elise vs. pavement

Things were a bit chaotic at the retreat today – full house, Jane’s birthday, family in town, etc., so I opted for a bike ride into town rather than asking to borrow the car. Everything was going along just fine until just after the one-way bridge, when I hopped off the pavement to let a car pass me comfortably since there was another one coming in the opposite direction and the road was narrow. Still alright. But then I decided I wanted to be back on the road, and – apparently – picked the wrong spot to do that. Somehow the height difference between the gravel and asphalt went from about 1 cm to 5-6 cm without me noticing, but my bike sure noticed. Next thing I knew, I was sprawled on the pavement with a heavy retro-style touring bike on top of me. A bit stunned, I still knew I needed to scrape myself off the road before the next car came around the blind curve. The next car was in fact right behind me, but for some lucky reason the guy was stopping on the side of the road anyway – I thought maybe because he’d seen my little aerial act, but when I wobbled over to his car to ask if he had any plasters learning the language!) he looked confused, and then asked, with surprise, if I’d fallen off my bike – he thought I was just sitting by the side of the road for a rest. As much as I love the valley, I do prefer to appreciate nature when I’m not sitting on soggy ground, and it really wasn’t the most picturesque location in the area anyway.

I was only a few blocks from my destination – Donna’s house, to walk into the market and then get dessert at her favorite café – so I decided to get back on the bike and head there even though I knew she’d offer me a ride after I sent her the ‘sorry, had a spill on my bike, will be a little late’ text. Things were a bit interesting since I’d landed hard enough to shear the rear brake cable and knock the tightening screw off the seat, which was now had a 360-degree range of motion.

Anyway, Donna cleaned and patched me up, I got a surprise call from Ann in the States (compliments of Pujji Call Forwarding), Donna treated me to delicious orange-almond cake and tea at a gallery café, I got some jewelry-making tools & findings at Warehouse and finally bought beads at the Bead Gallery on my third trip there, and ended up with a pretty good day overall. I know I’ll be sore tomorrow, but thanks to my Gore-Tex jacket, jeans and helmet I only need about 1.5 linear feet of plasters at the moment, and no need to test out my insurance.