so 2 days ago i had a little accident. i was riding a scooter for the first time out on open roads and it all worked out well for 1.5 hours or so. maybe less, it felt like a long time. the more miles i did the more confident i felt and hey, it was fun!
whereas 2 years ago, when i first tried riding a scooter, 8mph seemed like the speed of light, i was now doing 40mph comfortably and without fear. we were riding back roads with little to no traffic so i got a lot of road exposure without the fear of being run over by a bus or something.
eventually, we got to a t-intersection, coming in on the long end of the t and trying to make a left turn. well, that didn’t go so well. i took the turn too wide and then there was no road left, just the guard rail. the asphalt, however, ended before the rail covered the street so the front tire went into the mud and that sealed my fate. with the wheel in the mud there was no way i could avoid a crash and at some point the scooter slipped from under me making a fall to the left, i fell to the right and boom, that was that.
my knee hurt immediately. big time. as in tears-ouch-i-broke-something. i got off by climbing over the handlebars and hobbled a few feet all the while cussing and cursing and crying. my knee hurt so much i was sure there was something broken in there but it felt like one piece when i touched it.
my special someone thankfully remained calm, moved the scooter from the road and did not reproach me, for crashing the scooter, for not making the turn, for being stupid…all the things i scolded myself for. instead he only wanted to know about my health, making sure i wasn’t seriously hurt.
there is a background story to having an accident and being reproached for damaging the car (despite the whole thing not being my fault, it was a hit and run where i was hit at 120km/h and tried my best not to be killed on a 4-lane highway). anyways, that drama came back to me immediately and i am SO THANKFUL for not hearing anything about how the scooter is scratched up here and here and oh the expenses. thank you baby!
back when i had that car crash i also made the mistake of not immediately driving again and that has left me with a permanent feeling of being uncomfortable when driving. it’s burried when i feel good, and i love driving, but when there’s someone cutting my lane or i see others making stupid moves the fear creeps up inside of me again. so with this crash now i knew i had to ride again immediately or else i would set myself up for years of left-turn-drama.
so as soon as the adrenaline kicked in and the pain subsided, i got back on the scooter and rode. i could feel my knee swell up and unfortunately it got so bad that every small bump in the road hurt tremendously. i thought i could make it but it just got worse and worse. so eventually we had to stop because i couldn’t take it anymore.
while i was parked on the side of the road, in the boonies, my baby drove home to get the car. so i sat there on the tree stump, contemplating life, laughing at my stupidity, being mad at myself for making this driving mistake (i totally know what i did wrong and this was so preventable…), wondering if i’d have to go to the ER….
i called a friend and she made me laugh, thankfully. so my spirits came back and by the time my chauffeur arrived for my ride home i really was laughing. of course my knee hurt like crazy and walking stairs, walking in general was painful and resembled hobbling. later in the evening my right arm started hurting and soon i realized that maybe my arm/shoulder was going to be more of a problem than my knee.
the swelling of the knee is slowly subsiding and the formerly grapefruit-sized knee is now an apple. the other knee is a kiwi, just for comparison. i can walk, albeit slowly, putting weight on both legs but my arm…i can’t pick up/press anything with my right arm that’s heavier than an iphone and i can’t get my hands above collarbone-level without being in big pain. it feels like really sore muscles, as in really really sore!
but despite all that i am determined to be back on the scooter (and eventually motorcycle) to improve my riding skills. i don’t want to be afraid of left turns, or any kind of turn that is. i want to be able to ride without fear. and for that i know i have to be back on 2 wheels as soon as possible.
watch out world, i am not done yet!
franzi
