Well, on schedule means that I'm cycling at or above 30km/h. As Casteren is 30km cycling from Oisterwijk, I was already on my bike for one hour. I reduced speed as there are some crossings that are not so clear. I noticed a car, waiting as I had right of way. But just when I was in front of the car, the driver decided to turn onto the main road !! Then things went very quickly, the car hit me and I fell down hard on my shoulder. At start I thought I'd broken my Collarbone (Clavicle) due to the pain. This happens a lot also to professional cyclists when they fall. But after some time I managed to walk with my bicycle to the house where the driver lives. There we filled out some forms for the insurance. The father offered me to drive me home. But I decided to start to cycle back myself and then call Patricia at some stage when she has returned home as she was out running. I think I cycled some 8km before I rang her and of course she would come and pick me up. I almost reached Haghorst (15km) before we met. She looked at my shoulder and she noticed a big hump on it. We decided to drive home first and to clean up a bit before we would visit a doctor. But when I had taken the shower and Patricia looked at both of my shoulders it seemed that I this "big" hump on both sides. I'm skinny so you can see the bones quite clearly. As I could move my arm without too much pain we decided not to go for a doctor as it was weekend anyway and then you have to go to a centralized post where you can visit a doctor. We brought the bike to the bike shop and in the cause of the week they reported back that the costs would be around 400 Euro (350 Euro on materials and 50 Euro for the actual repair). The steer had to be replaced as no risk is taken that it has suffered from the crash. One shifter (combined brake and gear lever) had to be replaced and you can only order a set of these. The gear at the back needed to be replaced too. Besides that they suggested to replace the helmet as I hit the ground with head too. The inside strapping of the helmet had came loose and the outside had some scratches. It looked remarkably well after the accident. But it's a golden rule to replace it when you've had an accident with it. So that's another 140 Euro. Luckily I wore a helmet because I noticed at home that I had an imprint on my forehead where I seem to have hit the ground ! My cycling shirt that I was wearing was badly damaged as well, there goes another 75 Euro or so. So, all and all the costs will be somewhere between 600 and 650 Euro.

Physically I have had a lot of trouble with my shoulder and I think I have bruised a rib too as that part was very sensitive. And don't worry too much, as I could go to work on the Monday after I had the accident and after a week I went Spinning again. On the other hand, after one week when I had to sneeze I still fell out of my chair almost. It seems it can take up to 6 weeks or so before I have recovered fully. And even three weeks after the accident I still feel my shoulder and rib. Though I can also say that I can feel it getting better week by week.

Three weeks after the accident, my bike was repaired. In the mean time I'd bought a new shirt and a new helmet. The latter was a bit hard as I had a Bell X-ray helmet and I liked this one a lot. The shape, color and quality. So after checking around via the Internet I bought another helmet. Again Bell but different model (Sweep R) and different color (Silver). It took some time to adjust to the look. But now I think it even looks better than the Bell X-ray that I had even ! Well, here it is and you can compare it to the old helmet too:

On the 18th of April, three weeks after the accident, I checked at the bike shop if they had finished repairing my bike. And yes, the bike was ready. Unfortunately I went Spinning in the same morning. And you need a rest day after that to recover before you can cycle full speed outdoors too. So it took until the 21st before I could go out cycling again. Just a small lap of 34,6km to get going in again. But I managed to realize an average of 31.16km/h. Not to bad for a first time out. And it really felt good to be outdoors again. Spinning is nice for a change but cycling outdoor is better !