NOTE: This event has been rescheduled to Friday, November 22 at 6 pm at the Rapha HQ (1915 NW Kearney St)
NAHBS 2011 in Austin.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)
Christopher Igleheart, a veteran frame builder who moved from Wenham, Massachusetts to Portland in 2012, was involved in a collision with a motor vehicle on Tuesday afternoon. Igleheart remains in the hospital with a serious knee injury while he awaits word on whether or not it will require surgery.
According to Igleheart’s friend and shop-mate Joseph Ahearne, the collision occurred on NE Wheeler Avenue adjacent to the Moda Center (formerly Rose Garden Arena). Igleheart was apparently riding southbound on Wheeler when someone driving a car turned right into a parking lot driveway and clipped his rear wheel. Igleheart sustained scrapes and bruises on his hands and his head in addition to his knee injury.
Igleheart opted to not have a medical response come to the scene and he didn’t get information from the other party. He rode himself back to his shop a few blocks away and was taken to the emergency room by Ahearne (aboard the front rack of one of this cycle-trucks of course). Ahearne said Igleheart nearly passed out from the pain but is now recovering well.
Unfortunately, Igleheart is self-employed and doesn’t have health insurance. Because his medical bills are likely to be several thousands of dollars, friends are planning a benefit fundraiser event next week. Nathan Roll, owner of Metropolis Cycle Repair (which is located next door to Igleheart’s shop), says he’ll host the event at the shop next Friday (November 8th) at 6:00 pm. He’s looking for raffle prizes and donations of beer and food to make it happen. If you have something to contribute, please email info [at] metropoliscycles [dot] com.
We’re hoping for a full and speedy recovery. Hang in there Chris!
UPDATE, 8:01 pm: We heard back from Chris. He said he’s out of the hospital and will take a week of bed rest to recover. He plans to undergo surgery to repair the posterior cruciate ligament in his knee. As for his decisions immediately after the collision, Chris wrote us via text message that, “I’m probably a bad example for what to do after being hit as I didn’t get the driver’s info because I was in shock.” Chris described the collision as a classic right hook. “[The driver] was trying to turn ahead of a cyclist behind me and didn’t see me.”
“I have been pedaling my whole life,” he continued, “and avoided my share of these, just not this one.”