The Oracle of Apollo Snippets from the life of Apollo Lee

On the Ground Again

Trying to muster my mileage again, after long periods of distraction and no desire to ride. Today, I thought I was in line to getting my 18,000th mile this week. The ride was mostly uneventful, all pathetically slow fifteen miles of it. Well, that is until my left cleat failed to hold my foot as I jumped into the pedals and hammered away from the red light at Hollenbeck Avenue in Sunnyvale. I listed right and landed on the asphalt.

I’m not badly hurt. My ribs are sore, I’ve scraped some skin off my elbow, and I have a welt and a bruise on my right hip. It sucks to walk, move around, or lean on my elbow. Nothing’s broken. I’m okay.

Except I don’t really want to ride anymore. I just got my touring bike back the other day and nothing really motivates me to get on either bike. And now, I get to spend more money getting the derailleur and brake lever straightened back out on the 2100. I think it’s time to reevaluate why I’m doing it and pick a sport that’s less likely to involve me ending up dead.

Yeah, Sunday marks one year since the big crash. I still have crash dreams sometimes. Maybe it’s time to start swimming or flatwater kayaking or just running around that quarter mile track at Sunnyvale Middle School.

Oh man, Apollo, that really sucks.

Cycling really is a pretty safe sport, and it’s so low-impact that it really is goof for you.

At least, it’s supposed to be low impact. You’re throwing the curve way off! Racers crash all the time, but hobbyists/enthusiasts aren’t supposed to crash anywhere near once per year. 🙁

I’d try to push you to stick with it, but: a) I have no influence with you at all, and b) it sounds like you’ve already made up your mind. Besides, if you really don’t feel that you can ride safely (for whatever reason), then you’re probably right to find something else to do.

Seth

I’ll probably not quit riding entirely, but maybe I’m not cut out to be a cyclist. The worst injuries of my life have come from a spill off a bicycle.

Riding safely, even when following all the rules of the road, seems to just be an abstract hypothetical–at least, for me. It’s like what the local cyclists say about riding on Foothill Expressway and how awesome it is to have miles and miles of nothing but green lights. I have never hit two green lights in a row on Foothill Expressway, but every other cyclist on this planet or any other professes that they never end up at red lights on that road.

I don’t think I’m particularly accident-prone. But, I also don’t like coming off of my bike because my cleat wasn’t tight enough. If that driver behind me had run over me, most of my friends would just wonder what ever happened to me. And that scares the crap out of me.

Right now, I’m just sore and pissed off that I have to spend a bunch more money getting the light bike ready to ride again. Plus, I’m purple. And I really should update my statistics.

How about taking up underwater basket weaving?