[Ronin]

We landed on the statistic list again today.

Linda and I were in the last six miles of a glorious 25 mile ride. In the town of Rockaway, NJ we had just climbed Hogland Avenue and were stopped at the "T" intersection with Wall Street. Then a town truck made a left turn, only he cut it across the center line, knocked us down and ran over the front wheel. Linda is not injured, but I got some nasty cuts on my left index and middle fingers where the truck hit me (and it’s hard to type with the bandaged fingers). I’ve also got a big bruise forming on my left thigh where it hit the top tube.

Of course the driver had the famous excuse of "I couldn't see you because..." A single bike perhaps, but a Tandem? Give me a break.

The tandem is okay but The wheel is toast and due to the accident I declare the fork to be “suspect” as it is carbon fiber and may well be cracked.

FWIW: I do have a thought about an appropriate punishment for the driver – he must ride a bicycle on the roads for the next six months, when not working. I think he will learn how to “see” bicycles after that. Yeah, he is already claiming that we were obscured by the rear view mirror on the truck – the same old “I didn’t/couldn't see the bicycle your honor” plea. I'll bet his lawyer will say that would be "cruel and unusual punishment." Unusual, yes. Cruel? Nah -- a just punishment in my book! I’ll bet that punishment would scare him more than any fine or points.