Princess Runner

As you may recall, I wrote on Saturday that I was going to do my cycling time trial on Sunday. A twelve mile ride at high intensity to mimic race day conditions. Things did not go as I had planned.

The ride started out well and I was maintaining a pretty good overall speed of about 12 miles an hour which was my goal. I planned to put in the one big hill in the area toward the beginning of the ride (about 4 miles in). I have only done the hill once previously on the bike (and I have walked up it before a few times).

I think that I finally have gotten the hang of switching gears to prepare for hills. Going up the hill the first time, I managed to maintain a 9 mph pace which I was pretty happy with. I rested a moment or two before going back up the hill the other way, this time a bit slower.

I continued the ride and passed a few slower people. There were a lot less runners than on Saturday, but a lot more cyclists. I think that they probably choose Sunday to avoid all the marathoners on Saturday.

As I wound through a woodsy part nearing where I entered the preserve (I planned to bypass my start and go the other direction for a few miles), I heard a really obnoxious bird call. I had never heard this bird before and was glad I didn’t have one living outside my window at home because it would certainly drive me crazy. It sounded a bit like it was dying. As I rode another mile or so, the bird sound kept following me, which I found really annoying. A moment or two later, I realized that it was not a bird. It was my bike.

I decided to wait until I got back to the parking lot to check to see if I was losing air or something. That way Prince E could come rescue me if necessary. The bike was riding fine, except for that dying bird noise. I hadn’t made it quite to the parking lot when I could not take it anymore. I had to stop and see where that noise was coming from.

I pulled off to the edge of the paved path, clipping out of my right shoe. For some reason I did not lean enough to my right though and I toppled over to my left and onto the pavement. A couple walking up ahead turned at the noise and called to see if I was okay or if I needed help. I said, “I’m fine. It happens a lot actually!”

I was fine, except for a scrape or two and some bruises. I really have learned that I must concentrate completely on stopping and leaning to the right and putting my foot down or else it does not happen. This time I was thinking about what I would do if my bike broke during the triathlon and thought about how uncomfortable it would be to walk the bike course in my cycling shoes. I should have been concentrating on stopping instead because it is still not second nature to me. Lesson learned.

I was unable to determine what the dying bird noise was, so I went home, three miles shy of the 12. I had still managed to average 10.7 mph throughout despite the dying bird noise and riding slowly home after the fall.

When I got home, my live-in bicycle mechanic diagnosed the problem quickly. The wheel was unbalanced and was rubbing against the brake pad. Unfortunately “truing the wheel” (the term for making a wobbly wheel stop wobbling) requires equipment that we don’t have. It was off to the bike shop. Fifteen minutes and $12 later, the dying bird was history.

I had also had a rattling in my front wheel for a while which I thought was just the reflectors making noise. Prince E inspected that and it turns out there were two extra metal pieces in there, probably left since the bike was put together. Sort of like leaving sponges in a person after surgery. He was able to remove those, so now my bike is strange-noise free.

Here is a a photo of one of my latest injuries (the other bruises are too faint to show up on camera right now). I would also like to take this moment to remind you all to wear a helmet. Even if you don’t go fast. I fell at basically a stand-still and yet I would not want the bruises and scrapes on my body to be on my head. Just something to think about.

Knee