Remember when you were a kid and you fell off your bike, there was that second or two when you thought, this is going to be really bad, and then you cried?
Turns out nothing has changed.
I’ve been told that there are 2 types of riders. Those who have stacked, and those who are about to stack. This weekend I was initiated into the category of ‘those who have stacked’.
Saturdays ride was to be a 100km trip to Mount White and back. I was pumped!
Chugging along at a nice pace, about 30kms in, my wheel fell into a slight ditch on the side of the road, everything quickly went to shit as I became intimate with the road. It’s funny, the first thing you think of is ‘Oh god, who saw me’. Second thought is ‘how is my bike’, the third and surprisingly delayed thought is ‘am I about to be hit by a car’. Fortunately, the collection of thoughts came fairly quickly and I scooted off the road in no time at all.
I’m told I’m quite a graceful faller, and I take that as a great compliment. My bike however, did not fall so gracefully. I dusted myself off, made sure my bike was still operable, fought back the tears to prove how tough I was, and limped back onto the bike with a token bloodied knee.
Many hill climbs later and 4 gears not really working very well, my derailer decided to snap in spectacular fashion. So here I am, half way up a massive hill, 60 kms into the ride, drenched in sweat, with no way of riding my bike and definitely no chance of a taxi (being in the middle of nowhere). Despite the best efforts of Dr Dave, utilising his Goggles, my hair tie and a whole lot of MacGyver skills, we were unable to turn the bike into a fixie. So we took our shoes off, and proceeded to walk up the hill. So devastating.
Carting my sorry ass (and sore knee, shoulder and right hand) up that sorry ass hill, I thought to myself- I should have realised at 5am when I couldn’t find my right glove that this day would not go to plan.
Thank you to my cycling mates for accompanying me up the hill and the forward soldier who rode the 50kms back to the car and came to get me.
Lesson:
- Learn how to take links out of a chain to make your bike into a fixie in the event your derailer breaks.
- When you have learnt how to make said fixie, make sure you have the tools on hand to do it in the event your derailer breaks.
So needless to say I couldn’t race on Sunday, no biggie. Turns out I was stiffer than a geriatrics hip the next day anyway.
My bike is now in the shop – lets us pray it’s not going to cost me a freaking fortune.
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