I managed to sneak in a ride at the end of the day yesterday.  

The highlight of the ride, if you can call it that, was my first collision with another bike. It wasn't my first collision, when I was in junior high school I was hit by a car riding to school. No serious injuries, just some scrapes. Yesterday's accident was even less bruising.  

Here's what happened. 

First, the lanes were hugely crowded. Lots of walkers and people crossing the path. Some not realizing that it's a road, and stopping to have conversations in the middle of it, with little kids running into the path of oncoming traffic. One has to ride extremely cautiously in these circumstances.  

Near the end of the ride, I'm pulling up to an intersection where a stopped bike is just starting up, shakily. I give him wide berth and hope for the best. As I'm approaching, he lurks to the left, into my path. I say On Your Left, but he shifts further to the left. I hit the brakes and come to a stop next to him. He tips over onto me and we both go down. I ask "Are you hurt?" he says no and asks if I am. I say no. I get up and put the chain back on, getting my hands real greasy. That was the extent of the discomfort. It took five minutes to get back on the road, and as you can see from the map, only slowed me down to an average of 7 MPH during that mile.  

I ended the trip at dusk feeling really good and ready for a nice Italian dinner with a friend visiting from California.  

Map. 9.95 miles. 54 minutes.