Veracity Biker Blogger Down…. But Back up!!

Last Tuesday, October 30, 2018, one of your faithful bloggers here at Veracity was involved in a bike accident. In what I would describe as a miracle, God has providentially kept me alive and in good shape.

For the past 18 years, I have been a bike commuter to work, driving to the outskirts of town, and pulling out my bike from the car hatch, and riding down Monticello Avenue, towards the College of William and Mary, in my hometown of Williamsburg. This particular morning, I was riding down a stretch of Monticello in the bike lane, just next to an on-ramp for Route 199.

The last thing I remember was the sensation of my bike being shot out from underneath me. I thought to myself, “I need to hold onto my bike!”

The lights went out after a split second…..

The next thing I know, I was laying flat on my back, in the back of a James City County ambulance, and the EMT paramedic was asking me about today’s date, just minutes away from the trauma center at Riverside Hospital in Newport News.

The EMT guy told me that I was rear-ended by a car, and that I flipped back and smashed into the windshield of the vehicle, with my bike helmet, with my head still in the helmet! Later that day, the police dropped off my bike (the photo above) at my house, where you can see how my rear wheel got folded up by the impact.

Amazingly, the only significant injury I received was a concussion. Only a few other bruises and scrapes. No internal injuries. I was discharged within hours from the hospital. The EMT guy later spoke with my wife and said that it was exceedingly rare for someone to endure an accident like this, without worse, debilitating injury, or even death.

I can not describe to you how thankful I am that I was spared anything worse, than a concussion. I had a followup visit with my doctor recently, with good results, and he told me that I was very, very “lucky.”

As an engineer with a mathematics background, I can tell you all about probabilities and whatnot. The driver was probably going at a slow speed. The angle of impact kept me in the bike lane, and away from other vehicles. I could go on… But I really do not believe in “luck.” I believe in God’s providential care. For what purpose this accident served?…. Well, that is something that remains to be known.

Our secular society likes to reduce miracle stories like this to the status of “luck.” I can understand this, as it is clear that there are countless other stories where the outcome of incidents like this that do not turn out so good. Lots of questions are raised as to the nature of the providence of God, the problem of evil, etc…. things we do not always feel comfortable talking about. But these are important questions we ALL need to consider. We simply can not “kick the can down the road,” crossing our fingers, hoping that it does not happen “to me.”

I have no clue who hit me, as I was unconscious for about an hour (which raises questions of its own… I did not have any NDE; that is, a “Near Death Experience,” but it was pretty surreal, for sure!!). I pray for the man who struck me. I am also a big advocate for, and thankful for safety gear, particularly my bike helmet, that did its job wonderfully. Thanks to all of the first responders and medical personnel, who did their job, even though I was unaware of what they did for me.

I am grateful.

God is our refuge and strength,
    a very present help in trouble (Psalm 46:1)

ALWAY WEAR A BIKE HELMET WHEN RIDING A BICYCLE!