My Fitness Friday FAIL

 

I had an 18 mile bike ride on the agenda for Friday.   The weather was perfect for a ride so my mom and I loaded the bikes up and drove them to the starting point on our trail. By the time we rode to the park, which was the halfway point, we got a call that my Nana was taken to the hospital.  At this point we turn around and start making our way back down the trail so we can load up the bikes and go to the hospital ourselves.  The nurse told my mom that my Nana would probably be waiting for an hour or two, so we didn’t have to be in a great big hurry.

Well, about mile 11 I had my first bike wipe-out and it was bad!  I don’t even remember going that fast either. We were entering a section of trail that has those yellow caution bars on it.  Quite like the picture below. 

 

The purpose of this is so bikers slow down because they are approaching a crossroads were there may be traffic. It’s probably meant for only one biker to pass at a time, so I went ahead of my mom.  Apparently I wasn’t over as far as I thought. The left handle bar on my bike just grazed the yellow caution bar and literally spun my bike around throwing me to the ground. I remember trying to catch my balance and then thinking “ o my gosh, I’m gonna fall on this pavement”.  And then I was down! I thought I would be able to move, but my whole body was just stinging so I laid on the ground for a moment just to take in the actuality of what had happened.  I knew my mom was really worried. As I laid there I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry at what had happened.  My mom helped me off the pavement and we sat in the grass so I could assess my injuries. I tried to break the fall with my hands, so of course my palms are all scuffed up.   The inside of my left ankle is pretty scratched up, and my right knee was bloody.   She kept asking me if I was okay as she poured what was left in her water bottle over my scrapes. An older couple and their friend must have saw what had happened because they came right over to me and asked if they needed to call 911.   I told them that I would be okay, but thank you. The ironic part was that we were on our way to the hospital anyway!  The gentleman then picked my bike up and noticed that it wasn’t working properly. The break wires had got twisted during my fall.  He fixed it for me and then after assuring them that “yes” we did have a cell phone, and that I would be okay, they went on their way.  Several other people stopped as well.  I was overwhelmed at the generosity and concern that complete strangers gave.

After doing a little maintenance on my bike, we were back riding again, albeit a bit slower.  We stopped at a little shopping center right off the trail. We went into a Sheetz store so I could use the restroom to properly wash my hands and clean my wounds.  We were going to get a bite to eat here too, but this particular Sheetz did not have any tables or chairs and with the way my right leg was feeling, I really needed to be able to sit down.   A lady at Sheetz suggested that we go next door to Weis Markets (which is a grocery store) and sit at one of the tables they have at the deli.  I do remember the Weis near my house has a nice deli section with tables and chairs, so I thought this was a good idea.   We get to the deli and ask where all the chairs are and the lady behind the counter tells us that management recently got rid of them. Well that stinks! The employee wasn’t too happy about this change either. She said that she had regular customers that would come in every day and have lunch there.  We ordered two slices of pizza and the nice employee told us that we could eat in their break room if we wanted to.  What!!! Since when is the general public allowed in someone else’s break room?  We politely declined the invitation to eat in the break room.  However, she did tell us that there was a patio set (couch, chair, and table) sitting out in front of the store and that we should take our slices of pizza and eat out there.  This is too funny, but that is what we did.  Every person that walked by us to go into the store either looked at us funny or made a comments like “what a good idea”, or “that looks comfy”.  No one said anything mean but I’m sure people thought we were a little weird and totally out of line eating on a “display” patio set.  We certainly got an evil look from a little kid about 5 or 6 years old as he walked out with his parents. He was staring at us the whole time he walked by that he almost ran into the side of the wall.  But hey, the employee said people eat out there all the time and really what was our other option?  Sit on the curb outside? 

After we ate, it was time to make the ride back.  I assured my mom I could ride it. It was about four or five more miles back to our car.  Before we got back on our bikes, my mom called her brother to tell him we were going to the hospital to see my Nana.  As luck would have it, he was just driving by the Weis Markets so he came and picked up our bikes and put them in the back of his truck and took us to our car.  I am so glad he did this because during the ride to the hospital my leg was feeling progressively worse.  I just know I’m going to have a massive black and blue mark very soon.

My leg was so sore that I sat with an ice pack on it for the rest of the afternoon.  I really could have used like three more packs!

I really feel that this cross train activity turned out to be a #Fail, which is so disappointing. I’ve rode this 18 miles of trail before with no problem.  I’ve never had to get picked up mid run or mid ride before!  I’m really not a reckless rider, but just to be safe let’s just say that I will refrain from participating in the Five Borough Bike Tour in NY ( ha ha)!

I only completed 11 miles of the 18 that we set out to do.

 

Have you ever had one of your fitness activities turn into a Fail?

~M