Yesterday, I was attacked by a sidewalk.

I was cycling from work to a friend’s house for dinner and was northbound in the shoulder on 172nd Ave NE in Redmond. As I reached the intersection with NE 138th St., I was momentarily distracted, perhaps by my water bottle, I forget. This lapse of attention resulted in my failing to notice that north of NE 138th St., what used to be the shoulder becomes completely consumed by a sidewalk which leaps into the road out of nowhere.

A sidewalk with a sharp curb.

Fortunately, the curb curves into position, so instead of running headfirst into a curb, my wheels were merely nudged to the left about sixty centimeters. Still, it was more than enough to throw me flying off the seat onto the ground at around 30kph. Luckily, my rear end took the brunt of the impact, with minor scraping on my right leg and right arm.

I’m writing this to serve as a warning to anybody who cycles along 172nd Ave NE: There a sidewalk lying in wait at NE 138th St.

(After dinner, we watched the most recent episode of Battlestar Galactica then camped in the backyard to observe the Perseid meteor shower. I spotted only three meteors. I’m not a very good meteor-spotter—I glimpsed only three—what with my smudgy glasses and poor night vision.)