This evening I was about to do my laundry, but I noticed I was short on quarters. I hopped on my bike and headed over to the local Safeway, literally a 2 minute bike ride. Since it’s such a short ride, on the sidewalk most of the way, and I had gel in my hair, I decided not to wear a helmet. On the way, though, I came across a scene that involved a man lying prostrate on the street, a bicycle nearby, a car stopped in the middle of the road with no drivers inside, and another car stopped across the street with no drivers. The people were huddled around what I presume was the bicyclist, and I had arrived at the scene early enough to have beaten the EMTs. I didn’t see any blood, and I didn’t see any damage, but that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a lot of both. Since there were already people there, and nobody was making an attempt to get my attention, I figured my presence would hurt more than any help I could offer, so I continued on. Shortly after, the paramedics drove by. I got my quarters and returned. By then the man had a neck brace on and was being transferred to a stretcher.
I know most car accidents happen within 2 miles of one’s home, and I know that bicycling is pretty dangerous with all kinds of big cars and inattentive drivers, and I’m usually pretty good about wearing a helmet, but I think I’ll be more disciplined now.