Preparation

So, as much as is possible, I have been training on the bike in prep for the big journey.  I say as much as is possible since I have recently become quite the jet-setter, flying to and from the mid-West with a frequency that might earn me one of those cards from "Up in the Air."  That, however, is beside the point.  What IS on point are my various road rash injuries.  I recently purchased clip-in pedals for the Sojourn, and am having a hell of a time staying upright : ).  I was never much of a biker, and I certainly never had a pair of clip in pedals before.  What I have realized is that unclipping should be one of my first "thoughts" as I slow down...unfortunately it is one of my last...just before "oh sh*t" and "ouch."

A few days ago, I came to a four-way stop in downtown Blacksburg.  As I was descending the hill (for those of you unfamiliar with Blacksburg, absolutely everything here is a hill), I realized that the rain made my brakes less than perfectly effective.  Now the best course of action here would have been to unclip and then solve the brake problem, but that is theoretical and easy to say a few days out.  My biggest concern at that point was not blowing through the stop sign.  The good news is that I was able to stop in time; the bad news is that in my adrenaline pumping state, I was not able to unclip.  The funny thing about falling over when you are clipped in is that it looks like a tree that has just been felled.  You teeter slowly on the last fibers of wood, and then with a creak and a loud crash, you are on the ground.

Luckily, there was an audience for this event.  She rolled down the window of her SUV and yelled "Are you ok!"  I convinced her that other than a cut on my elbow and a severe gash in my pride, I was indeed ok.  Her response was priceless - she said "You looked like you just passed out!"  Well, not that it wouldn't be possible to see me pass out at the end of a bike ride, because it is entirely possible, but what a great description of the events that had just unfolded there at the four-way stop.  I wish I could say that is the only time when a motorist rolled down their window to make sure that I was ok after tipping over on my bike...but alas, I cannot.

I remain determined though!  I am starting to get the hang of unclipping in an emergency, or, better yet, prior to an emergency.  Perhaps I will wrap myself in bubble wrap for the first few hundred miles!