Like Riding a Bike
There's an extra bike here. For some reason I've been compelled to use it. On Sunday I partook in my fourth bike ride in about 15 years. Riki and I decided to bike to the Roman History Museum in Mainz, which is about a 20 minute ride. Riki failed to warn me about the crazy-long bridge we'd have to go over.Being long actually wasn't the problem. That the the bicycle/pedestrian path on this bridge is about a meter wide, that the deck is made of uneven planks, and that there were approximately 482548736541 joggers passing by us were the problems. So feeling out-of-control on my bike already, I was terrified at the prospect of having an accident...
About halfway across, when the path had narrowed as much as possible, a jogger approached. I couldn't stop, really, because Riki was right behind me saying things like "gear down so you can keep peddling" - or so that my balance can be thrown off completely and I can send us all flying into the Rhine below! I tried to make room for the jogger, but my handlebar caught in the guardrail. This sent my front wheel careening toward the unexpecting jogger who gracefully received it between her legs as I pressed her against the opposite rail with my bike, which I promptly fell off.
After ascertaining that she had miraculously escaped the collision with only some bike-mud on her spandex, we profusely apologized and carried on. The water that casually leaked from my eyes could easily have been attributed to the wind, rather than my fright, but at least it prevented me from totally noticing that nearby joggers went out of their way to avoid me after being witness to my mad bicycle skillz.
Thanks for sharing that story, I had a really good chuckle and totally pictured the scene in my mind. Almost as good as a trip, ha,ha.
Love Shawna