I had a slow-speed crash on my bike today. I was on my way home in not-so-great shape. The hell heat of summer may be over, but it's still pretty hot.

Anyway, the primary cause of the crash was Taipei's poorly maintained roads being a hazard for cyclists. I'll take part credit for being impulsive and not being careful enough. What I remember is hitting an uneven piece of concrete in the drainage lane and going over into a line of motor scooters parked on the curb

The first thing I did is what I usually do when I go down, which is get me and my bike out of traffic. I had knocked over a motor scooter in the fall, which actually created a space to pull my bike onto the sidewalk. I indicated to the motor scooter drivers who witnessed the fall that I was OK. Then proceeded to put upright the motor scooter that I had knocked over.

So the order of events was going over crashing into a parked motor scooter, indicating I was OK, pulling my bike out of traffic, uprighting the motor scooter and then looking at my hand which absorbed the impact of the fall. 

My pinky at the second joint was pointing almost 90 degrees in a direction it wasn't supposed to bend. There was a fleeting thought of "wrong", then a fleeting thought of "doctor", and then a non-thought action of grabbing the pinky and sickeningly yoinking it back into place where it belonged.

The sensation was gross, but it didn't hurt at all, not until later.

This all took place in a fraction of a second. I didn't notice whether anyone was still looking at me, but if anyone was, it probably looked like a badass, manly display of noticing a body part not being in the right position and dispassionately yanking it into the right position. It would've looked disgusting.

And it was grotesque looking at a part of my own body, albeit minor, in a disfigured position. I continued home in a slight state of shock. It was a minor incident, but I knew that it would take a few hours to learn the full extent of the damage or whether I'd need to see a doctor.

I also knew that I'd probably have to deal with an onset of depression that often accompanies these things. Even minor, it forces me to look at various things resulting from the impact of the fall. Even if minor, there's always the possibility of something major.

And what if it turned out I did need to see a doctor or get X-rays? I don't have the structures or support in my life to routinely pursue that. I've chosen a solitary lifestyle, which means I face any downturn alone. No one's going to turn up and say, "OK, let's get you to a doctor".

Anyway, I think there's no major damage or anything broken or requiring medical attention. Where the joint got bent has bruised and I wasn't able to use my right hand for much of anything for several hours, but I've stabilized it by taping to my ring finger. Whatever hurts will just heal on its own in its own time.