An object in motion....

Tends to stay in motion. So goes the laws of physics.

This morning I woke up at 6:10, and looked out the window and saw and heard the rain. Last night I managed to sneak in a 5 mile little trip before the heavens opened up again, and Alex and I were supposed to go hit Flatwoods (weather permitting). Well, it was pouring, so Alex said he was going to stay home and go back to bed. For me, once I am awake, thats it - I am up. I fixed some eggs, had a few cups of coffee and looked at the weather - light rain, but no thunderstorms. I can do this...

I headed down the road, and quite honestly - it was fantastic. Nothing like a light mist to keep you cool while you are pedaling, and since most people had the day off, there was next to no traffic out.

Then we get to nearly the 3rd mile...


Now this picture was taken in the winter - so you arent seeing the overgrown foliage sticking out into the bridge. You also cannot see that it is covered in slippery black mold. Now I had slowed because I knew that being wood and having been covered in rain for the last 4 days it was going to be slick. Unfortunately for me though, I tried to duck one of the branches that stuck out into the bridge. This is where all hell broke loose. As far as I could tell when I ducked the front wheel slid to the left, which forced the rest of the bike down on the right side...while this occured I take a superman pose and slide about 5-10 feet down the trail (the reflective jacket and slick wood seemed to combine to create the world's worst slip and slide).

Once I stop sliding and I start to try to figure out what the hell just happened, I start thinking...where's my bike? At this point a woman in a minivan stopped and asked if I was ok, to which I replied, everything except my pride thanks! This is when I discovered the bike, handlebars and headlight underwater in mud, and the back tire and derailler resting against the edge of the wooden bridge. I fished the bike out, to my amazement the light still shining brightly, and the tail light was just a blinking. As get the bike back up on the wheels and spit some water out on the lights, brake levers and shifters, I try to get the chain back on the big rings. No dice. I look back at my derailler which I thought was busted, when in fact, the chain jumped the rear sprocket and jamed between the frame and the smallest gear on the rear cassette. This in turn pulled the lower pulley up against the cassette. I freed the chain and made sure the gears, brakes, and wheels were good to go.

I pulled some napkins out of the zip lock bag and wiped the grease off my hands and cleaned my shades. Then I surveyed the damage to my body - A nasty raspberry about 1"x5" on my left inner thigh from it scraping across the seat, and my right knee was skinned up. Otherwise just black mold covering my right side of my jersey and the front of my safety vest.

I took it easy pedaling for the next mile and felt good enough to at least ride some more. I ended up doing 9.85 miles, and it was one of the nicest rides I have been on in quite some time (one of the coolest too!).

Started: Jul 5, 2010 8:10:12 AM
Ride Time: 56:41
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 9.85 miles
Average: 10.43 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 17.50 miles/hr
Climb: 341 feet
Calories: 475