Some days you just never
know what will happen. And later, perhaps you wonder if you had done things
differently—left your house a little later (or earlier), taken other means of
transportation, encountered different people—you might have avoided an
accident. (Ever seen Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow? Great movie.)
Yesterday was one of those
days. Yesterday, a motorcycle hit another motorcycle and the latter hit me
while I was biking. Luckily, I was wearing my helmet—as PCVs should. And
luckily, only my left side received injuries, i.e. a large bruise on my thigh,
a mini bruise on my hip, scratches and a couple deep gashes on my arm and foot.
Why was I biking? I needed
to buy mangoes, avocadoes and tomatoes from the market. I also wanted to buy
carrots but none of the carrot mamas were out selling—GIRL CAN’T GET A BREAK!
Or is carrot season ending? L
I first thought I lucked
out because I was just leaving the market when tout à coup a moto in front of me decided to turn around without
looking behind him and I almost T-boned him—not that I really would have done
any damage. What the heck, man?! Shortly there after, while biking on the main
road the same moto passed me and the idiot said, “Pardonnez-moi.” Yes, thanks for almost killing me, you jerk.
But, apology accepted.
About 200 yards later, the
fun really began. I don’t really understand how it happened. Perhaps moto man
#1 was drunk, or maybe he just doesn’t know how to drive—this is the case more
often than not. But the handle of moto man #2 hit my bike handle just enough
and caused me to tip over and slide on my left side a few feet. Moto man #2 fell just the same but the
damage to his moto was far worse than my bike. Although he had fewer scratches,
so I could give two shits about his moto. Ha!
People were nice and
helped me up, asked if I was okay, and examined my bike for any irreparable
damages. At first, I was fine; I was more pissed off than anything else. So I
got on my bike and continued home to take care of my wounds. Didn’t want any
infections!!!! On my return trip, things changed…
I almost got home when I
started felling a little light-headed, begun to pedal slowly, and the
countryside had a grey and white overtone. It was then I decided it was time to
pull over. I sat on the side of the road for a bit, breathed slowly, calmed my
nerves, and then I called my neighbor to come help me get home.
Long story short, I’m
fine. I immediately hopped in the shower, rinsed off my wounds, applied triple
antibiotic cream where it was needed, slapped on (not really) a few Band-Aids,
and made some juice to ease the shock (sugar helps).
What did I learn?
- · There’s a reason helmets were invented.
- · Men, too, do not know how to drive, so don’t generalize and say only women are horrible drivers.
- · I’m lucky there weren’t any serious injuries.
- · Shit happens and it’s not really Togo’s fault. Ha ha.
Want to see the battle scars?? Continue below.
Ah, looks rough. As someone who has been knocked off a bike twice, both times by male drivers, and neither time while wearing a helmet, I completely endorse all of the sentiments you express.
ReplyDeleteOn the sitting down and taking deep breaths part, you reminded me of the time I was hit by car (going uphill, thankfully) in college, and my immediate reaction was anger and annoyance, more than shock or fear. I brushed myself off and went to class, halfway through which I just started feeling faint and had to go throw up in the bathroom! But afterwards, you do feel lucky. It really could have been worse.
This is all to say, I hope this is your dose of bad luck for all of Togo on the roads, and that you return to us in one piece Sam!