Bristolian
Über Member
- Location
- Bristol, UK
If you're not up to reading long, rambling, missives then you can skip to the last paragraph 😊
This morning (Thursday) I was in a bit of a conundrum. Six days ago I took delivery of a new camera (my second hobby is photography) and have been spending those days getting it set up the way I want it. I had made a tentative agreement with my photo-buddy to go out yesterday and check it out but the weather wasn't looking great so we didn't go. This morning the weather forecast is for a beautiful day and my buddy was on the phone asking if we were able to get out with the cameras but I had a physio session first which meant a late start to the day.
During the visit to the physio - he is keeping a check on a flare-up of arthritis in my left knee - he asked me when I'd last been out on the bike, which was Monday. I explained that with the not so good weather and family commitments I'd missed my planned ride for yesterday. He reaffirmed his advice not to give it up as exercising the joint will benefit me in the long term.
When I got home I called my buddy and explained that I was going for a bike ride rather than drive down to Glastonbury for a few hours of shutter clicking. He was, as you may appreciate, devastated by my decision (for all of about 1 second) and suggested I call in to his place for a coffee during my ride. Okay, I thought, that works for me; I can take a roundabout route to his place and a more direct route back home afterwards. All was going swimmingly until I turned into the estate where he lives. As I approached the turning a car turned in front of me meaning I would have to follow it as the roads in the estate are narrow and one way. The car was travelling very slowly and the driver was obviously looking for a particular address and I was, probably, too close behind. Every time the car stopped to check addresses I stopped behind and practiced my track stand technique before moving off again when the car moved forward.
We then came to a Y-junction and the driver clearly couldn't decide which direction to go in. I was about 25m from my coffee stop when I totally blew my track stand and over-balanced, falling to my right side - the side that I couldn't unclip from in a hurry - so I ended up in a heap under the bike. Fortunately, the bike survived but my right leg took a beating with cuts, bruising and gravel rash - ouch! The car driver saw what happened and got out of her car to see if she could help; turns out she's a district nurse. Anyway after a few minutes to recover I unclipped my right foot and managed to get myself upright again and walked to my mates place. The coffee was good and came with a toasted sandwich to raise my spirits before I cycled back home.
So, having made the wrong decision to go out on the bike today, I suffered the consequence of an afternoon spent at the local minor injuries unit for a couple of hours waiting for someone to find the ten minutes it took to clean and apply antiseptic to my wounds. A further consequence is no riding the bike for at least five days ☹️
This morning (Thursday) I was in a bit of a conundrum. Six days ago I took delivery of a new camera (my second hobby is photography) and have been spending those days getting it set up the way I want it. I had made a tentative agreement with my photo-buddy to go out yesterday and check it out but the weather wasn't looking great so we didn't go. This morning the weather forecast is for a beautiful day and my buddy was on the phone asking if we were able to get out with the cameras but I had a physio session first which meant a late start to the day.
During the visit to the physio - he is keeping a check on a flare-up of arthritis in my left knee - he asked me when I'd last been out on the bike, which was Monday. I explained that with the not so good weather and family commitments I'd missed my planned ride for yesterday. He reaffirmed his advice not to give it up as exercising the joint will benefit me in the long term.
When I got home I called my buddy and explained that I was going for a bike ride rather than drive down to Glastonbury for a few hours of shutter clicking. He was, as you may appreciate, devastated by my decision (for all of about 1 second) and suggested I call in to his place for a coffee during my ride. Okay, I thought, that works for me; I can take a roundabout route to his place and a more direct route back home afterwards. All was going swimmingly until I turned into the estate where he lives. As I approached the turning a car turned in front of me meaning I would have to follow it as the roads in the estate are narrow and one way. The car was travelling very slowly and the driver was obviously looking for a particular address and I was, probably, too close behind. Every time the car stopped to check addresses I stopped behind and practiced my track stand technique before moving off again when the car moved forward.
We then came to a Y-junction and the driver clearly couldn't decide which direction to go in. I was about 25m from my coffee stop when I totally blew my track stand and over-balanced, falling to my right side - the side that I couldn't unclip from in a hurry - so I ended up in a heap under the bike. Fortunately, the bike survived but my right leg took a beating with cuts, bruising and gravel rash - ouch! The car driver saw what happened and got out of her car to see if she could help; turns out she's a district nurse. Anyway after a few minutes to recover I unclipped my right foot and managed to get myself upright again and walked to my mates place. The coffee was good and came with a toasted sandwich to raise my spirits before I cycled back home.
So, having made the wrong decision to go out on the bike today, I suffered the consequence of an afternoon spent at the local minor injuries unit for a couple of hours waiting for someone to find the ten minutes it took to clean and apply antiseptic to my wounds. A further consequence is no riding the bike for at least five days ☹️
