“It’s not a matter of if, but when” and “You will fall” were two of the statements I had been told by multiple people multiple times.
On Sunday night (Aug 27) at 8:40pm it happened.
Rewind…
Let’s go back to earlier in the day first though. I was tired from cutting down so many trees and bushes that I went down to the basement and rested for a minute (or 3 hours). My allergies had flared up and all I wanted to do was rest. I checked my watch to see how much time I had before sunset as I knew I had an hour bike ride to still get in. I had about two hours left.
I gave myself a pep talk and said let’s go. I got my poop in a group and took off on my bike. I had about an hour and 25 minutes before sunset and an hour of riding per my training schedule.
Memories
As I took off for my ride, I decided to ride towards Chaska. This meant a downhill in the first half and a killer uphill in the back half. As I was riding, I got on the trail that leads from Carver to Chaska. This is the same trail my friends had done as part of an event, only a month ago. I missed the event as I was in ND with family.
I stopped along the levee to take in the sights of the Minnesota River in Carver. These scenes made me remember the good runs I had with Gizmo. Even though Gizmo and I have both slowed down, those memories will hopefully be with me forever.
I finished my hour long ride and covered 15.5 miles doing so, giving me my longest and fastest average speed to date.
Back to the Fall…
After returning, Elin and Axel mentioned wanting to ride bike to our neighbors, Dave and Linda’s, which totaled half a mile round trip. We had about ten minutes before sunset, but also had a headlight and taillight for safety. We proceeded to head down the gravel road.
We got to Dave and Linda’s to find out Dave was not there. Nonetheless, we really only came to see Linda anyway. 😉 The kids talked with her for a few minutes before getting distracted by a frog. The sun had gone down and the moon had come out. We were ready to head home and prepare for bed.
The kids led the way with my headlight elimunating their path. As we turned into the drive, I told the kids to park their bikes by the tree so they took off towards said tree. I looked down and thought I had just ran over a mouse. As I slowed way down to get a better look, I realized I was barely moving. I proceeded to put my foot out to catch myself, but it was at that point in time that I realized, I didn’t have a free foot to put down. My shoes were still clipped in.
Down I Went!
I landed on my back and put my arm out to lessen the impact of the fall. Luckily, other than my pride, I was relatively uninjured. I got the wind knocked out of me a little and my wrist was sore, but not injured.
The kids ran inside to get Evonne. I heard her say while coming outside, “Did Dad really fall or is he pretending?” Tonight’s lesson wasn’t only remembering to unclip my shoes, but also to limit the amount of times I cry wolf to my wife.
To wrap this blog up, there may come a time when I may need quick response and I don’t want people thinking that I’m just joking. Luckily, this time I’m unharmed and can continue my training.