Reality is a bitch. I’ve been saying lately that it isn’t truly an adventure if everything goes to plan. I still stand by that statement, however, some things that go wrong can end the adventure all together. With everything going so well, I was starting to forget about my concerns, which isn't so great either.
With less than a week to go before I leave, I hadn’t even ridding the touring bike fully loaded aside from a couple miles here and there. Sunday, (May 5th) I finally took the time to take it out for a real ride, yet still much shorter than any one proposed day on the trip. The 75lbs of gear and bike, were definitely “all there” on hills, yet it climbed nicely and rolled out on flats and descents incredibly. Instead of riding my originally planned route, I kept adding mileage, I had time, I felt great. Many of my concerns of the trip were starting to go away.
On the last leg of ride, heading back home to make some minor adjustments on the bike, repack a few things, etc I was stoked on the trip. “Given all day, I can ride a century [100 miles] everyday, no problems.”
As a road biker, you learn rather quickly who has dogs. Typically, I like dogs, not so much as a biker/cyclist. Anywho, I knew that there were dogs at this particular house, but they’ve always been behind a picket fence. Not seeing the fence, I was concerned, so I left a bit of extra room on the shoulder and kept my speed up. Just as I thought I was clear of the property, Odie made a break for it on his new leash, that apparently, allowed him into the road. Not seeing a leash, and seeing a dog making his way into the road, I attempted to swerve. Turns out my fully loaded touring bike doesn’t handle quite the same as my carbon road bike. The details of the crash are a bit blurry. Somehow my legs have zero road rash. My helmet is well scratched but preliminary check didn’t show any more damage. Some upper body road rash and my right hip took quite a slam. Extremely thankful I had a very good helmet on.
Shaken up, I hobbled the 15 feet back to my bike. Bars tweaked about 45* brake levers spun, hoods all mangled. The worst was that my beautiful waterproof Ortlieb panniers are no longer waterproof (atleast the right rear.) **Gorilla Tape saves the day** Knowing what was to come, I got back on my bike and started home before I stiffened up and couldn’t ride. I hit my head good, I had no idea what time it was, but could remember everything else. Even though I was only a few miles from home, I felt alone, and scared. I hope to hell I don’t have a repeat on my tour, but it is a possibility. I would definitely be taking a day+ to recover. Life goes on, and so will my trip, but the few miles after the crash was definitely emotionally testing. Those few miles were the first, and hopefully only, time I have considered bailing on the trip, since I made the commitment. This whole incident was a bummer, but perhaps a necessary reality check. Never let your guard down.
X- Rays came back clean. I haven’t been on a substantial ride since the crash. My hip is still quite swollen, but it is easier to ride a bike than it is to walk. With two and a half days until the tour, I don’t feel a need to postpone the trip. Unfortunately it looks like the past 2-3 weeks of perfect weather will end just in time for my departure and my first day might be quite wet.
Barring major events, next post will be from on the road. Thanks for following everyone!
No comments:
Post a Comment