WOW. Talk about a lot of assumptions. Actually the bike was a piece of crap hand me down that I got for free. I don't race, and I was probably going about the same speed you would if you were running. It was a nice Friday afternoon and I had just finished up my last class of the day. I was relaxed and in no hurry, enjoying the ride home.
I hopped down a short bump, maybe 2" where the pavement turned into cobblestone. I don't remember what happened, but based on the blood stain that was baked into the concrete a few days later, I ended up about 20 feet away. I know I went over the handle bars. I imagine you get one or two bike lengths in the air, and then when I hit the ground I skidded a bunch.
Anyway, compared to the way most people bike it was a slow speed crash. The X factor was the mechanical failure so it was so surprising I didn't have any time to expect it. Arguably the key contributing factor was riding an old shitty bike.
So you probably should aim your ire at poor people biking instead of the US. It has nothing to do with the US or how I was riding my bike, just with the fact that I didn't have enough money for a nice one at the time. But by all means, ignore the relatively uncontroversial point that wearing a helmet is a good idea and continue blaming the victim.
I hopped down a short bump, maybe 2" where the pavement turned into cobblestone. I don't remember what happened, but based on the blood stain that was baked into the concrete a few days later, I ended up about 20 feet away. I know I went over the handle bars. I imagine you get one or two bike lengths in the air, and then when I hit the ground I skidded a bunch.
Anyway, compared to the way most people bike it was a slow speed crash. The X factor was the mechanical failure so it was so surprising I didn't have any time to expect it. Arguably the key contributing factor was riding an old shitty bike.
So you probably should aim your ire at poor people biking instead of the US. It has nothing to do with the US or how I was riding my bike, just with the fact that I didn't have enough money for a nice one at the time. But by all means, ignore the relatively uncontroversial point that wearing a helmet is a good idea and continue blaming the victim.