Bike Accidents

Three weekends in a row. Three different trails. Today's was Fort Custer, which I haven't ridden since the Stampede of '08 (right before the wedding of the century). It seemed like a good idea since the weather was nice, I needed to ride and I would be over on that side of the state anyway.

But first, to Kalamazoo, zoo, zoo, to visit the slightly belated birthday boy, Sebastian. That boy loves legos and playmobil. Our contribution was the playmobil ambulance, complete with an indisposed cyclist lying on a stretcher after a bike accident. It necessitated an impromptu bicycle safety speech from Aunt Andrea.

Oh yeah, and that boy, when questioned about what the theme of his birthday party should be, chose "carbon." Yes, carbon, the element. Of course, this is the same boy who spent his sixth year obsessed with DNA. It's also the same boy who could identify all the planets on sight by the time he was five. Love that quirky boy. Call him strange, but he's a keeper.

Then on to Fort Custer, where I met Dave and Kate. Former Michiganders transplanted in Madison, they were back for Thanksgiving weekend visiting. They borrowed some chain lube from me in the parking lot and then asked me to ride with them. Turns out Dave works for that one bike company that I'm not a big fan of, but I didn't tell him that. They were quite a bit faster than me and they waited nicely and encouragingly every so often for me to catch up.

I was actually having a good time. It's fun to ride with other people, especially when they speak your language. Plus, I liked the trail better than I remembered and it was warm enough for short sleeves. And then a bit of hesitancy got me on a sketchy downhill and it happened—my first crash in weeks and my first endo in absolutely ages. It was witnessed by two people I just met who ran back down to see if I was okay. Nice. I recovered enough to smile for my picture, at least, but hours later, I'm still feeling a little battered.

Still, it was a fun ride. Next up is what is bound to be a bittersweet season finale of Kisscross.