SPLAT!

The weather has been less than ideal for cycling, but I've managed to get out when it stops raining. Last week on the bikepath to Lachine, I had the great good fortune to see the bloody aftermath of an accident. A young woman was lying on the path, bleeding from the head- not dead or unconscious, fortunately. She was not wearing rollerblades and had not been riding a bike-the likely scenario: she stepped onto the path without looking and was knocked down, probably by the rollerblader who was tending to her.

In spite of the endless invective about evil roadies who want to go more than 3 miles an hour on the bikepath (amids all the rollerbladers, dog walkers, kids, pedestrians and strollers), every accident i've seen on the path has involved a rollerblader: two (at different times) crashing into the wall of the underpass in St Henri; another collision between two bladers and a guy on a beat-up old bike (he was unconscious, wearing an ancient styrofoam helmet), and I had a minor collision with one who was showing off for his girlfriend. Neither of us was hurt.

The number of near misses is too many to count. Right after the Sunday incident, I had to yell someone out of my way-he was dazedly looking at the scenery and was wobbling int the opposite lane- my path. I yelled BEEP!!!! and he righted himself. In Lachine, near the water fountain, an 11 year old kid came charging out of the bushes on his bike and nearly smashed into me- until I yelled HEY! Watch it!
If we had collided, both of us would have been messed up, but he was unhelmeted.

That's why, as soon as I get to Lachine, I get off the path and onto the road. Cars are infinitely safer than most oblivious, Ipod wearing rollerbladers and there are no kids. Yell at me from your car all you want- the bike path on weekends is not an option.