I bit it on the downhill .... Again
My latest meeting with Mr. Downhill did not go well. I was biking down a not-overly-steep section of trail tonight and found myself suddenly launched through the air with the greatest of ease. Sadly, the landing was not so easy. It was hard and fast and my bike almost landed on top of me. Luckily my feet were still strapped in and I had the presense of mind to lift them backwards as I was landing on my face and chest. This sent the bike just off to the right of my head, saving my having to buy a new helmet. I suppose it saved my egg-shell skull too, but I like to think of all the money I saved in keeping my helmet in one piece.
The problem with the bike is that it was free. Yes, not cheap, not a Wal-Mart special, Free. This guy gave it to me because he thought I would use it more than him. He was right about that. I have been going out with the GAYBC at least once a week for the past few months. We have been having a lot of fun and getting faster every time. The bike has been getting worse though for a myriad of reasons. The gears and brakes are ok, the chain stays on for the most part, the pedals are baskets which bounce my feet out, and the seat post keeps slipping down. The problem though, is my front shock. As I was cruising along the railroad tracks tonight I hit a large root which bounced me out of the pedal baskets. It also happened to bottom out the shock. This was not so good. It bottomed out and stayed rather compressed from then on. Now, whenever I am on the bike it is sitting at its lowest position. Not great for a "shock" to not be able to absorb any "shock." So, when I got to the down hill and hit a root, there was nowhere for the energy to go except to launch me head over handlebars into the ground. As I said, I was lucky. The landing was onto pine needles, not onto rocks. To my surprise the whole city did not in fact hear my grunting landing. Nobody heard it, they had to settle for seeing my sadly dirty self come walking the bike back to our start point. It is with a strange mix of shame and pride that I reported the fact that I took flight that day.
Other events today: Jail Court!! Yay!! I picked up some new clients. That was fun. Some domestic violence here, some cocaine there, a well-rounded group. There was even a former client of mine in the courtroom... she just can't stay out of trouble. Luckily the state was not going forward with her charges. She sticks out in my mind because her name is the same as my wife's, and she goes by Jules.
I also had lunch with my new team today. That was cool. They are new to me, I think they will be good to work with. They both seem to have their heads on straight and court (and lunch) was pretty easy to get through.
Mr Vit-one called last night from Australia. That crazy kid. I can't believe he is there. I can't believe he is going to Australian Nationals with a club team!! That's crazy talk, but true. He is my idol. Wouldn't you want to pick up leave for Australia and New Zealand for two months?? I do, and I might just do that if someone asked me to join them... hint hint hint.
Enough silly talk. Time for bed.
The problem with the bike is that it was free. Yes, not cheap, not a Wal-Mart special, Free. This guy gave it to me because he thought I would use it more than him. He was right about that. I have been going out with the GAYBC at least once a week for the past few months. We have been having a lot of fun and getting faster every time. The bike has been getting worse though for a myriad of reasons. The gears and brakes are ok, the chain stays on for the most part, the pedals are baskets which bounce my feet out, and the seat post keeps slipping down. The problem though, is my front shock. As I was cruising along the railroad tracks tonight I hit a large root which bounced me out of the pedal baskets. It also happened to bottom out the shock. This was not so good. It bottomed out and stayed rather compressed from then on. Now, whenever I am on the bike it is sitting at its lowest position. Not great for a "shock" to not be able to absorb any "shock." So, when I got to the down hill and hit a root, there was nowhere for the energy to go except to launch me head over handlebars into the ground. As I said, I was lucky. The landing was onto pine needles, not onto rocks. To my surprise the whole city did not in fact hear my grunting landing. Nobody heard it, they had to settle for seeing my sadly dirty self come walking the bike back to our start point. It is with a strange mix of shame and pride that I reported the fact that I took flight that day.
Other events today: Jail Court!! Yay!! I picked up some new clients. That was fun. Some domestic violence here, some cocaine there, a well-rounded group. There was even a former client of mine in the courtroom... she just can't stay out of trouble. Luckily the state was not going forward with her charges. She sticks out in my mind because her name is the same as my wife's, and she goes by Jules.
I also had lunch with my new team today. That was cool. They are new to me, I think they will be good to work with. They both seem to have their heads on straight and court (and lunch) was pretty easy to get through.
Mr Vit-one called last night from Australia. That crazy kid. I can't believe he is there. I can't believe he is going to Australian Nationals with a club team!! That's crazy talk, but true. He is my idol. Wouldn't you want to pick up leave for Australia and New Zealand for two months?? I do, and I might just do that if someone asked me to join them... hint hint hint.
Enough silly talk. Time for bed.
posted by Jay at 12:08 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home