CRASH!!!

I went to Staten Island...AND I WAS HIT BY A TRUCK!!!

That's what I get for opening my big mouth and saying I was going to visit ALL 5 boroughs. Just kidding...kind of.

Anyway, I had a whole day planned biking to the underside of the Bridge and then down the length of the south beach boardwalk all the way out to Miller Field. But some dumbass truck driver stopped me cold.

I was just off the ferry riding along Bay St. right by Cromwell recreation center, when I found myself pinned between a parked car and one of those ambiguous 16-foot white box delivery trucks. He had sped past me and was trying to park in a spot right in front of the car to my right. He cut in front of me and cut the turn within inches of the car. Needless to say, neither me nor my bike are just inches wide.

I screamed "STOOOOOOOOOOPPPP!!!!" and he didn't. As the truck pressed me against the car, i was able to jump off my bike and partly onto the hood of the parked car. The truck was brushing against the left side of my body when BAM!!!!!! Something cut right into the back of my arm. It was one of those giant padlocks that was on the side delivery door of the truck. The lock cut marks into my arm as it slid past. OUCH!!!

In the mean time, the truck kept moving and ran over the back wheel of my bike. The driver didn't stop until he finished parking in his precious spot!!!

The driver got out and didn't come over to see how I was until after he checked the side of the truck. There was not much of a conversation between me yelling and him trying to explain how it was my fault in broken English.

The thing that pissed me off the most, was that the crowd of people that was gathered around watching the spectacle did absolutely nothing to help. Nobody asked me if I was OK, nobody offered me something to wipe the blood off my arm, or get me something to clean up the bruise. Not a very warming welcome to Staten Island...is it?

Well....i'm ok for the most part. My arm is in quite a lot of pain, but there is no serious damage. Look at the picture on top and add a lot more black-and-blue.

I guess it could have been much worse. I could have not been able to jump on the hood, or my head could have been hit by that lock instead of my arm, or I could have gone under the wheel instead of my bike.

My poor bike...i've now had to get it fixed twice in one week.