Luck of the draw

A few years ago I rode with a longtime friend. He was inexperienced so we did a nominal route and it was a beautiful day... until we were just about home. My friend is apparently clumsy. When I signaled that he was getting ahead of me he glanced back and somehow went flying over the handlebars onto his head. It was terrifying for me to see. He was knocked out. I called an ambulance. Later his wife told me there was some brain damage. She's a psychologist so she is more in tune with that medical pathology. To me it was just scary to realize how quickly a nice comfortable ride could change.

Over my 58 years of riding (since 1961) I have been relatively fortunate especially considering I lived in dense suburbs near a big city for most of my life and rode motorcycles for 20 years. This friend was fairly inexperienced in riding, a few years older than me. We were not racing or doing anything especially dangerous. It was just an unfortunate event. It's been a few years now and we haven't talked about it since though we see each other all the time. I felt bad to be associated with that experience in his life. Since then I've ridden down huge hills passing cars without pedaling, ridden on Thai roadways jammed with cars, trucks, motorbikes and huge busses.

At some point I will need to retire from my active sport and find something less dangerous. The thrill is not worth the risk at some point. I'd much rather retire with a good record than the alternative. I like my brain and limbs.