...Woke up and blogged, drove to work 'cos it was supposed to be stormy (yeah, well, it was, but not when I was commuting), called home and reminded my roomie of the new market opening up not outrageously far away when I saw a news item of ribs being grilled for shoppers (all et up when she got there, drat), got outta work on time for once, went to the new Super-Duper Market myself (it really was wonderful but jam-dammit packed with people who were, mostly, socializing), came back home, set up dinner (Purina Girl Chow: a nice mixed salad!), stuffed it in the fridge, went and rode two miles on my bicycle, popped the Magic Garage Door Opener as I came up the alley, made a graceful, sweeping curve and realized halfway through it that I was going too fast. Bumped the brakes, locked up both wheels, felt the back skid out from under me and lowsided at less than 5 mph.
Did a nice gentle fall since most of my forward momentum was gone by the time I was moving faceplantwards, caught myself on my hands and the balls of my feet and would have been standing again about as soon as takes to bounce back up were it not for the need to lift up the bike. Still, it's a maneuver that has nothing to recommend it and it was not at all improved by the small boy peering over a fence across the alley.
And dinner was decent, too. Had some wasabi* whatever mix on the side for crunch. Delightful! Now, if there were only gracefulness pills I could take....
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* "Wasabi," a word not, ferthluvva, in Blogger's dictonary! Hello? Hellooo? Do they keep you poor sods trapped under a rock, doin' The Innarwebz on a Curta Calculator via landline telegraphy and drinking dandelion-root tea?
When you find those gracefullness pills, set aside about half a pound for me.
ReplyDeleteWord Verification: erotyi
Story of my life, "missed it by that much".
hmmmm, wasabi. Yum.
ReplyDeleteYa know, the way you describe it.... it sure sounds graceful to me.
ReplyDeleteMUCH better than a full speed face plant into the pavement after hitting an oil slick or some such.
I've only dropped a bike a few times, and none were graceful.....
Wassssaaabi!!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you're OK. Nothing fun about dropping a bike. Even a pedal powered version.
Little kids are ubiquitous whenever adults do something clumsy. Did the little rock-thrower offer some comment?
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was cold water in the face -- I'd been in that state of mind where the bicycle was like floating, effortless, and then...! My first reaction was, "Uh-oh," followed by rueful amusment when I realized I was headed for the gravel but not fast or hard enough to make for much damage, followed by relief after I'd touched down and found my hands and knees undamaged.
ReplyDeleteAll's wedll that ends well, though I am about due to get the bike's brakes and wheels looked at.
He did not, Shermlock, though I would have merited it if he had.
ReplyDeleteI love Curtas!!!
ReplyDeleteYou get niftier and niftier in your luddite tendencies every month. To even KNOW about a Curta...
Dang you Shermlock, you beat me to it. :P That was the first thing I though. "HA-ha" from the kid.
ReplyDeleteRoberta, you're carry gun must be defective. Most guns, finding someone parked across the trail, would have popped a cap in the guy!
You must be one of those Law Abiding Gun Owners we've been hearing so much about lately.
I'm glad you weren't seriously hurt. I need gracefulness pills too. Mmmm, wasabi -- one more thing we all have in common. I'm going to try growing wasabi next year probably. I already have a big patch of horseradish going.
ReplyDeletePass the gracefulness pills. One of the reasons I don't own a bicycle as an adult is the fact that my knees are still badly scarred up from my days riding one as a kid, including one nice patch of gravel that never did get worked all the way out. I think my most spectacular crash was the one that sent me in a literal high flip over the fence I'd just smacked into; thankfully, no injuries more severe that time than an awkward sprain and the usual road rash.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I don't think I'd be ANY better without the low center of gravity and in a neighborhood with a lot more hills.