Day 56 – Pay Attention
Another perfect day of weather – low 80’s, low humidity,
sunshine all day, and a slight wind - mostly to my back. I biked 85.5 miles from Glenville, KY to
White Mills, KY. The roads were in good
condition, mostly shoulderless, but with mostly light traffic.
I was little upset with myself over the course of the
day. I had a relatively short day
yesterday and prior to that, two days off.
I should have a lot of energy, but most of the day I felt just a little
more fatigued than I could account for.
Upon reviewing the day’s statistics, I felt much better about everything.
Over the course of the day I had climbed
a gross elevation of 5,290 feet, just a couple feet short of my record
day. No wonder I felt so tired at the
end of the day. I knew the hills were
longer and more frequent than yesterday, but I did not realize to that degree.
Speaking of hills, there were quite a few of them and they
were long. Most were not very steep so
they did not wind me. Much. Around mile 70 I had just turned on to a new
road. It was narrow with no shoulder,
but also no cars. It felt more like a
bike path than a road. It looked fun and
it was scenic. The road was winding,
there were a lot of hills (mostly short), and was sometimes topped with a
canopy of trees. I was getting a little
lackadaisical as I approached a beautiful tree covered descent. It looked a little steeper than most
today. This should be fun. Almost instantly I was going 35 plus mph and
I realized the road was about to make a tight turn to the right. A really tight turn. Almost a u-turn. I squeezed my back brakes, but they did not
slow me down much. I tentatively squeezed
my front brakes being careful not to squeeze too hard. Before I could put together another thought I
was across the road, riding a fine line between staying on the tar and tumbling
into the woods. The road was rough, the
vibration fierce. I was focused on
keeping my bike upright and on the road, and doing my best to slow it
down. In my peripheral vision I could
see something from my bike bouncing across the road as I continued to careen
down the hill.
Finally, I brought the bike to a stop at the bottom of the
hill. I have no idea how I avoided a
crash. It was probably only a few
seconds and it was all a blur. As I
collected my thoughts I scanned my bike for damage. The bike seemed fine. What was it I thought was falling off my
bike? Then I noticed. The small storage bag attached to the front
of my bike was open. The vibration from
the ride must have popped it open. I
took inventory – cash, credit card, drivers license, angel Jane gave me still
there. Missing – eye glasses and case,
iPod Nano, pepper spray, and my cell phone.
Shoot – not my cell phone. I
slowly began the walk back up the hill.
One-by-one I found my missing items.
They were scattered across the road and along side it. I found everything and miraculously it all
still worked. All I really cared about
was the cell phone. It was beat up,
glass chipped slightly, but it works. Lesson learned – pay attention! Always!
Abandoned |
One of the roads I biked today. |
Awesome to hear Jill is accompanying you the rest of the way! Also, thanks for sharing your story.....glad you are physically ok from that descent and that you recovered all your possessions. I think that is a constant reminder to all of us who bike to "pay attention" and be careful.
ReplyDeleteGlad it wasn't your camera! :)
ReplyDelete