I haven't posted in a while because my commutes have been normal...uneventful...until this morning. It was a beautiful ride in. I left around 5:55 a.m. and the temperature was in the low 50s. A perfect morning for a ride. I got into D.C. and rode in front of the Lincoln Memorial. It's one of my favorite parts of my morning commute. The sky was very, very dark (it was threatening to rain) so with the lights shining on the Memorial and the dark sky in the background, President Lincoln looked extremely regal. I took a left onto 23rd street when I saw something lying in the far right lane (my lane). From far away, I thought it might be a construction sign that got knocked over (since they're doing construction on Independence Avenue). But it was a cyclist. She was crumpled up on the ground and wasn't moving. My first thought was "F*ck". Two cars stopped in front of her and the drivers got out. I thought she got hit by a car but she had only fallen. I unclipped, put my bike in the grass, told her not to move and got her foot out from her bike and moved her bike onto the grass. Her bike weighed a ton. It must have weighed at least 30 pounds. Compared to my Madone, I felt like I was lifting a truck. :D One of the drivers called 911 and handed the phone to me because she didn't know our location. So I talked to the 911 dispatcher who kept telling me to keep the cyclist on the ground. She was totally embarrassed and didn't want any attention (I know that feeling) but she also thought that she hit her head. The driver left but the other driver stayed. He said that he heard her fall and looked back and thought she got hit. He couldn't understand why all of the cars were just going around her and continuing on their way. But hey - it's D.C. and everyone is in a hurry to get to work. :mad: At least 2 motorists did yell out their window and ask if they could call 911. The ambulance came but she didn't want to go to the hospital. They put her in the ambulance to check her vitals. Then the first Park Police officer came. And then 3 more Park Police officers. The one cop looked at the 4th car and said, "Wow...this is overkill." And I said, "Well, it's nice to see such a response." And the other cop said to us, "If something happens to you in Federal territory, call us and we'll show up as soon as possible." I'll say. When she thanked the first cop for coming (he looked like he was 20 years old), he said, "I got to drive up Independence Avenue where it's closed. That was fun. Thank you for letting me have some fun." Such a cutie pie. As she and I got on our bikes, they said, "Have a good ride and don't get hit by a car!" Bunch of smart arses. :D She and I rode together all the way to my building and then she continued on to her building. She gave me her e-mail address so I'll e-mail her later to check in and see if she's okay. She said, "I'm like the bike czarina at work and look at me...I fell." I said, " That's okay..."Crash" is my middle name." :D I'm really, really glad that she was okay. I had a sick feeling in my stomach when I saw her bike. I imagined the worst. Especially when I assumed that she got hit by a car. She's not really sure what happened but after we talked for a few minutes, we decided that she was in the process of blowing her nose...so probably had only one hand on the bike...and she hit a manhole cover that dipped down. I'm hoping that I have a boring commute home.
