In addition to felines, I've recently acquired another dangerous item: a bicycle.
Why? Well, I'm not sure, honestly. I mean, it's not like I have a very long walk to work. It's only eight blocks. Of course, eight blocks in triple digit temperatures can still feel like eight miles. I figure eight blocks in triple digits in a quarter of the time, and a breeze, might be more tolerable.
So I got a bike. It's a "cruiser" style. Black with red rims. Single speed and a coaster brake. (That's the kind we had as kids, remember... where you just "backpedaled" to slow down.) It's really a sweet ride, I have to say. It's comfortable, easy to pedal, and rides really smoothly.
Lorelei and I had purchased bikes, several years ago, but never really rode them much. They were cheapies, purchased at Target, and nowhere near as nice as this one, even though they were (if I recall correctly) 5-speed machines.
But this one... I'm really enjoying riding it. It's like it was to ride a bike as a kid... relaxed and fun. There's just something about tooling around the neighborhood, enjoying the wind on your face, doing casual swoops left and right... It's like a time machine to ten, y'know?
Of course, bicycles can be dangerous, and accidents do happen. I should know. I had nasty accidents on almost every bike I've ever owned. To say I'm no Lance Armstrong is a ridiculous understatement. Take yesterday, for example.
At five o'clock, I leave the office and retrieve the bike. I hop on and begin a leisurely spin out to 13th Street to head home. Except that there are cars coming, and more pedestrians than usual. Now, the simple thing to do, of course, is brake to a stop until the road or sidewalk is clear. And that's what my brain told me to do.
What my brain forgot to do, however, was remind me that this bike has a coaster brake. And in the split second between realizing I had no hand brakes to squeeze, and remembering about the foot brake, I avoided pedestrian and vehicular traffic by another method. I rammed into a large, decorative, concrete ball near the road. This stopped the bike much quicker than any other braking method.
It did not, however, slow down my body, which sailed over the handlebars, over the sphere, and onto the sidewalk.
Here's where my brain redeemed itself a little. Somehow, I was able to do a shoulder tuck roll when I landed, thus sparing myself any actual physical harm. I was, as you can imagine, deeply embarrassed, though. I was up and back on that bike and pedaling away in about five seconds flat.
I've got some muscle soreness today from the incident, but no bruises, and way less aches and pains than I had any right to expect. The embarrassment has passed, as well. Obviously. No way I'd have posted about this, yesterday.
stupidity
