The Oracle of Apollo Snippets from the life of Apollo Lee

Fall Down Go Boom

What a wake up call! This morning, I got up at 5:30 when my alarm clock rang, farted around with my computer, jumped through the shower, and hit the road about 7:15. It was almost warm enough not to warrant wearing my shell or tights, but, in retrospect, I’m glad I decided to wear them.

I headed down Middlefield Road confidently and swiftly, although I let my mind wander a few times and my average speed dropped below eighteen miles an hour. I fought to pull it back together. I began to get my stomp going from the 85 overpass after a really embarrassingly soft climb up and over. I stomped down Logue toward the moderately sharp right turn at Maude Avenue for my final sprint to work. I swept wide, I leaned in low, I had the turn…

Next thought was “Oh, shit. I’m on the ground.” The front wheel slipped out from under me. I didn’t even know I was down until I was on the ground. I unclicked from my pedals and crawled from under the bike. The brake hoods were bent in, but that’s just a bolt. I straightened them out and put the front wheel back into alignment with the headset.

Wow. Nothing like an adrenaline rush at 8 in the morning to bring you fully awake. After I picked up my bike, a very nice guy came by in a convertible Audi to shout words of encouragement at me.

“Get out of the road, dumb ass!”
“Get out of your car so I can slam you into the asphalt, bitch!”

Drivers, if you come along shortly after a cyclist has wiped out, offer help. Don’t be a smart ass. When we hit the asphalt, we have a sudden rush of adrenaline. And we really really want to beat the shit out of something.

Ouch. I’m glad it wasn’t serious.

I’ve had my share of accidents, and I know what the adrenalin rush does to you. That’s not all, though… there’s also the pain and embarrassment. Beating on someone really does seem like a good idea at the time, at least for a minute or two.

How fast were you going?

Oh, forgot to mention, I like the new header image.

In the header image, I was doing 19.8. Here’s the full image. Around that 120° turn, I think I was doing about 20 miles an hour. I’ve taken it at 22 before without any problems. I’ll have to look for the wet trail of street cleaning closer next time.