The Big Payoff!

I live and train in New York City's Central Park - a veritable smorgasbord of random events. I'm a USCF Cat V road racer. I'm relatively new to cycling, but I train hard and love century rides.

I live and train in New York City's Central Park - a veritable smorgasbord of random events. I'm a USCF Cat V road racer. I'm relatively new to cycling, but I train hard and love century rides.

Around Christmas last year, I purchased Road IDs for my girlfriend and I. Just 2 weeks ago -the big payoff. I was training in the park, riding down a steep hill at 18 mph. From out of nowhere, a small child on a trike shoots out into the roadway and right on my front wheel. With no time to react, I jammed the brakes on and leaned away to the right. The child was saved, but I took the hit. Naturally, I went over the handle bars landed on the side of my head (helmet thankfully), shoulder (separated at the collar bone), and ribs (2 cracked and pressed on my lung). My body skidded to a stop with deep road rash on every square foot of my body.

I was not coherent and found myself unable to breathe well. In the back of the ambulance, I was getting oxygen - struggling against a lung collapse and couldn't speak. Thankfully, I was wearing my Road ID. It gave the EMTs all the information that they needed.

Even good and experienced riders cannot always predict what will come their way. I face this every day with city riding. You have to put yourself in a position of being helped even when you can't or are unable to help yourself.

Thank You for this great idea. Like my helmet, I'll always have one on when riding.

- Donald .E from New York, NY