At the back of her mind she could hear a motorcycle coming. The next moment, her bike went flying from under her and she hit the tarmac – hard!

Cyclist Laura van Zyl of Louis Trichardt recalls the events that turned her fun ride into horror last Saturday afternoon on the N1 south, some 15km out of town.

Laura had just recently taken up cycling and it was her first ride out with members of the P&L Cycling Club after she had decided to join the club. Laura did not, however, feel strong enough to complete the whole distance and decided to turn back to town. Fellow cyclist Rita Schoeman joined her as the rest of the club members continued on.

As they were riding back, Laura recalls, she heard a motorcycle coming from behind. The next moment, the motorcycle hit her.

“All I was saying in my mind was: ´It’s happening, it’s happening, it’s happening.´ I was afraid of it. I did know there were risks on the N1 and my friend had actually told me, ‘Please don’t go on the N1, it’s dangerous’ and I said ´Ag, you know, that’s something that bikers have to do´,” said Laura.

The motorcycle hit Laura on her right side and skidded to a halt some distance away. “I literally fell straight down. He hit me hard.”

Passersby immediately stopped to assist Laura, whose hand was badly injured. She also had a cut on her right leg. Among the first to arrive were road workers who used their truck to shield Laura from being run over by another vehicle.

Both Laura and the motorcyclist, 41-year-old Durandt Groenewald, were later put in the same ambulance and rushed to hospital. Soon afterwards, Laura was transferred to Polokwane, where she had emergency surgery to her hand. The impact had fractured her right hand in four places. She also had to get stitches on her right leg. Groenewald was transferred to the provincial hospital in Polokwane. He had severely injured both his feet, with one being broken and the other being fractured.

Asked on Monday how she felt about her whole ordeal, Laura was, surprisingly, very jubilant.

“I am extremely grateful … It could have been 100% worse. You know, I am so grateful that it is not my spine or that I don´t have brain damage. I was really lucky,” said Laura, knowing that she had escaped death.

Laura, a graphic designer by trade who owns her own graphic company, E Grafix, will have a tough time ahead of her this festive season. This is the busiest time of the year for her and without the use of her right hand, her business will struggle. Although her hand is in plaster, she says she does have some mobility in her thumb and two of her fingers.

“So I have no doubt that I am going to have the use of my hand; how much, I’m not sure,” says Laura. Her little finger was so badly fractured that doctors could not find any point to anchor a steel pin. Still, Laura remains positive.

Although an accident like this makes one angry as one does not plan for it, Laura also does not hold a grudge against Groenewald.

“He is going to have it very hard. I do feel very sorry for him … You know, they put the two of us in the same ambulance and I couldn’t see him, but I could hear him. I knew he was just in a hell of a lot of agony”.

As for cycling, Laura is not so positive.

“Look, I’m never going to cycle on the road again. I’ll still see if I can manage a bit of mountain biking … I will never, ever in my life go on the road again.” The accident happened despite Laura and Rita´s sticking to the cycling rules. “If I had been stupid and ridden side by side with her [Rita], you know, I would have taken full responsibility,” said Laura

In response to the incident, Heine de Jager (chairman of the P&L Cycling Club), urged motorists to drive cautiously this festive season and to take cyclists into account. He said that in the five years that he had been chairman of the club, this was the second time a cyclist was knocked off a bike by a vehicle. “We are lucky that no one has been killed,” said Heine. He urged the roads authority, SANRAL, to put up signs along the N1, warning motorists that they are sharing the road with cyclists.

“Remember, cyclists have the same right on the road as motorists,” said Heine. He also urged road users not to drink and drive, especially over the festive season. On a lighter note, Heine thanked all the taxi drivers who frequently greet them while they are cycling.

With regard to Laura’s ordeal, the police are investigating a case of reckless and negligent driving.