The long bike ride for the weekend was six hours. I was so ready for this ride. And I so rocked this ride.
We rode from our house and did our hour long warm up. We then stopped at my parents' house and dropped off all our extra stuff we were carrying (sunscreen, nutrition, etc.). We would be using their house as our base camp, if you will. We then headed off on our 20 mile interval with 5 miles of recovery. The first one was pretty uneventful. We tried to hit our heart rate zones, did our climbs in the saddle, and stuck to a reasonable pace. We returned to my parents' house, took a bathroom break, resprayed the sunscreen, and refueled. Then it was out again. For me, this was the darkest part of the ride. I didn't feel bad, necessarily, but I knew we were not halfway through and there was still a long way to go. I was nutritioning (yes it's a word) the hell out of this ride, though, and continued throughout. One bottle of Gatorade per hour, gel every 40 minutes, salt tabs on the hour, and water when I needed it. My stomach was feeling good and I was feeling well hydrated.
The next time we returned to my parents house something happened. I unclipped my right foot, the natural one for me, and the bike leaned left. I tried to catch myself against the garage door as I was close enough, but I couldn't quite handle it. Now, though, I was too close to the garage and I was worried I was going to hit it on the way down. So I kinda scooched closer to the bike. This was a mistake. The bike seat got me HARD in the butt and my gears dug into my right leg. I crashed onto my left side. Dave couldn't get close enough to help me. This is the fourth time I've crashed like this in the last year and it was the one that hurt the most. I got up, close to tears, and walked it off. While we restocked our bikes, I put a small ice pack on the butt and kept on moving. We continued with our ride.
Despite the crash I had a great ride. We finished off 90 miles just over 6 hours. I was really tempted to turn the bike around and continue on for another ten miles and finish my first century. There was running to do, though, and I couldn't skip another run off the bike.
Here's the good stuff. That crash? Well, it was awesome. Checking a little later in the day, Dave discovered my butt was bruising and quickly. I iced it that evening and slept very uncomfortably. The next day it was starting to look and feel bad. Warning, full moon ahead:
One day after the crash.
Two days after the crash and the bruise is now very colorful and growing (although feeling a lot better):
I can't believe I just showed you all pictures of my butt!!!
9 comments:
ouch.
you know, usually those non/low-speed crashes hurt the ego more than the body, but that looks painful. am i mistaken, or do you have some bruising on your tailbone, too? eep. at least you got a good, solid ride out of the deal. that's a good confidence builder.
hope you heal up soon.
OMG... the fact that you just showed your ass to the universe means that we are fast friends for life. And not just any little ol picture either. I mean go big or go home. Atta way, girl! Flove.
@jeff, yes tailbone bruised too, although it doesn't hurt as much as the big bruise.
@jessie, did you say I've got a big butt? :)
that is totally a carole-post.
I can't believe you did, either!! hehehe! ;-) Hope you're all better soon!
I can't believe you posted that! :) You are too funny! Looks really sore though... you are a rockstar for continuing! Hope the bruising goes away...
I thought it was just Carole that was obsessed with showing off her booty. Now you?
What is with the Trakkers ladies and always mooning everyone?! :-)
I didn't say bit butt ;) - big PICTURE. Those pics nearly filled up my whole screen. Nice work, lady. Like I said, if you're going to show your ass. SHOW IT!
I don't know you Meredith... But I know a really nice butt when I see one! I like people like you, who have the confidence to be AWESOME! Seriously, that is a Beautiful Behind...you SHOULD display it PROUDLY and ROCK ON, Girl!
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