Riding Again: Accident insufficient to unwheel this biker

The entire trip measured a few hundred feet but for Bruce Hermann, a short bike ride around a parking lot was the emotional equivalent of finishing the Tour de France.

Six months ago, Hermann was lying in a bed at the Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in an intensive-care unit. He had suffered severe internal injuries and broken bones after being struck from behind by a car the evening of Feb. 21 while riding his recumbent bicycle down Country Club Road.

His family -- wife Margaret and grown children Michael and Claire -- stayed by his bedside for much of the three weeks he lay in a coma. They were confident in the abilities of his doctors and hopeful for his full recovery.

"I'd be shocked if he didn't," Claire Hermann said in March when asked if she thought her father would ride again.

That day came Sunday, when he eased himself into the saddle and took that short spin in a nearly empty parking lot.

"It was under 1,000 feet, but it really felt good," Hermann said yesterday morning.

"I was so tired by the end of it, but it gives me hope that I'll be back out there again soon."

Share the road

You might not know Hermann by name, but you've probably seen him if you've driven around Winston-Salem.

For years, Hermann rode his recumbent bicycle to commute to his bike shop, first in downtown Winston-Salem and later in Lewisville. The tall flag and flashing lights he'd attached to the bike attracted further attention.

Hermann also is noteworthy for his passion and dedication to issues relating to cyclists' rights. He's spent much time trying to organize his fellow bikers ("Like trying to herd cats.") and will tell anyone who'll listen about a cyclist's legal right to be on the road.

That's why he was dismayed by the decision of the Winston-Salem Police Department not to cite the driver whose car hit him while traveling about 35 mph.

"They talked to me for about an hour giving all the reasons why they weren't going to cite her," he said.

"Essentially I was told that if you live in Winston-Salem you shouldn't ride a bike after dark because it's ‘risky' and that it wouldn't be worth the effort because (the driver) would probably just end up with a small fine."

Still, Hermann is grateful that he's now walking unaided and able to work in his shop. He hopes his experience can be of some educational value and perhaps spare another cyclist the agony he's suffered.

"Motorists must realize that with just a moment's inattention, the vehicle they are driving can quickly turn into a lethal weapon," he said.

A real care package

On a completely unrelated note, a nearly empty subway car hurtling down the tracks shortly before first light seems like an odd place for an epiphany. Yet that's exactly what happened in northern Virginia early Friday morning.

I was riding the blue line on D.C.'s Metro about 6 a.m. thinking about the mortgage, returning to work after a too-brief vacation and what I could possibly write about when the train pulled into the Arlington National Cemetery stop.

Just across the river from the grounds where thousands of soldiers killed fighting our nation's wars are buried, the Washington Monument was bathed in soft light as the sun started its climb through the sky.

Suddenly, the cable bill didn't seem so important. The sight also served as a reminder that a mobile blood unit from Fort Bragg would be at the U.S. Army Reserve Center on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (across from Bowman Gray Stadium) until 5 p.m. today for a blood drive to benefit troops overseas.

"Back in WWII, they had paper drives, clothing drives and other ways for people to help the war effort," wrote Sgt. Major Jim Smith, an e-mail acquaintance with the N.C. National Guard in Iraq. "Now there are only a few ways to personally support our soldiers overseas and the blood drive is the most tangible that directly affects soldiers who are deployed."

In other words, care packages from home are great, but blood can save lives. An hour out of your day might keep some kid's name off a headstone in Arlington.

■ Scott Sexton can be reached at 727-7481 or at ssexton@wsjournal.com.