It has become abundantly clear to me over the last month that my bike riding skills my be severely below par. Yep that's right. I am admitting I am not so good at something. Here is the story:
About 4 weeks ago I went biking a few days after a snowstorm. I hit some ice and snow and went flying off my bike. You can read about that fall here. Two weeks ago I was going on a long ride with my friend Hannah. We had already gone about 16 miles when Hannah thought something was wrong with her bike. Sure enough her back tire was flat. We managed to repair it (with many a fellow biker flying by asking if we needed help). No more than 3 minutes down the same path after we started again I felt like something was wrong with my bike. Sure enough I know had a flat back tire. We again managed to change my punctured tube and we were on our way.
Fast forward to this past weekend. Hannah and I ventured out on another long ride on Sunday. Hannah...being the responsible biker that she is...bought a new spare tube for her tire in case she needed it. I did not. About 4 miles into the ride, I look down and realize my back tire is flat. I am frustrated because we just started and I know I also don't have a replacement tube. Hannah had her tube but her tires are much smaller than mine. We tried to make it work but the tube was just too small....so Hannah's roommate, Rosalind, came to the rescue and drove me home.
It was such a nice day out though that Hannah, Rosalind and I decided to ride our bikes to the bike shop to get a replacement tube. I have another bike (I know lame). Rosalind dropped me off and I was to meet them at their house which is about 2 miles from my house. I switched out bikes and headed out forgetting one very important aspect about my other bike...it has disc brakes. Basically disc brakes are like brakes in cars and they make you stop very fast...almost immediately....as in if you aren't paying attention and being careful you can go flying off your bike.
I was no more than one block from my house going down a small hill (Side Note: I was only riding with one hand because I was eating an apple and hanging onto it with my other hand..I know..stupid). Anyway, I was going down the small hill and realized I was gaining a little too much speed so I "lightly" touched my front brake (forgetting again I was on a different bike and one with disc brakes as well).
The next thing I know I am flying through the air over the top of my handle bars. I crunch into the ground and realize I am not hurt. I immediately stand up and I am pretty sure my apple was still in my hand. There were quite a few spectators and they all asked if I was okay which I surprisingly was considering the situation. I know my left side hit the ground because my shoulder has been so sore all week long. I am also pretty sure my bike landed between my legs because I have bruises all over my left leg (pictures to come soon). My arm was the only thing that got scraped up and that was barely scraped at all...just bruises.
Apparently, I am not so good at riding bikes. I am learning though and hopefully I can go more than a month without falling. At least I am learning that crashing your bike is not as painful as it seems.
2 comments:
Sounds like someone has an eye on my Clumsy Bastard title.
But you're going to have to bring more than bruises to the table if you want to challenge me.
When you have a story that can match watching "A Christmas Story" on Christmas morning in the emergency room while wearing a ID bracelet that identifies me as a female after stabbing myself with Lisa's switchblade IMMEDIATELY after she told me explicitly to "NOT stab myself"......THEN we can talk.
you're not alone! I was riding one handed with a basketball in my arm in port austin when the disc brakes left me on the ground!
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