2009-08-12 - Rider Down, North end Blackfriars Bridge

First off - my thoughts have been with the cyclist and all involved since the accident and like others sincerley wish the best outcome and a speedy recovery.

I walked past shortly after the incident briefly stopping to assess the situation - four/five people including occupant/s of lorry seeing to cyclyst and clearly on mobile phones in contact with emergency services. There were a few, maybe less than ten onlookers together with the normal traffic congestion at that time.
Accident occured between 09:30 & 09:35 morning of Friday 12th September 2008 - weather and road conditions good and dry. TNT delivery lorry came to rest across pedestrian crossing, left filter lane to embankment. Cyclist pinned face down, lorry's front left tyre traping person between legs. Mangled bike on road several feet away from rear of lorry, apporx. 10-15 foot (5m) skid mark on road and debries upto about maybe 20 foot or so (7m).

Ow. Damn, I hope she is ok.

And from the bottom of my soppy girly heart, thanks for all the replies to my question. I sort of expected a piss taking and a few HTFUs and instead got a whole lot of reassurance.

I was back on my bike before the docs even let me out of the metal brace, and although the first ride to work was utterly terrifying, am proud to say I've only taken public transport once since.

Corny you were spot on; I revisited the spot where it happened, did a lot of breaking it down in my head and realised that accidents do happen and thinking of myself as a victim was a waste of energy. But I still get pretty shitty flashbacks when a white van roars past me or at a junction, and having lived in London for two years really wasn't expecting to be as shaken up as I was by seeing the accident Friday. It's pretty early days and I guess I'll never go back to the feeling of invulnerability you have before anything really painful happens to you. At the moment I seem to rollercoaster between obsessively analysing every ride I take and tripping out on how important it is to live for the moment.

Anyway, cycling was and is one of my favourite things, I'm stubborn and I'll be damned if a bit of fear is going to take that pleasure away. Plus I got a Steamroller out of it all and next week the gigantic handlebars are coming off!

You're all ace.