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Katy Trail finally bit me

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  deroses 
#1 ·
I suppose it was always a possibility, but I finally wrecked commuting from work. And to top it off it was ON Katy Trail (in Dallas - a hike/bike trail). The guy was actually just walking facing away from me - no one else was even close to us. I reached down to grab my water bottle and take a drink and low and behind this guy decides to make a very sharp left turn without looking. I was stunned and swerved to avoid him but it was too late - if I knew any better I would have thought he had a death wish. He didn't notice me until I was about 2 feet from him - and I still had water in my mouth so I suppose I could have spit on him to alert him but otherwise it was a no go.

Post impact my bike was not rideable - it bent my handlebars, which I fixed. But it also bent my chainring and after messing with it for a bit I decided it would be better to walk toward a road crossing than just stand there bleeding. Another interesting note - as I pushed my beaten bike about a mile up to Knox/Henderson to get picked up by my wifie and the left side of me was bleeding from about 4 different spots, not one of the 200 or so people that walked, cycled, rollerbladed or jogged past me asked if I was OK (including a bike cop).

As for the other guy - I'm fairly certain the initial impact knocked him out. He certainly seemed dazed and was still sitting up when I rolled over and got up. I directed him to his phone and Ipod which were about 5 feet away from where he was last standing. We really didn't say too much - I was amazed at his stupidity and I think he was probably still loopy.

One other thing to note - as I was walking up the trail (it really was a nice day out) I noticed a lot of other cyclists that were taking a lot more risks than I did/ever do on that trail - splitting between people - not announcing at all - etc. I've had joggers pull U-turns out of nowhere before and I've always been able to avoid them under the notion that everyone in the world is attempting to destroy me (meaning to or not). I guess this time it was just my lucky day. Actually I do feel lucky - I should be able to ride again fairly soon, and I was commuting on an old Puch that I converted to a single speed so I could have run over/through a barnyard animal and the frame would still be OK (and even if it weren't it was not a large investment).

Be careful out there.
 
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#3 ·
my wife and i rode over to the katy trail (from the M streets) a few months ago, and it was not a pleasant experience. That trail is just way to crowded for everything going on on a nice day. We'll stick to WRL for our leisurely rides.

Sorry to hear you went down though. That sucks. At least you'll be up and at it soon. I'm still out from a wreck in mid-Sept. I'm losing it here not riding!!
 
#4 ·
4 mph? Ha! Every day I see at least one person riding that trail down in his aerobars. A lot of people ride it for fitness, which is beyond me. It's barely safe for commuting or for cruising. I rode it because it basically connects me directly from work to home, but now I'm thinking I should take my chances on 75...probably safer.
 
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