We started training for the MS 150 today. We got about 4 miles down the road and Tim hit some railroad tracks at the wrong angle. The bike stopped, but he didn't. I heard the sound and glanced over my shoulder to see Tim fly over his handlebars and shoulder roll across a silt fence and into the mud.
When I got to him, I thought he was OK, but then I saw the blood on his shirt on his upper chest. In flying into the silt fence, he caught his chest on a piece of re-bar which tore across and through his left pectoral muscle exposing an awful lot of flesh underneath.
I didn't see any evidence of a deeper puncture, but we called 911 and an ambulance came quickly to patch him up and take him to the ER to make sure he was OK. Had he hit the re-bar about a foot either higher or lower, he could have really ripped something vital open. I found his helmet visor split in two near the scene, and there was evidence that the visor had struck metal at some point.
I had been a lackluster helmet wearer, but no more. Tim knew what he was doing, and he was sent flying pretty easily. It is not hard for me to see how easily one can hurt one's brain falling from a bike. I was converted in an instant, and now I see bike helmets like I do seatbelts, and don't leave the driveway without either a seatbelt or a helmet.
I also have a Miraculous Medal that I got in the mail in an appeal for contriutions that hangs from my handlebars. Maybe that's how I got over the tracks before Tim???