Feel The Concrete

I landed fairly hard I believe on the concrete footpath (suburban street) not on a nice soft lawn. Right, bang on the concrete. It also appears that the offender had not really intended to achieve the stopping of the bicycle, or having me fly over the handlebars. It was I believe purely meant as an intimidation. It did however end up that way. I had landed hard. Cracking my back flat on the ground, and smacking my head hard. Screaming, I am sure as I went over, then, on impact, stopping. Stopping breathing. The air was slammed out of my body. Doctors will calmly refer to it as “being winded”. No. There is no wind. The feeling is there is no oxygen at all, in the world! There is only a constriction that wraps your chest and forces you to move in an attempt to locate oxygen. Your mouth starts moving and gasping, like a desperate guppy, in a futile attempt to inhale the recently exhaled air (or, oxygenated water in the case of the guppy).

There was no way I was simply going to get back on the bike. I had to find a way to breathe first. Then maybe once I was breathing, I would engage in some lung blasting wailing and crying as the pain started back in. perhaps, I might then sit up, that was if my spine wasn’t shattered, or, if my head wasn’t split open and my brains littering the sidewalk. The fear of being unable to breathe is an awful feeling and one I have experienced several times. Fortunately, I am now aware of what the awful experience is, and, find that relaxing the body as much as possible, allows a breath to be taken far more quickly. However this was not knowledge I possessed at the time. I can simply say the idea of getting back on that bike was not my first thought or desire. And anyone who ever suggests that as an option, needs to be seriously knocked off their bike (if they have ever ridden one). There is usually a time between coming off a bike (or horse, motorbike etc). Understanding what happened. Interpreting (honestly) what caused the accident and then, assessing your skills or knowledge as to whether you have the ability to get back on, or receive some training so that you don’t repeat the problem. Many people forget to assess that last part. If you assess it, recognise the cause and know how to avoid such an incident again. Then it may be that you can just get straight “back on the bike.” In the instance of the bike ride with spokes and the stick, the cause was a vicious minded child. Not much I could do to avoid encountering him again. Just next time I passed him, make sure he wasn’t carrying anything. In the case of the bike ride with the spider’s nest in the jar, a series of slightly connected sequences would shortly result in me being the cause of a change in my fortunes. It was the unexpectedness of the accident that took me most by surprise.

(Continued tomorrow)