Don't ride angry.

So, I'm mad at myself. Today it was for not eating lunch, because I went to the Health Expo to get my stuff for the Bridge Pedal. I had planned to take light rail to work today & then go to the Twilight Criterium after work, but I left home too late. So, I drove to work instead. At 5:00 I went to the post office and then decided to see how bad the traffic was going west towards home. I figured I could park at Sunset transit center, get on the train & head back downtown to see the bike races. When I drove through where the races were to take place, it didn't even look like it was set up yet. It starts at 7 so I thought I'd have plenty of time to stop at home first. Well, it took me over an hour. So I didn't really feel like going all the way downtown again. It sucks, because I really enjoyed watching the racing last year. It's the closest thing I'll ever get to a peloton. I'm guessing being one of Portland's 18,000 people riding in the 10th annual Bridge Pedal on Sunday doesn't exactly count.

I decided to go for a quick ride. It felt good to be in motion, not just sitting in my car. Collecting my thoughts, I realized that today's date is August 12, and that twelve years ago my father passed away. So, I had a little talk with him. Told him my sister and I are doing okay and that we miss him. Our mother is okay too, but she's in her own world. I shed a few tears. Then I decided to put that out of my mind and enjoy the ride. While passing another cyclist on 231st, I got "the nod". It made me think about this unspoken code between cyclists. There is a slight dip of the helmet, and a knowing smile. It says "hey, isn't this fun? We're mature adults, but wow, we can ride this contraption, and it's like being a kid again!" All of a sudden I had the urge to go screaming down a hill on my bike as fast as I could go, stick my legs straight out and go "wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!" Man, am I losing it or what?

It was getting dark, so at the last minute I decided to go the longer way through Noble Woods Park. The sharp turn I made on some gravel was a bad call. Down I went, swearing like a sailor, with my bike on top of me. I wasn't going fast, but I landed on my hip and elbow, and noticed a lump in my shin. Son of a bitch! I got up and washed my arm off in the drinking fountain, but everything started to go dark, so I slowly put my bike down and went to sit for a while and drink my gatorade. Guess I should have eaten.

I do the dumbest things sometimes. My dad was right about that. But I miss him anyway.