I guess I'm lucky: I started my New Year with a 65 mile (105 kilometer) bike ride--and felt great afterward. That, in Florida: the state in which I had the greatest chance of getting killed while riding a bicycle.
Oh, and I got to eat my mother's cooking afterward. Yes, it was a good start to the year.
Sam Liccardo probably wishes he could say the same thing. He also went for a bike ride on New Year's Day. Unfortunately for him, he didn't feel invigorated at the end of it.
He got clipped by an SUV making a right turn. The driver was cited. We can be grateful for that, but it won't heal the fractures of his vertebrae and sternum. He is, however, expected to make a full recovery and be back at his workplace in a week. In the meantime, he'll work from home.
His workplace? City Hall, San Jose, California. Yes, he is the mayor of that city. While it may not be Portland or even Seattle or San Francisco, its citizens are probably more bicycle-conscious than those in most other parts of the US.
And, ironically, he has been leading a campaign to make the city's streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. He is an avid cyclist and is rightly concerned: In 2017, there were six fatal bicycle crashes in his city. That represented 13 percent of all traffic crashes.
Even though he is expected to make a full recovery, I'm glad I didn't have to start my new year the way he started his. For one thing, it left him in pain and he expects to be off his bike for a month or so. Oh, and he had to eat hospital food.
Oh, and I got to eat my mother's cooking afterward. Yes, it was a good start to the year.
Sam Liccardo probably wishes he could say the same thing. He also went for a bike ride on New Year's Day. Unfortunately for him, he didn't feel invigorated at the end of it.
He got clipped by an SUV making a right turn. The driver was cited. We can be grateful for that, but it won't heal the fractures of his vertebrae and sternum. He is, however, expected to make a full recovery and be back at his workplace in a week. In the meantime, he'll work from home.
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| Sam Liccardo in the hospital |
His workplace? City Hall, San Jose, California. Yes, he is the mayor of that city. While it may not be Portland or even Seattle or San Francisco, its citizens are probably more bicycle-conscious than those in most other parts of the US.
And, ironically, he has been leading a campaign to make the city's streets safer for cyclists and pedestrians. He is an avid cyclist and is rightly concerned: In 2017, there were six fatal bicycle crashes in his city. That represented 13 percent of all traffic crashes.
Even though he is expected to make a full recovery, I'm glad I didn't have to start my new year the way he started his. For one thing, it left him in pain and he expects to be off his bike for a month or so. Oh, and he had to eat hospital food.
