oh, the big trucks

While heading into the city from Greenpoint, I was knocked off my bike and subsequently run over by a gigantic truck on Manhattan Ave. I got trapped between the truck and a bus as I tried to pass the truck on the left. My beloved Schwinn fixed gear was completely destroyed. My foot and ankle swelled up enormously. My toes look like grapes, most of my foot is purple in fact. What a strange day. Seeing spokes explode as the wheel crushed my rear hub, feeling the shock of pain as it rolled over my ankle and foot. I was so disoriented. . .I gathered up the pieces of my bike and limped back to my apartment. The bus driver took it upon himself to berate me as I passed him. Miraculously, no broken bones. This was a week and a half ago. I can walk a little bit now. I'm slowly emerging from a dark mental hole. I'm a musician, I have no health insurance, I dropped over $200 at the dr's office and about $75 more at the pharmacist. And of course my bike is no longer. The 5 boro bike tour is next weekend, I'm registered but don't know that I'll be able to ride. And this is probably the nicest weather we've had all year and I'm spending it deep below the streets, riding the stupid subway with all the "regular" commuters. Riding a bike saves me here, keeps me sane. Without that outlet, that freedom, that rush of speed this place becomes much more difficult to live in, much less enticing.