And the moron of the year award goes to.... ME!! I'll get to that in a bit.

I ran yesterday on the treadmill as planned, it helped, my legs were less tight from the ride, but still tired. So I did not want to run again today. I wanted to ride. I mapped out a 35k route from the front door, avoiding (I think) busy country roads during rush hour and crappy paving. Naturally at 4:30 the skies opened up. Change of plans. I'm not a fan of skinny tires on slick potentially busy roads during the after work commute home.

I had a brilliant idea! Let's take the mountain bikes out and find a trail in the greenbelt! So that's what we did. I wore my black MEC long johns (which they aren't really, basically a base layer that's pretty thin, but toasty in the winter) under my bike shorts, same as I wore at the Tour on Sunday. That would keep me warm, and if I wiped out, hopefully keep the stones out of my cuts. I have enough scars and dirt tattoos to last me, thank you very much.

We hadn't taken the mountain bikes out since putting on the SPD pedals, so while I was getting a feel for them in the parking lot at the trail, Steve was fighting with his since they didn't fit right. He had to switch out the shoe clip for the ones that came with the pedals since they were slightly different.

So we all know I can't do a turnaround, no matter how hard I try. Tight corners? I get off the bike. So embarrassing. Today? Slowly turning around, because I need the practice, but for some reason I was going as slow as humanly possible without falling down... oh wait... I am going slow enough to fall down... I teetered to the left, the left foot I never clip out from, and yes, wiped out. Right there in the parking lot. In full view of commuters going home. With Steve watching me. He later told me it was a Six Million Dollar Man slow-mo fall. So there I lie, still straddling the bike, on my side, covered in mud and cut up from the "I wish it were gravel" crushed pointy rock parking lot. Steve came over to help me up, because I was sitting on the bike and since my foot was still clipped in, I couldn't get off. Now THAT's embarrassing! I got up, clipped back in, and rode on the grass for a while. And I have a hole in my MEC long johns :(

We got our ride in, Steve rode through some very deep water/mud filled trenches from the snow melt, I opted out, since I'd already wiped out today, and didn't want to dirty up my bike shoes further since I didn't have time to put the new cleats on my old bike shoes, which are now my mountain bike shoes. We did get wet though, since it was still raining.

Did we have fun? We had a blast. We saw a couple of hawks, a Blue Jay and some ducks. I love ducks! Oh and I know where the Deliverance Banjo family moved to...

We won't be going back to that trail though, it's mostly pointy rocks like the parking lot. The area is beaver land, very very wet, so I understand the need to building up the trail with the rocks. But I want a real trail! So we'll head out to the Gats in a couple of weeks when they allow mtn. bikes, and try again. It should be very painful, since I suck at hills! But I can't wait to try it.

And my knee should be healed by then. And my hip. And forearm.


I know it doesn't look like much, but it hurts!