Round Australia by bike - Day 033 - Conclusion

Unfortunately, this ride came to an end at about 5:40am on Tuesday, 17 June 2008, when I was side-swiped by a van travelling at 110kph.  It was dark, the road was straight, there was no oncoming traffic, I was lit up like a Christmas Tree, and was travelling on the extreme left-hand side of the road.  I suffered a laceration to my upper right arm, which later required stitches, and damage to my right elbow which was first diagnosed by a doctor as broken, but later confirmed to be a chipped bone.  My helmet was crushed when I landed on my head, but I did not even get a headache and remained conscious.  My bike suffered almost no damage at all, though the right-side pannier was cleanly sheared off by the rear wheel well of the vehicle.  I abandoned the ride after being despatched by a doctor to hospital by ambulance to have my injuries treated, with no prospect of being able to get back on the bike and ride in the short-term.  I had completed 8,880 kilometres in just over 31 days.