August 2006 Archives

I fell off my bike. There; I said it. I fell off my bike on the way to work. I just wish it would've been more spectacular. Maybe I shouldn't even count it as a fall. But, there is blood, so maybe it counts?

The most humiliating part is that occurred on flat, smooth pavement in front of the State Capitol. I was slowing for a red light, then -- WHAM! -- I'm up and over my handle bars. I put my hand and elbow down to catch myself and roll to my hip and sat there a second. Whoa. What just happened? I took stock of the damage. My rear strobe light is in pieces here, there and over there. My elbow is scraped, my right hand hurts and my hip is a touch sore. Overall, A-OK. I pick the bike up and prop it up on the curb and retrieve the pieces. It's when I'm putting things back together I get an idea of what happened.

Because it rained last night and everything was still wet this morning, I thought it'd be a good idea to take the fender from Kris' bike and put it on mine. (I hate having the skunk line up my back.) When I went to put the light back on, (which is really odd that it fell apart at all), I noticed the fender unattached and hanging from its mount on seat post . The post itself was turned 30° to the left as well. So that's how it happened. The fender must've slipped down and lodged itself in the tire tread. Then it smashed into the bike light and associated seat post. Once it hit the post, the bike stopped completely. My body continued forward up and over the handlebars, sending me to the pavement.

I ended up with and inch and a half scrape on the elbow that hasn't stopped bleeding an hour and a half later. No holes in pants, shirts or shoes and the bike is just fine, too.

Stupid fender.

On Thursday's "the show" by Ze Frank, he makes a great comment on terrorism and how to react:

Bush today said this country is safer today than it was prior to 9/11. Personally, I don't think he knows. Whether we like it or not, terrorist attacks on Americans are now part of the global reality. They will continue to happen. Many places around the globe have had to deal with a similar reality for years. India, Ireland, England, Spain, Russia, to name a few. In many cases, these societies have pulled together and not allowed isolated acts of violence to tear at their fiber. Like disease and the forces of nature, it's a risk that we have to rationally come to terms with. The government's responsibility is to make sure that fear and terror are not disproportionate to the reality of the situation.

Today the President said, "This nation is at war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those of us who love freedom to hurt our nation." Generalized statements like this which instill nebulous fear without specific information are exactly in line with the goals of terrorism.

Scott tells his story of racing Ironman Germany. One of the better gut-wrenching stories of determination & broken dreams:

No HR monitor - check. No Powermeter - check. I have now stood in the rain for an hour and it didn't cross my mind to eat or drink. Nutrition plan out the window - check. Goals are history - check. Once my brain thawed and processed all this the day basically just became an event to get finished.