THE CRASH.
In 2023, I’ve got involved in an accident which had a big impact on my life. Here’s the story.
BOOM!
• How:
As I was returning home from a weekly group ride around Paris, in the blink of an eye, BOOM! I was like unplugged from life. According to the police, I crossed a junction without checking for oncoming traffic, when I should have stopped to let a car go by. So I was apparently the one at fault. But I don’t remember any of this at all, so all I can say is “okay”, shrug my shoulders and deal with it.
• The outcome:
I lost consciousness on impact, got a few broken bones, a severe brain injury despite my helmet, and I remained in a coma for over three weeks. The medical staff couldn’t tell if I was going to make it.
• After:
After waking up from the coma, I stayed in bed at hospital for a few months. I couldn’t even walk or stand up anymore. You know it’s bad when taking a shower consists in getting washed by someone else.
• Today - June 2025:
I attended a rehab hospital several times a week for over a year. I learned how to walk again, how to ride a bike too. I still have after-effects from that: I have trouble speaking, for neurological reasons, and my right eye is no longer aligned with the other, forcing me to use a mask to avoid double vision. But at least I’m not sitting in a wheelchair, or laying down in a wooden box.
The realization.
A few days after I woke up from the coma, when I was told that it wasn't certain that I would ever wake up again, I realized that if I had died, all my photos would have disappeared, because until now, they only existed on the Internet. So I decided to make a book with them, so they can continue to exist without anyone having to look after them. It is not out yet, but it will exist at some point.
More infos here: The book.
THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS.
Sooooo… I’m not anti-car, but drivers are really trying hard to make me hate them.
Between my return home and today (about a year and a half), I’ve got involved in 4 more incidents with cars, and for all of them, I was not at fault. I got cut-off twice, and I got rammed into while waiting at a traffic light, also twice.
I mean, how hard is it to pay attention to your surroundings and push a pedal to brake? But nooo, I’m just a cyclist, I’m not important.
The craziest thing is that the third accident happened on my very first ride with the new bike that replaces the one that was destroyed in the initial accident, and that I had just finished riding 30 minutes before...
Because of all this, I’m starting to hate cycling as an activity. Casual cycling is supposed to be fun and relaxing.
But to me, it’s more like “I hope I can avoid getting hit by a car today”.
I don’t really like riding a bike anymore…
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