A first for everything!

This past week I was looking forward to my long Saturday bike ride with my hubby! It’s not often that we ride together being that he is a bit faster on the bike, so when he asked me to come along with him I was super pumped! He typically shows me new routes and he pushes me to go at a faster speed as well.

Usually the night before a long ride, I always get everything ready to go: bottles of nutrition made, clothes laid out, etc. that way I don’t have to fuss with the “prep” work and can focus on getting out of bed and getting my bike ready to ride.

Saturday my alarm went off at 6:15am, planned on starting around 7am from our house. Matt was going to show me a new route, heading to Ohio and back. Looking to get in between 70-80 miles, I was ready to roll! I like starting early for a few reasons: so I can still have the rest of the day to get stuff done, relax, etc.; there is less traffic out on the roads when you start early in the a.m., and it’s a heck of a lot cooler!

We headed out onto route 910 and then cut over to 65 and followed that for a while. We eventually had to make a turn and cross through a small town heading towards Rochester. We were about 20 miles into our ride, entered a round-a-bout and then all the sudden a construction zone appeared out of nowhere. Now Matt is good with hand signaling about road conditions, traffic signs, etc. He is very safe out on the roads and I must say he takes good care of me when we ride together.  Well, all of the sudden I dropped a level on the road and found that I was on an uneven, unpaved, stripped section. Matt was trying to signal for me to get up and out of that “area” and onto the paved road, but I failed to see him signal and when I tried to get out, apparently there was a 3-4 inch difference in the roads and I didn’t see this (so obviously I didn’t get my front tire up and over this) and I hit and went flying off my bike. Ouch! It all happened so fast. All I know was my bike was on top of me and I went down hard and fell directly on my entire left side of my body. I laid there for a few seconds, which seemed like minutes. I couldn’t get myself up and Matt came running over to get me. I was most definitely in pain and tried so hard to pull myself together and fight the tears. My garmin watch was in pieces and the screen smashed (good thing I don’t wear my wedding rings!) and poor “feltsie” had a nice little chunk taken out of the left handle bar. I was sad (and it takes a lot for me to be down). 

Next thing I knew, Matt’s parents arrived and drove me to the ER to get checked out.  All I have to say is: it pays to pray every time I head out on my bike.  Even if I’m going out for one hour or 6 hours, I always ask God to place a hedge of protection around me and my bike.  IF there would have been a car directly behind me I would have been hit instantly.   Fortunately after a nice trip to the ER, no broken bones, just some nice gashes in my left arm and leg, lots of road rash and a bruised shoulder and wrist.  Lesson learned, I must pay attention to all my surroundings at all times and maybe slow down a bit when heading into a construction zone.  My first real crash done and out of the way! Luckily, no races this month, BUT it is my sister’s wedding in Bar Harbor, Maine this weekend. I pray I don’t look too “beat” up in my dress! Oh well it gives some character, right?
Here’s to many more days spent in the saddle, still determined to make it the strongest of the three disciplines AND for not letting this little set-back bring me down!

In other news, Matt and I leave for Bar Harbor Maine on Friday for a week! My little sister Laura (last one in the fam to get hitched) is FINALLY getting married to her first love of 10 years!!  Doug, aka Bubba, who’s my second little brother, is such an awesome guy! I am super pumped that he will officially be a part of our family.  If you have never been to Bar Harbor, ME you should put this on your bucket list! My family has been vacationing up there for years now. We rent a nice big cottage and typically stay for two weeks. There is A LOT to do (esp in Acadia National Park), hiking, biking, kayaking, swimming, fishing, whale watching, star gazing on top of Cadillac Mountain, not to mention lots of feasting on lobster, seafood, tea and popovers, blueberry pancakes, and the best ice cream in the world! It’s phenomenal!! AND I am super duper pumped that Matt and I are bringing our bikes! Already packed and shipped! Looking forward to lots of good mountain climbing!

Here are a few pics of my sis and Bar Harbor

Stay tuned for lots of pics!