I met some very cool people last week, when I attended the Orange County Startup Princess event. One of the women was Carrie from This Mama Makes Stuff. I got a message from Carrie on Twitter yesterday. She asked me if I wanted to go mountain biking with the girl's on Wednesday night. I replied with yes, and that I would most likely be there, in a matter of words.
Oh, and the trail we are riding, "Three Bitches".
I'm a little apprehensive and cautious about this whole "trail ride". A few years ago, ok more than five, I had a mountain biking accident. I was riding the Whiting Ranch Trail with Angry Husband. I was coming down from a hill. I was going at a medium pace, and must have hit a rock or something. All I know is that all of the sudden I went over the handle bars of my bike and landed with the bike on top of me. It was a few minutes before Angry Husband discovered me at the bottom of the hill. He had taken a different route.
I could barely walk and thought that I broke my hip or something. I was scraped up, bruised, and in pain. I had him take me to the ER for tons of x-rays. Luckily, my hip was not broken and I would survive. My bike on the other hand, had a cracked fork, and bent pedals. My helmet was also cracked down the middle. I took my bike to REI for service. They had never seen a fork so damaged. I think it was a manufacturer's defect in reality, and not the accident. Maybe my fork caused the accident, I don't know.
I never really got on my bike after that. About six months ago, I thought maybe, I would start training for triathlons. I got my bike serviced and inspected. And there it sat, or actually hung in my garage rafters.
After tweeting Carrie, I had this texting conversation with Angry Husband. I was at work, hence the texting.
ME: Ok..I got invited to go mtn. biking wed night at 6. Am I ready?
AH: physically or psychologically?
ME: Both?
AH: lol, well your bike works fine..well it did 6 months ago when you had it tuned up. i will pull it down tonight or tomorrow and see if anything needs fixed..as for the mental aspect you are on your own..
ME: Yea, I prob need some new shorts as well.
AH: you should go for a test ride tomorrow day to get refreshed on the bike, so you don't look like a total dumbass out there and fall on your face.
Well I went into the garage this morning. Angry Husband had not checked out my mountain bike. Fail. I wrangled it down and inspected it. Sigh. Both of my tires were flat. I could not locate the pump. So I walked with the bike about a mile to the gas station.
I then went on my ride. I did about 3-4 miles around my local area. My body was not used to riding a bicycle at all. I didn't realize how bad my knees were from running. I'm a mess. I really need to stretch more. After riding, I worked on stretched out my legs/knees/body. I was also not used to the shifting.
Also, I will have to drive Angry Husband's "angry truck" to the trail site. I don't have a bike rack on my Tahoe. Sigh. My old car, I had a sweet rack.
Carrie said we would take breaks. I hope they have sympathy on me. I will have to strap my cellphone onto the front of the bike for "emergency purposes" aka "HELP!".
Wish me luck tomorrow night!
Monday, August 10, 2009
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Oh my gosh! Good luck. Since we moved outside a small town (aka Mayberry or the "sticks") I haven't been on a bike. At. All. I miss it. Have a good ride and be careful!
ReplyDelete(sorry. that was the mom in me. I couldn't help it!)
I feel like you also need a horn and a bell in case they leave you in the dust and you flip over the handlebars again. If you send out an SOS, I'll come find you. ; )
ReplyDeleteNothing like getting back on that horse! You are a much bigger person than I.... had a nasty "accident" while water skiing LIKE 15+ years ago... and haven't tried again since!
ReplyDeleteYou can do it!!!!! Best of luck.
ReplyDeletei wish the hubby would make it home for me to join you all... alas. anyway, you'll have a blast. carrie is great - she'll take good care of you. you might be in pain tomorrow, but you'll have fun!
ReplyDeleteYou'll do great! I think you'll like riding with us women. When I ride with my husband I feel too much pressure, which is when I have accidents. See you tonight!
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I met Carrie at BlogCrush and she was a doll. I'm sure she will be gentle. Let us know how it goes :)
ReplyDeleteGood luck girl!! Be safe!
ReplyDeleteYou were a trooper tonight! We took you on quite the adventure and you had to put up with my singing. Hope you'll consider coming out with us again. We need more women riders on the trails!
ReplyDeleteGoooooood luck!!! Tagging you tomorrow on my blog!
ReplyDelete