First accident on the road
Yesterday I had my first bike accident, so I figured I’d share what happened in case someone else can learn from it. A car coming from the opposite direction started doing a U-turn. I was riding in the left lane, and when I noticed the car I moved over to the right lane, expecting the driver to stay in his lane after the maneuver. Instead, the driver cut across both lanes to park on the sidewalk, which suddenly left me with no escape path. Luckily neither of us was going fast and I managed to brake and avoid hitting the car, but I couldn’t straighten the bike because the car was right next to me on my left side so I lost balance and ended up laying the bike down on its right side. Looking back, I probably should have anticipated that the driver might try to park instead of assuming he would continue in his lane. Thankfully no one was hurt and the damage is minor, but it is a good reminder of how quickly things can change and how unpredictable car drivers can be. Ride safe everyone.