Monday, August 24, 2009

The Start of My Bikeing Adventures


Well I finally have a bike adventure to tell you about, but nothing like riding through France.


This past Wednesday I went for my morning ride. I have a headlight on the bike, a flashing taillight and I wear a head lamp. We have a nice paved bike path that goes through our neighborhood. It actually runs for over 50 miles, but I use a 5 mile section for some out and back speed work. I was just starting out and getting up to a cruising speed of about 20 mph when all of a sudden I see a big tree across the bike path. We had storms come through the day before and this old tree must have fallen then. I know it was old because there were no leaves on the tree which made it hard to pick up in the dark, even with all my lights. The tree trunk blended into the paved bike path.


I hit the tree at what I figure was 15 to 20 mph. I literally flew off the bike and over the tree. Thank goodness I did not hit a part of the tree during my flight. I landed some 10 to 15 feet on the other side of the tree. I lay on the ground groaning for a few seconds until I realized that I was not hurt and that I really did not have anything to be groaning about. I got up and found that my bike had also landed on the other side of the tree.


I got up and started to assess the damage when I saw the light from two other riders approaching. I flagged them down to stop. They told me they had seen my lights and had recognized my double headlights from previous mornings. They had wondered what had happened as they saw my headlights suddenly disappear.


We tried to move the tree, but it was no use. One of the riders left his light on the tree until he came back from his ride and we placed warning branches on the path about 30 feet on either side of the tree. We always see a few other riders on the trail in the mornings and we did not want anyone else to take a flyer.


I was able to limp home on my bike. The only thing I suffered was a few minor scraps on my hand and shoulder. I must have instinctively rolled when I hit the ground, though I do not remember my landing. I was very fortunate and glad I had said my prayers before starting out on my ride. My bike got the worst of it with a bent front fork which will need to be replaced. But even that I count as minor considering the collision. I am out of commission for at least a week, so until then I can only walk on the treadmill – my kids get on me if I do any running.


Maybe I will do a follow up podcast now that I have something interesting to talk about.

1 comment:

Drusy said...

Definately easier to miss the trees while running than while biking! But I hope it does not set you back. I was so impressed by your PDIP google group post. Best Regards!