He’s alive and going to be just fine but… Jesse Kraai just posted on Facebook that he was clipped by a motorcyclist yesterday while he was riding his bike. The motorcycle was going 40-50 mph. He doesn’t remember anything after that, but he apparently went over the handlebars, hit his head and skidded to the side of the road. “Helmet saved me from being a vegetable,” he laconically put it. He also posted a couple of photographs from the hospital, which I won’t re-post here, including one of the helmet with a bloody chin strap.
Brrrr… To me that is just too close a call for comfort. As one of his Facebook friends said in a comment, “Your brain is a national treasure.” I’m so glad that bicycle helmet technology has gotten so good, and I just want to remind all of my readers not to go cycling without one.
When I drove to Reno with Jesse last month, I was impressed with his passion for cycling. He said that has become a “bike activist.” I have to wonder how this experience will affect him. How can you ride a bike on a highway, or any high-speed road, knowing that there are crazy motorcyclists and motorists out there? Bike activism is great, but it’s hard to discuss sharing the road with someone who has a quarter-ton and 50-horsepower advantage over you.
Anyway, Jesse seems to think he will be back on his feet in a week or so, and I hope that will be the case.
