I hurt myself today.

Ok it wasn't today, but I did hurt myself.

On Saturday, Michael and I went on a couple's bike ride for his birthday. We went back to the first place we ever went to together because it has a lot of paved trails for a beginner. I felt like I did a fairly good job, aside from a 60 second crying spell after making it up a steep incline. I made it up the hill while never getting off my bike, but yet I still felt pathetic.

Pointless acute sobbing aside, it was a wonderful day. The weather was a strong and sunny 50 degrees. We rode for the same amount of time as the last trip there, while squeezing in an additional three miles. We even got the chance to take a few pictures. Overall, a great trip.

"Trip" being the operative word.


At one point in the ride I tackled a fallen lunk (that's my special word for a piece of tree in the trail that isn't as thick as a trunk but is much bigger than a limb). Michael went over it with ease then turned around to tell me to walk my bike over. I was already making it my bitch before Michael could vocalize his warning. We continued up the trail only a few feet before discovering many fallen lunks that weren't nearly as friendly. So we decided to turn around.

On our way back, I decided to go over the first lunk again. Why not? I made it the first time.

Well...

...I got my first lunk lesson: "Never assume a previously tackled lunk isn't keeping score."

From the opposite direction, I wasn't able to get the same amount of speed or the same angle that I had previously. My front tire hit the lunk at an unsavory angle and even though the front tire somehow made it over; the back one did not. I luckily fell on the dirt instead of on the pavement. I received a scraped up bloody knee along with a sizable bruise on my opposite leg from where my bike fell. So, I definitely made it out of my crash with little in the way of battle wounds.

It feels good to have my first bail be out of the way, and I'm looking forward to this week where Michael and I might get a couple after-work rides in...that is, if Michael's experience on Sunday doesn't stop us before we even get started.