“Be prepared to fall. Everyone one does.”

“Be prepared to fall. Everyone one does.”, Elaine told me in a comment on my Cars and Bikes post two days ago.  Last night I practiced getting my new cycling shoes into and out of the pedals, in the house against a wall.  This morning Owen and I called on his friend Emma and we went for a bike ride with me on my new bike, clipped in.  While we were waiting for Emma to have a bite to eat before the ride I rode up her driveway and then down an adjacent interlock pathway with shallow steps in it. After the first shallow drop I slowed, unclipped my shoes and put my feet down.  I did this several times.  We then rode for 10 km stopping and starting frequently.  By the time we returned I was feeling pretty confident.

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We rode up Emma’s driveway.  I turned down the adjacent path and slowed.  Just then my phone started vibrating in my backpack.  It distracted me.  I came to a stop.  I hadn’t unclipped.  I tipped over.  It seemed to happen quite slowly.  I knew exactly what was happening, but could not get my feet free.  I landed on my left side, down a step from the path, on my left knee, left hand and left side of my helmet.  I felt pretty silly, mildly shaken, but otherwise fine.

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We went home and had a snack.  Then I showered, creamed my legs and dressed.  My left knee had a small abrasion.  I walked downstairs to the kitchen for lunch.  As I walked into the kitchen my knee started to feel odd.  I rolled up my pant leg and I had a bulge under my knee the size of an extra large egg.

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This wasn’t the first time I fell this summer.  On June 9 I was out riding after a rain storm.  It was cool so fortunately I was wearing long sleeves and below-the-knee capri pants, rather than my usual cycling attire of bike shorts and short sleeve t-shirt.  I took a corner too fast and my bike went out from under me to my left.  I carried on straight in a Superman-like pose.  The first thing to hit the ground was my helmet visor.  That saved my face.  I had some scrapes on both palms, my right baby finger, wrist and elbow and my right knee.  When I went to bed that evening I was surprised to find an egg sized swelling on my knee.  Prior to that fall I cannot remember the last time I fell off my bike.  It was probably back in my childhood.  Now I have fallen twice in the space of three months and both times had a delayed, large swelling on the damaged knee.

This afternoon Owen and I went to Gore Meadows Recreation Centre and Library for a Mad Science hour, but it was full when we got there so I sat down with my cold compress and a paper and he found a graphic novel.  We had a little walk around before leaving and saw this board showing the features of the expansion to the centre which will be complete in Spring 2016.

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We stopped at Tims for an afternoon coffee.

This afternoon I picked up my prize from the Let Your Green Show.  The prize is “the “Experience Nature Package” that includes a treetop trekking experience for 2 at Heartlake Conservation Area and a guided tour at Island Lake Conservation Area for you and up to 5 guests . The approximate retail value of this package is $250 CAD.”.  I wrote about the contest a few days ago.

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