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Geo Gosling (page 2 of 3) Page 2 of 3
Off I went. I was tired from working all day and going for a bicycle ride. I had a girl and religion on my mind. Needless to say, I wasn’t thinking too clearly. I should also mention that the bicycle I was riding was a Bianchi, which is made in Italy for racing. It had no parts, and therefore no weight, that wasn’t absolutely necessary for racing. As a result, it was fast and didn’t have any lawsuit-induced safety equipment attached (i.e., reflectors). I didn’t have any sort of light either.
I was coming down from 1600 feet, hungry, horny, and tired. I was thinking of things besides riding a bicycle. I was going as fast as I possibly could, because I wanted to get home before it got totally dark.
On the way down there is a stop sign at the top of a very steep section of hill. It is only a three-way stop and all the roads are very visible. Chances are I didn’t even slow down, let alone stop, because I was in a hurry and no one was coming. I kept right on going and went down the steepest section of the hill. At the bottom there is a road, Crystal Springs, which adjoins the road I was on. Crystal Springs adjoins to my right as I went downhill.
As luck would have it, a person was driving up the road as I was going down. The driver turned left onto Crystal Springs. The speed limit on that hill is 35 MPH. It is estimated I was going between 40-50 MPH. It doesn’t take a vivid imagination to figure out what happened next.
The driver didn’t see me, obviously. It was 7:55 p.m and I didn’t have a bike light or reflectors. Now, everyone automatically assumes that is why I wasn’t seen. I, being the stubborn, macho guy that I am, have different ideas. The main problem for me is I don’t remember a thing. I know what I
think must have happened, based on the decisions I normally make when encountering a vehicle.
There are three items that I consider very important in explaining what took place and, of course, absolving myself of any guilt for what happened to me. Number 1: the driver of the car had a newborn infant with her. The driver, mother of the baby, most likely had a great deal of focus on the child, and not so much on the road. I don’t fault her at all for that; it’s probably a natural instinct that the mother in any and all species has. She probably heard the kid sneeze or something, just took a quick glance up the road, didn’t see anything or anyone, looked at the kid, and turned left. That brings me to number 2: the streetlight wasn’t working (I think). Had it been working, thus illuminating the area I was riding in, I might have been seen. Notice I used the word “might.” As I said before, I didn’t have any reflectors, which I should have. To make a long story short: she didn’t see me, I was breaking the speed limit, she turned left, and I hit her. Number 3: I believe the driver was not using her directional signal. I have absolutely no proof of this. I do know how I would ride when encountering a vehicle with its signal light on. First, I wouldn’t necessarily slow down, but I would proceed with caution. I would think of “escape routes” in case the vehicle did turn in front of me. I would position my body, hands, and arms so I could immediately hit the brakes if need be. I would consider a total plan of action to avoid colliding with the vehicle. As the car and I approached each other, I would look at the driver to see if I could discern his intention, hoping he had seen me and intended to turn after I went by. I would always think, Okay...If he turns now, I’ll do this...Okay...now I’ll do this. As the vehicle and I got close enough that I didn’t have an “escape route,” I would think, Okay…if he turns now, I’m f---ed!
If an oncoming vehicle did not have its directional on, I wouldn’t assume it was turning but intended to continue going straight. This is why I am fairly certain the driver did not signal before she turned. Again, I have no proof of this, and since I had just come from a ride with a girl I was interested in, there’s no telling what the hell I was thinking.
Chapter 2
So here I am, twenty-five years old, just been riding bicycles with a babe, looking forward to the weekend, having a job I really enjoy, and basically just enjoying life.
It was 7:55 p.m., so there wasn’t much sunlight left. I, of course, was riding like a bat out of hell. A 1950 yellow pick up truck (with an infant that was only a week or two old) was coming up the hill. Again, I didn’t have any reflectors or even a bike light. The truck turned left onto Crystal Springs and I tried to break one of the basic laws of physics. The law that says two pieces of matter cannot occupy the same space at the same time, or something like that. Well, I certainly proved that law. I hit the truck, and ended up on the side of the road all bloody and unconscious. The driver of the truck, who’ll remain nameless, freaked out and started screaming. People at a nearby house heard her and called an ambulance. The collision happened only half of a mile from The St. Helena Hospital and Health Center (S.H.H.H.C). I was not taken there, however. I was routed to The Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, located 20-30 minutes away in the town of Napa. I was routed to Napa because The Queen has a much better equipped and staffed trauma unit.
Excerpted from TBI Hell: A Traumatic Brain Injury Really Sucks by Geo Gosling. © 2006, Geo Gosling. Used with permission. For more information on TBI Hell, go to www.amazon.com.
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