I got hit by a truck...

The title is accurate, but don't worry, I'm fine.

More specifically, while riding my bicycle on a narrow road, a pickup truck brushed up against me, and its mirror slammed into my shoulder, knocking me off my bike. The driver was going a full 50 MPH (the speed limit), trying to pass me, and stayed too far to the right because she saw a driver coming the other direction. Thankfully, no broken bones, just a painful bruise on my left shoulder (most of the force hit the muscle on the left of my upper back) and some more minor bruises on my left hand and left hip. The accident also caused the left hand brake on my bike to be broken off. On the driver's side, her right-hand rear-view mirror was completely torn off by the collision.

This is why, when riding a bicycle on a narrow road, you should always do so in a way that takes up the lane. Drivers are idiots and will do stupid things when they think they can maybe squeeze by you and save a couple seconds. So you have to force them to slow down.

This is also why, if you're driving a car and see a cyclist, always always always slow down. Always. And wait a couple seconds until it is safe to pass. Not only is it the responsible thing to do, it's the law.

I did learn an important lesson today: it can be hard to stick to what's safe, i.e. blocking the road when it's too narrow, with so many asshole drivers yelling at cyclists for even being on the road at all (which is our legal right). But it doesn't matter. You have to ignore them and do what's safe anyway. I got away with just bruises and maybe some muscle straining, but if I wasn't wearing a winter coat and mittens, or if I had landed in something other than soft mud and grass, it could easily have been much worse.