Tour De...Handicapped

Falling off your bike is embarrassing. I did it twice today.



This summer with my Government stimulus check and my tax return from last year I purchased a Specialized Allez. It is the second most expensive thing I have purchased at one time, only second to my Mac. I bought it as a fun way to get in shape and lose weight. That mixed with running I have lost quite a bit a weight. "And yes my heart isn't in trouble anymore but whatever" (For you FRIENDS fans out there). Riding in Myrtle Beach is a pretty light thing. You go down to Ocean BLVD and go. It's flat like most real estate on the ocean is so your capable of going pretty fast. I was excited about the prospect about taking my bike out to California with me and explore some new terrain. Little did I know that everyone here rides a bike and that there are hills/mountains here. I pretty sure I rode two straight miles at an incline that your head would be completely tilted back for. That's where the first fall came from.

I was coming down a hill at Mach 11 when I approached my chosen destination. I thought it would be fun to ride to the Rose Bowl stadium. For you dedicated sports fan that may mean a lot more to you than it does me. I just needed a place to go. Well, like I said I am going faster than the speed of light when I come to the end of the road...literally. I looked both ways as quickly as you can at 287 miles an hour but everything is really just a blur at that pace. Luckily, I saw this 2010 Porsche right before he plowed into me. I hit the brakes and hit the ground. Lucky for me the porsche didn't stop. I could have died or at least have some internal bleeding but most important my ego was bruised. I'd rather laying there in my own DNA before asking for help.

The second fall was a lot more of a slap to my ego. Like in most cities Pasadena contains stoplights. There are two annoying things about this; first they are on every block. Second, my bike has pedals that allow me to hook my shoes into it. Just like Lance. This stopping all the time is annoying because you have to un-click your feet every 500 feet. So, a lot of bikers figure ways around it. Balancing, slowing down at lights before you have to stop, propping yourself against sign. I went for the last. I decided the "Slow children at play" was the perfect sign for me to do the said propping. Little did I know how appropriate it would be. When the light turned green I began to pedal but could not create the pace I needed to...you know...go. So I ended up on the sidewalk right in front of that "Slow Children at Play" sign.

I brushed myself off, a little worse for the wear but mostly ok.