A long time ago, 1989 or 1990 I went with 65kph into a larger roundabout at around 4 AM, with only one car in it, a Citroën 2CV. As usual, the thing was SLOW. I thought I'd could overtake it left, while staying behind it, but not much. What I didn't think of was the possibility that it would brake right there and then to exit into a small private driveway directly adjacent to the roundabout, instead of the regular exits.

So I touched the thick rubber lip of its back bumper at its far right side, almost the corner with my front wheel, while already being banked right by about 30 to 45 degrees (because turning right in a wide bow from the entering main street).

INSTANT STOP and I FLEW over the back of that f...ing thing.

In that moment I felt surprise, and anger, for being so stupid, but also thought in ultrafast-forward about anything I could think of to dampen the crash.

Which was to spread the energy of impact as much as possible around my whole body, execpt my head, and separate like hell from my roadbike.

I actually managed that while doing a summersault, not by myself, been already catapulted into it, still attached to bike, but got free of the pedals, and managed to spread out my arms and legs while flying feet forward, and somehow stay oriented like that.

BAM! Hit the road with my back at least a dozen meters away from 'lift-off', could have been 20 to 25 meters also. Can't tell anymore.

Hands outstretched, palms flat down. Head UP, chin toward my breast. Soles of my shoes also flat down, legs slightly bent upwards at the knees.

OOOF! Couldn't breath for a while, that just didn't work anymore, even if I tried. That went on for about 30 seconds, then I managed to gasp, and then it was gone. It didn't hurt, I just couldn't.

My palms tingled. The soles of my feet too. Like hell. But only for about a minute or so. Then that was gone, too.

In utter incomprehension I sat up and checked my hands, arms, ribs, legs, head.
Nothing. Everything still attached, not broken, no blood, while the chalk white faces from that 2CV emerged, running toward me, shocked.

I told them to get their damned 2cv out of the roundabout, to avoid another crash, grabbed my bike from the street where it lay a few meters away, and went to the sidewalk, still debating with the shocked people that I wouldn't need an ambulance, that nothing bad happened, and they could calm down now.

No torn clothes. Yay for Levis 501 and Nomex45p Bomber Jacket CWU!1!! But the roadbike was trash. Not even the frontwheel, as I'd have expected, but the whole frame and fork bent diagonally sideways in a hard to describe way.

Did walk the rest of the way home, after removing the saddle, very light bell with a nice ring, tachometer, its sensor, cable and fixings.

Sitting on a bench in a park next to a river, thinking: Insane, insane, this can't be, can't have happenend like that, can't can't...

Moving on, still a few kilometers to walk, through forest. Sun rises. Still thinking can't be, can't be, like in an endless loop.

Went to bed at about 6AM after checking for bruises, swelling but nothing to be seen or felt. Used the next day to get me another roadbike (used) for 2000 Deutsche Mark ;-)