Lucky to be Alive...

It finally happened. I was biking tonight and got hit by a truck. I've always made sure I ride safely. I have a blinking light at the front and a blinding red blinking light at the back. Normally it works really well and vehicles actually give me more room than they normally would.

Tonight I was about 25 km into my ride and was making a right turn off Campbellville road to go up number six side road hill and "wham", I didn't know what hit me. I was stunned. I looked up and a big truck, the size of a Toyota Tacoma whizzed right beside me and the passenger side mirror hit me. It was on a 80 kph road and it must have been about 6" from me, close enough for the mirror to hit me. I was really lucky that the mirror was on a hinge and when it hit me it collapsed and didn't knock me over. I looked up at the truck and it knew it hit me, it put on it's brake lights and then kept driving. I stopped my bike and faked that I was really hurt and was lying on the ground hoping the truck would stop and turnaround to see if I was okay. It didn't. I could tell it was driving slower and it seemed like the driver was debating if they should turnaround and in the end they just kept going.

I was so stunned I couldn't remember the license plate. I should have thought fast and pulled out my camera and taken a photo of the truck but I didn't react fast enough. All I know was that it was an Ontario plate, the truck was a newer model big pick up, it was a unique purple color and I think it had a GXV in the license plate. I wasn't injured other than some redness on my back. I was very lucky because I got up out of the aero position to make a right turn when I got hit and had I not done that, the mirror probably would have hit me in the head. I was wearing my aero helmet and had it hit me in the head it may have gotten under the back of the helmet and really twisted my neck or worse.

I was just really disappointed that the driver didn't stop to see if I was okay, especially when they saw I stopped the bike and was on the ground. I finished the ride and on the way home was looking in peoples driveways to see if I could find the truck. When I got home I told Alice about it and decided to call the cops to report it. They sent an officer to the house but they told me the chances of them finding the guy is unlikely. I was kinda hoping they could put some of the numbers in the computer and could narrow it down like they do on TV.

I still can't believe that I was hit by the mirror of a truck. I wasn't hurt but it just freaked me out and it could have been much worse. I guess I'm very lucky. I'm also so pissed that the truck didn't stop to see if I was okay. Who knows, maybe they were drinking and driving, I don't know. It's interesting that I got hit on Campbellville road. I hate that road, they only other time I almost got hit was on that road. People just drive so fast down that road. 

Just before I got home, the song from Sarah McLachlan - "I will remember you" started playing on my iPhone and it kinda hit home that I could have been killed and that could have been the theme song at my funeral.

Mod Bike - 1:45:15 / 50.98 / 29.0 kph