Oops

Well…….I wrecked.

How did that happen?

Well, see, there’s this really busy road that I ride on-

Wait, wait, wait, the wreck didn’t happen on that road.

Okay, so there are several not very busy roads that I ride on-

Nope.  Not there either.  What does that leave?

*Sigh*

Okay, so it happened in the driveway.

Why did I wreck?  It was a culmination of bad decisions and general clumsiness.

So, I’m on the bike ready to go, and I look left and see a truck coming.  I know that truck.  The guy lives to the left of me, so he’ll never get to my driveway, and I’m going right, anyway, so I go.  Clearly, I am an idiot for making that assumption.  As it turned out, the guy was going past my house to the first house on the right of me to use their driveway to turn around and go back to his house.

Add to that the fact that, because my computer doesn’t work, I am holding a stopwatch in my left hand.  When I get going, I’ll start the watch and put it in my pocket, but, because it’s in my hand at the moment, I can’t use that hand for braking.

There is also that fact that, after being mostly off the bike for a couple of years, I haven’t had the bike tuned up yet.  Also, I didn’t lube the pivot points after riding in the rain a few days ago.

Where does that leave me?

I start to pedal.  I realize the truck isn’t stopping at his house, so I use my right hand to brake, but that brake lever sticks, and I’m not stopping, so, with my left hand full, I grab what I can of that brake lever, which isn’t much, and my bike slows and wobbles, and I unclip with the left foot, but my bike leans to the right and my right foot won’t unclip…and down I go.  As soon as I smack into the driveway, my right foot unclips beautifully, and I am sitting on the grass next to the driveway trying to look like I meant to do that as I watch the guy in the truck do his turning around maneuver.  I have blood on my knee and a patch of road rash (oh, alright, driveway rash) on my leg the size of my hand. 

Then I notice that the saddle has been knocked out of line.  First aid for the bike – fix the saddle, but don’t bother about first aid for the leg because it isn’t bad and I want to get going, so I get, carefully looking both ways and making sure that no other vehicles are coming.

So, I finally make it out of the driveway (hooray!) and am on my way.  I’m only doing 11 miles today, but I had decided to really push the pace, and, somehow, I actually do.  The only thing my computer will tell me is speed.  Time and distance do not exist for me, hence the stopwatch that contributed to my downfall.  After a couple of miles I realize that I am holding a speed that is definitely less slow than I was last week.  

Nice.  If I keep this up, I might actually get to try out that other chain ring on my bike.   

Well, let’s not get carried away.

At one point I am digging in an cruising down the road, and I see a pick-up truck poised at the end of its driveway waiting to pull out.  I slow up, because I have the feeling that this truck is going to pull out whether I slow up or not, and I've had enough pick-up related adventures for one day, thank you very much.

The truck does, indeed, pull out right in front me, as if he wants me to draft off him.

Mind you, there's no way I would draft off of a strange car.  It's tough enough when you and the driver both know what's going on.  Jan Ullrich, anyone?

Anyway, it was a really satisfying ride.  I did it in the time I had hoped and with a higher average speed than any ride since I got back in the saddle all of a week and a half ago. 

I think I'll get my bike tuned up now. 

Say What?

Okay, I know I've shared some crazy stories with you instead of my own experiences lately, but I think this one takes the cake and I just had to share it:


Naked Woman Carjacks Van After Hitting Bicyclist, Say Florida Police


Bicyclist Not Seriously Hurt


Well, at least they thought enough of the cyclst to put that at the top of the story.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Police arrested a woman in Jacksonville, Fla. they said deliberately hit a bike rider and crashed two separate cars, and then ran off naked.

We have seen a few examples lately of first sentences of stories meant to grab the reader. This is a strange one. It pays to know your audience, I guess.

Police said the incident occurred Sunday evening while Holly Highfield, 34, was driving three children, ages 10 to 14.

And let us remember that all persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Yeah. One wonders if they were her own children or if she was babysitting someone else’s.

Just after 8 p.m., officers were called to a report of an accident involving a pedestrian and a naked woman in east Jacksonville.

I bet they don’t have one of those numerical codes for that particular type of incident.

The children in Highfield's car told police that she was driving north when she turned to them and said: "Do you think this biker is going to get hit? Do you have faith? Are you afraid?" They said she then steered her SUV across the road and struck 55-year-old Cathy Giury riding a bicycle.

When a couple in a van stopped to see if the bicyclist needed help, Highfield allegedly got out of her vehicle, jumped into the van yelling that she was going to jail, ordering the man behind the wheel to drive her away.

Did she want the guy to driver her to jail or was she trying to get away?

Police were told than when the driver refused, she got out, took off her clothes and began running around.

Well, she was stressed and didn't have any worry beads with her.

According to the police report, when the bystander got out to help the bicyclist, Highfield yelled at the passenger in the van to get out, then attempted to drive off, rammed her own vehicle and struck a fence.

You have to admit that she’s an equal opportunity collider.

When police arrived, Highfield was placed in the back of the patrol car. Officers said she became increasingly violent. When a female officer attempted to cover Highfield with a sheet, she was kicked.

The arrest report indicates Highfield "appeared to be under the influence of some type of drug."

No. Really?

It said she also urinated in the back of the patrol car.

I should have something to say about that, I suppose, but I think some incidents just speak for themselves.

Highfield was arrested and charged with battery, carjacking, DUI while accompanied by a minor and DUI while causing damage to property. She was transported to Shands-Jacksonville Medical Center for observation.

The bicyclist was transported to Beaches Baptist Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, where she remained in stable condition.


I'm glad to hear that the cyclist is okay, and, since they aren't mentioned again, one assumes that the kids are okay.


Well, I guess you can see why I had to share this one. It was too peculiar to pass up, even though bicycles weren't exactly the main focus.


See you on the road.