“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.
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.
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.
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.
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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