Pali Aha
Warming-Up
- Jan 8, 2020
- 5
- 11
Komagome, Tokyo. Sorry. Don't know what street. Heading north or northwest (Tokyo's streets are so squiggly) towards Tabata from Shinjuku. I'm riding and approach a "Y" There's a separate road that veers left but the main road continues straight. I'm going straight and get side swiped by a van who wanted to go left. Scraped right toes, bloodied knee, bruised left thigh, torn pants (the only one I own), destroyed Canon 740 HS, dismembered tripod, broken GoPro handlebar mount, scratched $120 Ortlieb. What was impressive was the police came: a woman on her bicycle, 2 officers in a Lexus black & white, and a police "investigative" unit in a van. Plus an ambulance arrived. Everyone had their sirens & lights on. They were going to take me to the hospital but I declined the offer.
I marveled at the approachability of the police who were all sympathetic towards me. And you know how the Japanese can be in awe of our unremarkable stunts: "You are touring Japan on your bicycle?" "You came from Shizuoka airport on a bicycle?" "You will next go to Takasaki to see the steam engine by bicycle?"
They used chalk to highlight where my right pedal scraped the asphalt and took measurements of the van's pathway and mine. They took photos of my bicycle. This would NEVER happen in the United States.
I'm supposed to call the van driver's insurance company tomorrow. Maybe they'll give me a new pair of pants.
I marveled at the approachability of the police who were all sympathetic towards me. And you know how the Japanese can be in awe of our unremarkable stunts: "You are touring Japan on your bicycle?" "You came from Shizuoka airport on a bicycle?" "You will next go to Takasaki to see the steam engine by bicycle?"
They used chalk to highlight where my right pedal scraped the asphalt and took measurements of the van's pathway and mine. They took photos of my bicycle. This would NEVER happen in the United States.
I'm supposed to call the van driver's insurance company tomorrow. Maybe they'll give me a new pair of pants.