As several of you may already know, I sustained a pretty rugged injury to my right foot on Thursday afternoon. For those who are interested, here's the story...

In an effort to meet Jenn for lunch and be on time for the Heineken commercial, I rushed off campus (Lewis & Clark College) and bombed down SW Terwilliger, heading downtown. Coming upon the traffic circle near the law school, a car in front of me yielded (was stopped) and was inches from the curb on the right, forcing me to either stop or go around to that car's left side. Being of the impatient type I chose the later and aggressively swooped by the stopped car and into the traffic circle. Upon doing so I was suddenly confronted by a car already in motion in the circle. Because of my current velocity, I was coming up on that car's left side... but I thought that since the car didn't have its left-turn indicator on it would go straight (the direction I was going), and I would just slowly sheer speed and move back over to the right side of the road. WRONG! At the last second, the car went left (which was really weird because that car ended up making a complete circle, and going back where they came from... probably lost) and I got hooked. It was a fairly jarring collision that resulted in me being taken along for a few meters and then dumped off my bike, only to roll around on the asphalt and have my right foot obliterated by the back left tire of said car (it was a Mini Cooper, btw... go ahead and laugh). Fortunately that was the extent of my injuries; my bike was alright, minus a bar end cap falling off and some minor wheel trauma, and the u-lock in my back pocket took the road abrasion my ass would've.

If that didn't seem bad enough, here's where it gets a little worse... I didn't get a police report. The driver of the car got out and immediately asked if I was alright, and, falling victim to a massive adrenaline dump, I quickly responded with the classic, "Uh, I think so... yeah." The driver got all frantic/defensive and contended that she never saw me. While that may seem like a bullshit excuse, it's completely fair in this case; I'll be the first to admit that I was riding extremely fast and out of control, and while I probably could have convinced a police officer to see the driver as the one at fault, my morals are not that low. Granted, she didn't have her turn indicator on, but in all fairness, after looking at her now severely dented and gouged door, I ruled it a no fault, and she agreed. Looking back, my sentiments on fault stay the same, however I now realize that no matter who is at fault, any time someone is injured and/or property is damaged I should damn well get a police report... just in case. I'm not too hung up about the whole legal side, though. What I really care about at this point is my health.

Still in shock and under the effects of the adrenaline, I used my bike as a crutch and (somehow) managed to slowly hobble back to campus where I got a friend to drive me to OHSU. Six hours in the emergency room, two sets of x-rays, and one cat scan later, the orthopedic surgeons informed me that I have what is called a Lisfranc fracture… in addition to fracturing about 6 bones in my right foot, including my arch, I also sustained extensive ligament damage. Because of the extent of the injury I won’t be able to heal with just a cast, and am in need of reconstructive surgery with steel pins and plates. Before I left the E.R. they put me in a temporary plaster splint that should suffice for a few days until I head home to Los Angeles for summer. I have an appointment scheduled with an orthopedic down there on Tuesday and should go into surgery within a few days after that.

The doctors estimate that I should be healed by July, but will then have to do some extensive physical therapy. I guess that means no backpacking the John Muir Trail with me girlfriend, no Wolfpack Hustle, no STP, no bike mechanic job… oh wells. On the bright side I’ll have a lot of time to read, watch classic films like “Breaking Away” and “Quicksilver,” and, most importantly, surf PDX Fixed! Yayyer!

Kinda sucks to leave on this note, but hey that’s life, right? Everything happens for a reason. I’ll heal, it’ll be chiller. Even though it was short, I really really enjoyed my time spent with the peeps that I got a chance to meet and ride with, and sincerely appreciate the support I’ve already received from a couple of you all. I’ll be sure to keep the board posted with some gruesome surgery photos, and I look forward to returning to Ptown in late-July/August. Please ride safely, and don’t be in a hurry/dumb/reckless like me.

Best,
Brian

as lame as it sounds, brian get better soon!

i know i will miss you and your swift moves.

be back soon!!! im sure everyone who met you will miss you as well.

the internet will have to do for now

You drew a John Madden map?

as a messenger and never having had insurance i'm sure you could have gotten on without cast, etc....but i'm sure it helps cuz it doesnt take much to fuck up a macihine as fragile as the human bocy

humancongereel:

as a messenger and never having had insurance i'm sure you could have gotten on without cast, etc....but i'm sure it helps cuz it doesnt take much to fuck up a macihine as fragile as the human bocy

maybe if it was a normal break but needing pins and plates?

shitty about the accident but that map is pretty

Dude I'm really sorry you were hit. Heel up well, foot injuries can be a bitch.

That traffic circle can be really sketchy. I always go right imediatly outside campus and ride past the graveyard if I'm going downtown. There's really no reason to go down past the law school, it's longer and you have to climb up terwilliger after the light.

From the account and map it seems like there was nothing wrong with what the mini driver did. When driving in traffic circles the vehicle that enters first has the right of way and they do not have to signal their intention to continue driving around the circle, they only need to give a right hand turn signal when before they are leaving the circle. So the left turn signal was not on because just like a windy road, the driver does not put on their turn signal for every twist in the road.

I think that Alex is right about the cops, always call if there is an incident with a car. But it is a misconception that in most situations a cyclist "could have convinced a police officer to see the driver as the one at fault". You must be enterally within the law for cops to side with you. If a cyclist is breaking the law in anyway, no matter how minor, and gets into an accident with a driver that is even flagrantly breaking the law the cop will either side with the driver or call it a no fault accident. In this case Brian probably would have had to pay for her car's damage.

Either way the important part is that you're relatively ok and it was a mini that ran you over, not the RAZ.

what is going on with everybody getting hit?
brian, sorry about the injury, hopefully you are on a quick road to recover.
stay safe out there.

hella bummer, here's to your getting well fast

*whitefolks bumps computer monitor with his 40oz.*

I have a sick ass wheelchair you can borrow.

now you can learn some tight wheelchair and crutch moves

crossett:

Some guy at DDHS has one with them Specialized/HED tri spokes.

get well soon!

That's a bummer man. Get well soon. I just got stitches out of my eyebrow last Friday. Although I didn't get hit buy a car it sure felt like it. Trying to bunny hop speed bumps at high speed while drunk is a bad idea.

sorry to hear this.... get well soon

that's a massive bummer. i hope you heal quick

Weird on how the screws show up like that.

bschultz:

3 broken metatarsals + 1 severed ligament (between 1st & 2nd) = 4 screws

thats some fucked up shit.

You should ALWAYS call the cops when you have an accident with a car. They will help you sort things out while you are in shock; medical and legal. Even if you don't think you are hurt at the time, you might end up needing medical attention later on; it always hurts more the day after. And if any of the blame can be place on the driver you need to have a police report to file insurance claims or else its all just hearsay, and insurance claims people are typically assholes. The cops are supposed to be there to serve you so use it. I've got a couple of lawyer friends that deal with sort of thing and I think they would all agree.

super sick:

You should ALWAYS call the cops when you have an accident with a car. They will help you sort things out while you are in shock; medical and legal. Even if you don't think you are hurt at the time, you might end up needing medical attention later on; it always hurts more the day after. And if any of the blame can be place on the driver you need to have a police report to file insurance claims or else its all just hearsay, and insurance claims people are typically assholes. The cops are supposed to be there to serve you so use it. I've got a couple of lawyer friends that deal with sort of thing and I think they would all agree.

Eggs ackley. If (when) you get hit, don't get up, don't move your bike. Stay prone and request medical attention, and say nothing else. You'll get your chance to talk to the cops when the ambulance and firetrucks show up.