Day 5 of 30 days of biking

Today was quite an eventful day. I had planned to meet a friend at the playground with Jack shortly after Kyle's lunch break, this would have worked out great had Kyle gotten off work at the usual time, but he was running late, which meant I had to leave while he was still home.  Jack was in full on tantrum mode at the time, mainly because he was impatient to leave and I was apparently taking far too long to get ready!

We paused on the driveway for our "day 5 departure shot" and then I hopped on the bike. As I peddled away I noticed a pinging noise from the rear wheel, Kyle saw this from inside and came out to help so I didn't have to dismount again. But we couldn't see what it was, so I peddled on a little more...by this time I'm outside the neighbors house and it's still pinging away. So I dismount, or rather I attempt to and then the moment I've been dreading finally catches up with me, as I fall backwards and the bike comes right along with me.  I managed to slow the fall quiet easily and despite the fact that he shed some tears I don't think Jack even got a scratch on him.  Kyle ran over and helped us up and other than a bruised ego and a horrible backache I'm doing fine. Well, after being brushed off by my doting husband, I had another look at the bike's mystery noise and noticed my kickstand had moved over just a little and was getting hit by the spokes as they revolved. I straightened it out easily and since I'm expecting my double kickstand in the mail any day now, it's really no big deal.

You can't promise a trip to the park and then change your mind over a little thing like an unexpected roll in the mud, so we went and played around for a little while. It was actually a very good idea that we kept going, because I was able to walk around and loosen up my back.

I decided to get back on the bike because the weather looked pretty stormy. I wrapped Jack up and headed further east, so we could take a slow ride home via a foot path that cuts through some wetlands. I've cycled this way before and Kyle shot some video at the time. I reviewed it a few weeks ago and remember he was trying to talk to me and my breathing was so labored I could hardly talk.  Today, even though I'd taken exactly the same route, a chit-chat would have been no problem at all.  I can't tell you how encouraging that is!

You wouldn't know it by the sun on my face, but I was getting hailed on at this moment.  I considered stopping to put Jack's rain cover over him, but to be honest I really didn't want to risk an extra dismount. I know that's a fear I will need to overcome, but my back was really hurting and I just didn't want to deal with it.  If it had gotten worse, I would have had to stop, but Jack was wrapped up in a wool blanket and so I figured he was fine.

The cycle through the wetlands was definitely a worth while detour and made today my longest ride in April. I enjoyed it too, and I certainly hadn't set out to enjoy it, my heart wasn't in cycling today. There was a time prior to this, that falling off my bike would have been the only excuse I needed to return to the sofa for the day, maybe even longer. It's good to see progress.

Growing up I used to ride horses, which is why I now have a very sensitive back. After a few very hard falls I have a back that can tell the weather far superior to any meteorologist, which is why today's little spill made it ache. That being said, when you train to ride horses your instructor will tell you over and over again, that you not a real Equestrian until you have ridden after a fall.  Now that I've fallen off my bike and gotten back in the saddle, maybe I can start to consider myself a cyclist.