Door, Knee, Park

Sometimes even when you're operating legally and non-aggressively, incidents are unavoidable.

I was riding home in the bike lane on Snyder Avenue on Wednesday afternoon when I was struck by a fast-opening car door.  Bike lanes, though designated spaces for bikes, are not always 100% bike-friendly.  The bike lanes on Snyder are flanked on one side by parked cars, similar to this setup on 34th Street:

As you can see, car doors open directly into the bike lane, and if you encounter a situation like I did the other day, there's little you can do to avoid them.  I was cruising at a modest 7-10 MPH, not flying by any means, but still too fast to swerve to avoid a car door opening just as I passed his rear quarter panel.

The door struck my bike on the right handlebar, somehow miraculously missing my hand, thus avoiding any broken fingers or knuckles.  Still, the impact sent me flying to the pavement, landing on my left hip.  What hurt more was the bike landing on my left knee, which scraped me up pretty good and left some minor swelling.

I was coherent enough to pull myself onto the sidewalk and out of the traffic lane I had landed in, while the motorist graciously pulled my bike off as well.  I said thanks for the help, but he followed by saying "You realize that you hit yourself, right?" to which I responded with a slur of four-letter words.  He apologized again, because really, this was in no way my fault.

I sat there for a minute or two getting my bearings as he talked to me to make sure I was alright.  We exchanged names as he helped me to my feet, and I tested my knee.  I knew right away I would be fine, and I walked home to bandage it up with some cabbage:

It seems strange, I know, but it's a highly effective natural remedy to relieve swelling.  I took the afternoon off and did my deliveries in a car on Thursday and Friday.  I'm at about 80% as of this writing, and I'm thankful it wasn't worse.  Still, as bike-friendly as this city is, we have a lot of work to do to ensure that bike lanes are more bike-friendly, and I'm going to do everything I can to keep spreading awareness.  Something as simple as "The Dutch Reach" could prevent incidents like these in the future.

In any case, enjoy your weekend, and ride safely.