Just hangin' on

Its been awhile since I blogged and unfortunately I haven't done a whole lot of riding in that time, hardly anything worth mentioning anyway, except for this one little incident.

Mike and I have been trying to ride at lunch although its somewhat hit and miss with our schedules and the changing to the cold weather has kind of turned me into a wuss.  I haven't acclimated yet.  Soon I'll be out in negative 10 degree temperatures without a second thought.  Its the 35-40 degree temperatures that are hard for me.  Its hard to dress for that.  You don't want too much clothing or you'll sweat like a pig but the bike jersey and shorts just don't cut it.  Even with the base layer, its still pretty cold.

Anyway, it did warm up last week a bit and we decided to go for a few rides down at Two Moon Park.  Mike has me lead since I know the trails better.  The trails were a little damp from the morning dew that hadn't quite dried out in the shady spots.  I decided to take the Mallard Loop because our usual route, the Weeping Wall Trail is a muddy mess right now.  We were going at a pretty good speed, talking as we rode.  I took a corner and rode onto a wooden bridge to cross the creek.  The next thing I know, I feel the intense pain of impact on my right side.  One second I was upright, the next, my bike and I were hanging over the edge of the bridge.  It happened so fast that I never saw it coming.  I guess wet leaves and wooden bridges make a horrible combination.

I let out a loud yell (I hope it was a yell and not a girly scream) and turned back to see Mike skid to a stop right before hitting the bridge.  He said, had I not yelled, I'd have a tire up my back.  Once I realized I was out of danger, I collapsed on my back onto the bridge to take in the situation.  I was hanging over the bridge, holding onto my bike in which I was also entwined and my leg was screaming with pain.  I pulled it together, sat up and put one foot on the slippery bridge while trying to pull myself and my bike back up.  I had no real footing and the pedal was jammed under the bridge.  It took awhile but after slipping and sliding all over the bridge and pushing the bike free, I was finally able to recover and get back on the bike.  We avoided the wooden bridges the rest of the day.