Down, But Not Out!

We all know that cycling in New York City brings with it certain risks. Back in November of 2007, Richard was hit by something while riding home (he has amnesia from the actual incident and thus has no memory of what happened), and broke his collarbone and fractured his pelvis. But, with "NYC2DC4KF" looming as a goal, he was back on the bike early in 2008 and rode himself back into shape.

Then, on Sunday, July 27, Darren was hit by a car; here is a part of his account of what happened: "

"Ok, so my training has been going pretty slowly. Today, feeling like I needed to get some more serious miles under my belt, I took off to Nyack. I must say I felt pretty good, even during the massive thunderstorm on the way back. I rode the last bit from the 9W turnoff to the bridge quickly with some racers. Once we got on to Riverside they started going slow and arranging their social lives, so around about 105th I went on without them.

Unfortunately, going down the hill at a reasonable pace around 101st there was a car sitting out from the parked cars, I drifted out to go around it, and at the last second the car swung around in front of me. I slammed on my brakes, but as you know, wet roads, going down hill, I had no chance. The driver saw me, screamed, and accelerated into my path. Fortunately, my bike went sideways and I hit the car with my hip and ribs, with my arm and head going above the hood.

Ouch, ouch, ouch...so to cut a long 'ambulance, hospital trip' short, I am now sitting at home with two broken ribs and a very sore hip. The doctors tell me the next 10-14 days will be very painful and has packed me off with a pile of Vicodin.

I think I am still looking good for KF ride, but you guys are going to have to take it easy on me! My training might be starting then. "

Well, we all know that guys from New Zealand are pretty tough, so...on Sunday, August 17, Darren was back on the bike, doing three laps of Central Park.

Washington, DC - here we come!