undulation
A brief skateboard jaunt to throw some mail in the corner mailbox turned very ugly on me. At the end of the alley there is a small but fairly steep hill. To the right are some tiered parking spots under an apartment building. I slowed to a crawl and turned right and then left to drop over the top curb of the first tier. I somehow failed to realize that the next tier undulated ever so slightly downward shortly after the first drop off and prior to the next. As I transferred weight to my front foot, I’m not sure if I over or under compensated, but I suddenly found myself flying in the air down this concrete slope and towards a steel support pole.
Typical human-flesh-slapping-pavement sounds ensue. I think I stopped just short of the pole due to my extremely slow forward rate but the impact and subsequent concrete burns were enough to make me sick to my stomach. A late high five to the concrete was also in effect due to my expert flailing palm slap. Luckily I was whimpering and too hurt to be pissed off.
nonchalance + unexpected undulations = scabs + painful showers
This has me wondering about the new axle/peg setup on my bmx bike and my future confidence at the bike/skatepark.
pads + extreme caution = getting back on the horse
I’m off to the bikeshop to get some spare bearings for my hubs.
2 September 2004, 11:26 ::
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this reminds me of a humbling, yet slightly less painful experience of my own.
having unmothballed the blue cannondale trials-ready mtn bike, repaired the flat front tire and hopped on the pedals, i went out the door for my first ride in probably over a year. the rear brake seemed odd when actuated, but i disregarded this fact as i wanted to merely hop around for a couple minutes.
i decided to pull the bike up onto the rear tire to prove to myself that i still “had it”. wrong decision.
the rear brake was locked open and didn’t catch, the bike swiftly rolled out from under me and i proceeded to go flat in the air before falling straight onto my back. the air was forced from my lungs and my spine ached. a mere 30 seconds into my ride and i was spent. i sadly walked the bike back inside.
— thumbs 2004-09-03 14:50 #