So Sunday, September 10th started out like most years at the Evanston Bike Club’s North Shore Century ride.

The weather was perfect, a bit chilly, but nothing arm & knee warmers couldn’t handle. I had a great group of people to ride with. It was shaping up to be a fantastic day for riding.

Everything was fine until about mile 41.

A group of cyclists there were ahead of me had suddenly stopped for no apparent reason. I tried to stop, but couldn’t.

The last thing I remember was yelling out Woah!

About 15 minutes later, I was standing next to my bike.

I don’t remember anything between those two points.

Police were called, ambulance was called, statements were taken, etc. The person who I collided with had taken off, which was disappointing.

The paramedics checked me out and said it was my choice as to go to the ER or not … however, in the case of a crash (especially considering the helmet damage), they recommended I go to the ER. I deferred to their expertise.

I went to the Lake Forest Hospital ER and was checked out … they did a CT scan and took X-rays. Luckily, everything was where it was supposed to be and they saw no problems.

After getting discharged, and being picked up by Ginny, we went back to the starting point to pick up my bike.

It was a mess … handle bar scraped up, bar wrapping torn up, derailleur hanger bent, etc. The next day I took the bike over to Crank Revolution. Nothing damaged beyond repair. I’m sure I’ll have my trusty steed back in a few days.

As for me … I’m still feeling some aches & pains from the crash, but they are fading.

I’m not going to let this crash dissuade me from riding … I’ll just be more careful when approaching another group of riders.

Based on the condition of my helmet, I doubt I would have walked away from the crash if I hadn’t been wearing it.

Moral of the story: Please wear a helmet when riding a bike (pedal or motor). They work.