very very lightly.
Anyway, if you've made it this far into the post I suppose I might as well reward you with a pic of my ugly boat.
Feels worse than it actually looks TBH.
Ride safe everone.