Got Hit by a Car Monday

Training Route in Prescott Mountains

Coming north near Mile Post 304 a faded blue '90's American car was rounding a corner and clipped my left shoulder with his/her passenger side mirror. Mirror broke right off the car and hung there. Driver didn't stop.

First 3 characters on AZ license plate: AG3 .... Driver pulled over in a pullout 100 yards ahead. Despite me being stopped and leaning on the road barrier, waving him/her to come back, s/he looked at me for a few seconds and then just drove off.

Reported it to Prescott police and AZ Highway Patrol. I'm lucky. I'm planning on the driver not being lucky!

What remains a mystery to me -- gratefully -- is that I have not the slightest soreness. Not a bruise. Not a scratch.

It seems that the passenger mirror and the height of my left shoulder were identical. The mirror hit the `meaty' part of my shoulder (not much meat left these days, but ...). Despite having two Zephyl Spy Mirrors on the bike I had no awareness of it's presence. And usually I hear vehicles behind me (engine or tires on road). Nothing.

All I experienced was a `slap' on my left shoulder, the sound of the mirror breaking off from it's mount on the car, observing the mirror flopping loose on the car and the car ... accelerating.

I stopped, instinctively. I was to the right of the fog line where there was about 3 feet of paved shoulder, i.e., not on the road. Got off the bike. Was alert that such events often register no immediate pain but may entail tissue damage and other effects. Nothing. I leaned the bike against the road barrier (steep cliff drop-off immediately on other side of barrier). Then I looked at the bike. I inspected the CF Hard Shell seat for any damage. Nothing.

So this was a one in a million oddity that worked in my interest.

I have seen this piece of sh*t ratty car going back and forth on this road dozens of times. Faded, mottled blue, mid-'90's model American car.

Today I plan to drive my truck to a vantage point on this road (part of the RAAM course, a twisting, ascending road up a mountain side) and wait and watch for this vehicle. If I see it I'll carefully follow it to it's destination and then call the AZ Highway Patrol and let them put the pieces of the puzzle together.

I've come to `know' so many regular drivers over this 17.5 mile stretch of mountain grade road. They wave, I wave, give eachother a thumbs up, they often slow down and give me wide berth. They really can't exceed 30 mph because there are so many left and right turns that no vehicle can navigate the turns without skidding or burning rubber.

And then when I find this pr**k and justice is served ... I'm going to take that mirror as a trophy:)