I Love Sand on the Beach, Not on the Road

Yesterday I set out on another bicycling adventure with my friend Noah.  We decided to stick around the local area as it has been quite windy lately.  Instead of treking out on 60 mile runs we thought it would be fun to climb some hills.  I geared up in my padded spandex shorts, clipped on my helmet and was out the door for another whirlwind adventure!

After our first climb and descent we’d only gone about 7 miles so we decided to climb another hill across town.  The best part of riding up hills is the ride down.  After peddling to the top we found a little back road that would take us back into town.  It looked steep and curvy, perfect for an adrenalin rush.  We began peddling as fast as we could and as we were coming through the first corner I pushed as hard as I could to pass Noah.

And that is when I saw the sand.  I did everything I could to avoid hitting it, but I was going way too fast and as soon as my wheels touched it, I was done.  I skidded off of the road, through the ditch, where at some point I lost my bike and I was stopped mid-flight by a tree across my back.  Had the tree not stopped me I would have been swimming in a pond, which in retrospect may have been a better alternative to the tree.

I laid on the ground with the back of my head in the pond trying to collect my thoughts of what had just happened.  I could hear Noah laughing hysterically.  I can’t blame him, I’m sure it was quite a sight.  I wiggled my toes to make sure I hadn’t done any severe damage and continued to lay there.  I was wet, covered in mud and miles from home.

I picked myself up off of the ground, grabbed my bike, pulled the weeds out of my spokes and got back on.  Even after hurdling myself through the air into a tree I never considered giving up.  It was a minor inconvenience, I was more annoyed than anything.  While we were riding Noah told me that as we were coming around that corner he was going 37 mph, and I was going considerably faster as I was pushing to pass. 

I don’t know how fast I was going when I hit that tree, but I am lucky that I didn’t sustain any serious injuries.  I am quite sore and a little scratched up, but all in all I feel good.  I kept considering all of the things I want to do in my life like climbing mountains, cycling the west coast and everything else that requires good health and thanked my lucky stars that I was okay.

The next downhill area we came to I put my bike in high gear and pushed as hard as I could.  No tree is going to stop me from doing my best.  There are times in everyone’s life when it feels like they have hit a tree and been knocked down.  Some people will chose to lay there with their heads in the mud and never get up.  There are others who will brush themselves off and use that bad situation as a reminder of how fortunate they actually are with what they have and press on harder and more determined than ever before.  I prefer to think of myself as the latter.