Bob Burdett was nearing the end of his bicycle ride just before noon on Sept. 15 to meet his son, Gabe Burdett, for an afternoon of mountain biking at Riverside State Park.
The 62-year-old had already pedaled several miles from his South Hill home along High Drive Parkway, by High Bridge Park and across sections of the Centennial Trail.
In fact, Burdett was going to be early for his 12:30 p.m. rendezvous with his son. But as he coasted to the bottom of Doomsday Hill, Burdett approached a turn at a little more than 20 mph.
His bike veered right. His body flew left.
Then his helmeted head hit the ground so hard it knocked him unconscious – hard enough for his Apple Watch to feel it.
“A hit that hard could have killed me if I weren’t wearing it,” Burdett said. He had to replace it.