Adventures in Bike-riding

I took my bike out for a spin yesterday. I almost never ride it. Basically, I'm nervous riding around cars, and the city sidewalks are broken up with chunks of asphalt heaved up by tree roots, overhanging shrubbery, trash cans in the way, driveways with cars pulling unexpectedly out, etc. so I can't get a smooth run - it's an obstacle course the whole way.

I'm also just not that good at bike riding. I thought when I was ten that I'd get better over time because I'd be stronger and bigger in relation to the bike. But it's still heavy for me to lift, and I still bark my shins and lose my balance trying to get on and off. Curbs defeat me utterly. If I try to ride off them, I get jounced out of my seat and almost fall off. If I try to ride up them, the bike just hits the edge and bounces off. I know there is a technique to riding, something about weight and balance, that would put me in control instead of gravity and momentum, but I haven't mastered it. So, I ride where it's smooth, hop off and walk the bike when it's not. At least I'm not embarrassed any more to do that in front of everyone. A lot of things that probably should embarrass me just don't. Perhaps it's a necessary self-preservation technique I've developed as a result of so often being in situations where I'm not in control or simply unable to blend in.

Anyway, yesterday I jounced and bobbled my way around the neighborhood streets on a mission to find a proper bike path. I knew there was a swath of woodland to the west, possibly with trails running through it. I got there really quick - one good thing about a bike is, it really extends your range. It would have taken me forty minutes walking to get there, and I would have been a lot more tired. Then I slid/scraped my way down a hill onto the trail. The trouble was, it wasn't paved. It was a narrow dirt track running through the woods with big roots and boulders sticking out of it. I had to walk my bike a lot of the way. The trees were lovely though. It was so refreshing being in the shade, with all that whispering, lush green all around me. I felt like I was far away from the city. A creek babbled alongside.

All this was great, until as I coasted cautiously down a hill, I saw a huge fallen log across the path ahead. I put on the brakes and as the bike drew to a stop, stuck my foot out to catch myself. Unfortunately the bike tipped the wrong way. noooo! Suddenly I was leaning out over the steep bank, with about a ten-foot descent over craggy boulders to the stream below. My feet couldn't reach the ground because I was still sitting on the bike. And then bike and I were falling sideways down the bank, my foot trapped in the front wheel spokes, my arms flailing. A concrete barrier reared in front of me. Salvation! I fell on it, still tangled in the bike, cracking my jaw and knee against the concrete. Got some bruises today to show for my adventure, but nothing worse. At least I didn't crack my skull open on a rock, or fall in the stream.

Unfortunately after I got untangled and carried my bike back up the bank, the front wheel would no longer turn. The brake had been mashed in so it was jammed against the wheel at all times. Carrying the bike all the way home seemed like a bad option. Eventually I hunted around for a forked stick and propped it in place to hold the brake away from the wheel. It worked! I felt like MacGyver. The stick stayed in place, too, all the way home.

So that's my adventure. Basically, this is why I have such respect for bike couriers. It's amazing how they can weave in and out of traffic. They don't have to stop and carefully rotate the pedal around to the top before taking off. They don't fall down hills, either. How the hell did they get so good?