Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax

Fall down go boom

We rode on the canal today. It was great...the July heat and humidity was tempered greatly by the shade, I kept my pace easy and my heart rate out of the red zone, and you don't get views like this from the road:

Beats the spandex shorts off road riding. We did just shy of 25 miles and it was nearly perfect. I only wish I could have a do-over for two little moments.

The first, I was riding around a gate, and I'll share the internal monologue:

Don't hit the gatepost, dumbass.
Aw, crap.
Raise your arms! You don't want to fall on your hands!
Oooooh, soft ground.
Soft and cool. Soft and cool and green. Green...oh man, I hope this isn't poison ivy.

It wasn't poison ivy (I think it was actually wild strawberry), and I squirted the dirt out of the scrapes on my right knee and we rode on.

Then later, as we finished up the ride, we had to go around another gate. I said "I think I'll walk the bike, ha ha ha." After I was safely past the post, I got back on for the last few yards through the gravel parking lot. The internal monologue for that one went something like

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Why is there gravel in my mouth?

That one hurt. I didn't have the presence of mind to raise my arms, so I took most of the fall on my right hand. (Luckily I was moving pretty slow, so all I have to show for it is a big swollen bruise, not a broken wrist or collarbone.) I also scraped up the left knee (which hurt like a bitch to scrub clean), and now it is turning funny colors and has an extra lump, too.

On the drive home I was thinking I was pretty lucky not to be hurting worse, but then a few hours later, I'm hurting worse.

Want to know what's funny?

This is still the best ride I've had in years.

Posted by Nic at July 16, 2006 07:44 PM | TrackBack