I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before now. Given the road conditions and the quality of drivers in this area it would have been expected that I’d crash at least once during my training. But what happened tonight wasn’t so much a crash as it was a tip.
About a month ago I bought a pair of cycling shoes off of Craigslist- $10 for $90 shoes. (score!) Corey did the necessary mechanical work to change the pedals for me and gave me some tips for riding with clipless pedals. During my first lesson, in the backyard, I fell once. Ever since I’ve had good luck clipping in and out at red lights, intersections and whatnot.
Tonight, though, something was off. I really didn’t feel like going for a ride, but I was dragging myself through the motions. I got my gear on, I struggled to put my bike together (it had been taken apart a bit while traveling), I put a band aid on a cut I didn’t know I had until I was putting my shoes on and I forced myself out on the road. I should have followed my intuition and stayed home!
Not even half a mile from our house is a traffic light. As I coasted to a stop I struggled to kick my right foot out of my pedal. The next moments were in extreme slow motion as I accepted the fact that I was falling, I tried to go over gracefully and I prayed that once I was down my foot would come loose. The foot did come off the pedal and I, not so gracefully, stood back up. A car had been coming up along side me as I tipped and must have seen the whole thing. The guy in the passenger seat was gracious enough to hold off on laughing until after he asked if I was okay.
I rode on a little further trying to evaluate the extent of my injury. I have had much worse road rash in the past, but I decided to turn and head home anyway. I came home and cleaned up and will probably have a better attitude about riding tomorrow! I will continue training, undaunted!
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Filed under: Training
