26 Years of Biking without Any Major Incidents Until This Week

@Lt. Dan 179609 wrote:

Any updates from the insurance company? Get the bike checked out?

I was able to take the bike in last Wednesday for an insurance assessment (the Trek Bicycles in Southcenter near me has a designated mechanic for this), and I heard from the mechanic on Saturday (randomly got cell phone reception and got a call while hiking with my sister in the middle of the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park, craziness!). All I need to do is go in and pick a replacement helmet, and he’ll add that to the list of repairs/replacements being sent to the insurance company. It’s been absolutely hectic since last Tuesday evening for me having the crash and family being in town, but things are getting done.

Side note: I was able to get the footage from my rear-facing camera, but my front-facing camera was out of battery at the time, so it doesn’t show much. That said, it’s very strange to see a video from my bike’s perspective of me laying on the ground (just my legs from the knee down), and I didn’t realize that I ended up about 10 feet away from my bike. My bike was turned almost 180 degrees after the impact, and the camera had recorded about 15-20 minutes of my post-crash interaction with the driver.

Update on bicycle injuries: Bike shop assessed the damage. Front wheel bent (cracked rim), front rotor (for disc brake) bent, replacement order for both has been placed. Handlebar shifters have a few minor scratches but are fully operational. Bike rack had some screws that came loose during the crash and have been tightened. Everything else (frame, rear wheel, derailleur, chain, cassette, cables, seatpost, seat, etc.) is good. I expect to be able to ride it in a week once the replacement parts have arrived and are installed.

Update on my injuries: swelling is almost completely gone from my right knee/thigh, no pain walking, hiking, doing stairs, riding my other bike. Scabs are on my right knee and elbow, but those will heal in time. Tension in left neck muscles is almost completely gone after taking it easy and sleeping with one of those neck pillows for flying in planes for the past week.

Good news update: I heard back from the driver’s insurance company yesterday. They are covering the full amount of the repairs and are throwing in some extra $$ to cover any potential health expenses! There were no arguments or objections over liability and fault. The repairs should be complete by Friday afternoon, and I expect to be able to ride my bike by this weekend.

@Lt. Dan 179743 wrote:

Are you including shifter replacement or depreciation in what you submit to insurance? Handlebar tape? If someone drives through your fence, they replace anything that was damaged. Why should your bike be different?

For the shifters, I don’t see a need to replace them. As I had discussed with the bike shop mechanic, they do have some scratches but are fully functional. I could have had them replaced probably without any objection from insurance, but really I am concerned about getting the bicycle back to being rideable. At the worst, the scratches look ugly; at the best, my bike’s got some cool battle scars 😎