You aint seen nothing yet!

So some of you know -some of you just think I went missing - that I was in a bike accident a week ago today. It was NUTS! Those familiar with cycling will know the term "doored". For those who don't know what that means, it's when a taxi driver lets his passengers get out in the middle of the Lane and they fling their door open without looking and they take out a bicyclist (me).

Boy did I go for a ride! I got lucky and just the left side of my handlebars caught the cab door (I was passing on the right - totally legal in DC) and it sent me up over to my handlebars BUT with a twist. That lucky twist allowed me to land on the side of my helmet and my shoulder/elbow rather than my FACE. I'm consider myself very lucky.

Another twist of fate was that it happened directly in front of the supreme court. That means there were many very helpful cops around to come running and keep the cab driver from running off - he got out and checked on me but started the cab back up like he was going to take off!

I was pretty dazed after I landed and they took me to the hospital in an ambulance and I got a couple ex-rays and was piled up in there with the crazies. the Mrs. came down and met me there and helped to get me home. I didn't get to leave without the cops (who were great about the whole thing and locked my bike up and got my bags out of the gutter and everything) giving me a ticket which i now get to fight.

I'm still pretty sore and am going to have a few more Dr visits coming up but my bike took it remarkably well. you can see in the shot below where the bars took the hit as the tape is cleanly cut (thank god my fingers weren't in the way!)

This head on shot (pay no attention to the giant Good-will pile in the background...I'll get on that soon when I'm better) shows how my front rack took some of the shock of the door as the lower leg of it is bent in towards the wheel. No way and I strapping a load on that now)

My front brake is toast. It must have made contact with the door. the outer portion with the red cover should move but the space should be tight (where it's black in between there). There's a TON of play and the brakes won't actually make contact with the rotor.

So, I'm looking at $200 or so in repairs. It's a bummer. I'll follow that up by saying that I'm happy I had on my helmet, I'm happy it was raining and I slid on the pavement instead of sticking, I'm happy that I landed NOT on my face....I'm just pretty grateful. I'm still pretty pissed I got a ticket for something that's not illegal and that the girl who doored me didn't get a ticket.

Lets move on, shall we?

While I was home making dinner last night I whipped up some brandied cherries! Mmmmmmm....booze and cherries!

They had cherries at Eastern Market last weekend (I don't know where they got them...) and I decided it was high time I got off the Maraschino train and got on board the express. So I set to work googling recipes and figured out that they all basically make a sugary syrup mix, boil it and then dr it up.

I tossed them in a small pot, almost covered them with water, but in about 3 tablespoons of sugar, squeezed half an orange in, tossed in a half stick of cinnamon, then set it to simmer for about 5-6 minutes. they looked pretty done and I let them cool off a bit before adding the brandy. That's the best part. I sampled some too but not too many because I'm on a lot of Advil.

I'd picked up this neat little jar - the kind your mom had when you were a kid - and they fit perfectly! I topped them off with a dash more brandy and I was set!

I let the whole thing cool off before I put it in the fridge to steep. I bet by tonight those suckers will be even more delicious. there was some leftover juice so I put it on the rocks and it was GREAT. Basically I made my own fortified wine.

So, what a long week huh? I can't wait to get through this one and the weekend can't come soon enough. I am ready for a Manhattan and some more pain killers and a NAP!

Spread love and WEAR YOUR HELMET- Micah