Many folks might know Nan Borchardt from Olathe, KS. Monday night she was involved in a right-hook crash on her way home from her regular Monday group ride. Fortunately Nan and her bike survived mostly intact. Here is her story in her own words.

Dear Friends -

Just a note to let each of you know how much I appreciate your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery - thank you all so very much! I also wanted to give you a few more details about Monday night’s “run-in” with the car in addition to sharing about the immeasurable value of close friends who arrived to the scene within moments of the accident.

I have replayed the evening in my memory dozens of times during the night, and I continue to arrive at the same conclusion - this accident should have resulted in injuries MUCH worse than what did occur. I was spared on this one - God is good!

As Connie had noted, (my friend Connie Conner had sent out a cryptic email late monday night to our bike friends after her return home with me at the hospital) I left Gringo’s on my own after the ride (Gringo’s is a little Mexican restaurant in Olathe that we meet at every Monday night with about 30 or so other cyclists to do a 25 mile route) - it was about 9:15 pm as I set out on the easy 6 mile trip back home. The route that I take is well lit with street lights and I had my bright rear blinkie going as I started the trip - until I was struck by the car, I had not seen any motorists approach from the rear since I had departed Gringo’s.

I noted the car in my mirror and I just continued westbound along my route on Loula approaching sleepy downtown Olathe - taking advantage of the slight downhill, I glanced at my speed as it passed 22 mph. The car came closer - I did not need to change my position on the roadway as I was neatly tucked within my usual 2 feet from the curb. As the mid 1970’s 2-door car passed on my left, I saw that his brake lights were on - we must have been moving at similar speeds. The next thing I know is that the car has made a quick right turn in front of me into an apartment complex driveway on my right and I’m slamming into his passenger door at a fairly fast speed.

He was just a young kid of about 23 years old or so. Thankfully, he stopped immediately and came around to the right side of the car. I have concluded that my injuries were caused by my crashing into his door first and then an abrupt stop once I hit the right side mirror. After helping me up and providing me with a wad of Kleenex to apply to my bleeding wrist, the kid re-attached my bike chain and tried to align my wheel - I thought that I was okay. So I thanked him for stopping and I got back on my bike to continue home. Connie later said that I was obviously too “shocky” to make good decisions about getting a name and phone number or insurance information from the driver. Duhhh ……. I left the accident scene with nothing from the kid.

After rolling for less than a block to the first stopsign, I realized that I was hurt a bit more than I first had realized. I pulled over and got off my bike to call Connie and Steve who were still at the restaurant. I got Connie on her cellphone and told her what had occurred and asked if she could pick me up and bring me home. Meanwhile the kid in the car must have seen me stop less than 50 yards from where he’d originally been and he followed me in his car to this intersection to check again on how I was doing. I told him that my wrist would not support my weight on the hoods and that I had called for a ride home. (Truly amazing, as now he returns so that we can gather information for the accident report to follow)

Connie and Steve arrived moments later (my friends had driven their truck to the ride start) and asked if I had called 911 to file a police report - “nope”, I responded, much to my friends’ horror. They quickly explained that a police report would need to be filed for insurance purposes - whether it be for my medical care or for my BIKE! Now Steve had gotten my attention, and I agreed to let him call 911. Connie listens to the driver say prior to the arrival of the police officers, “I saw her but I thought that I had plenty of time to get around her”. Geeeze - for the want of 15 seconds worth of patience here to allow me to pass in front of him.

The very quiet evening was soon gone with Police and EMT vehicles arriving with lights and sirens blasting. So I had my first ambulance ride ever last night. My advice? Don’t let them give you the “laughing gas” ……… it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. It just gave me a headache. Or perchance that throbbing in my head was due to the collision with the car’s side mirror. Don’t know at this point.

My left side took most of the impact - I am now purple on my upper arm, shoulder and quad - and everything HURTS. My wrist did not appear to be fractured at the time, but the ER Doc noted that the significant swelling may prevent the X-ray from revealing the full extent of the injuries. So, as a protective measure, they put my wrist into a cast after they sewed up the small cut on my forearm. I am still so amazed with the minor extent of my injuries - my head was within 18 inches of the guy’s right rear wheel prior to me getting off the pavement. Thank Heavens for a quality helmet. I have ZERO road rash. I’ve had far worse doing a dope drop in my early days of clipless pedals at a dead stop. I’ve been blessed.

I want to thank Connie for arriving at the ER along with my husband Paul. She spent about 2.5 hours there last night and it was so cool to know that my riding buddy and best friend was right there with me just like family - even though she has to get up at 4 am every morning to get to work on time, she was still there past midnight! Thanks Marge. (this is Connie’s bike-riding nickname)

The amazing thing about my Colnago C-40 bike is that there is not a scratch or even a nick on the frame after smashing into the guy’s car and skidding to a stop. A $65 “tune-up” at BikeSource is all that my bike needs to be returned to it’s pre-crash perfect condition - it’s just the front wheel that needs to be trued. I’m still waiting for the Olathe PD’s accident report to reveal if the driver had insurance. That may take a few more days to figure out. The good news here is that my State Farm auto policy will cover the first $4500 of my medical and bike expenses regardless of the motorist’s policy - so this seems to be working out well too. I feel very fortunate, knowing that oftentimes these “cyclist down” stories rarely have happy endings. I’m hoping to reach my second consecutive year of 5,000+ miles on my road bike for 2007 - I believe that I’ve been given that chance. I am so very thankful.

Hugs to you my bike friends - please continue to be careful!

Warmest Regards,

Nan Borchardt
Olathe, KS