Friday, June 17, 2011

Give it a Tri

No, I didn't misspell (because we all know how much I love to spell correctly). My sister, Nikki, has been talking to me about doing a triathlon in Utah in July. I have been afraid of the swim, because even though my children are swimmers, I am not. I gave up on swimming when I was eight years old and my goggles broke. Poor excuse, I know. But I KNEW that I had the biking thing mostly down because I have been going to spin classes for months and working my tail off. I love the puddle of sweat. I feel like I really accomplished something. Plus, I get to look in the mirror and compete with myself. So I bought "clipless" pedal shoes (I don't know what the technical name is) to try out in class first and then hit the road. The first pair and class were a disaster and HUGELY embarrassing as I attempted to #1 Put them on and #2 Clip them in. Why are they called clipless when I have to clip? Anyway, I took that pair back and got an easier putting on pair. Unfortunately, they are loose in the heel, but that was not crucial at this point. I wore them to class, and it was a SNAP, or CLIP, if you will. I tried them on my bike that Kevin bought me four years ago that until I got my shoes, did not even realize that they had clipless pedals. Silly me. Wonderful husband. I tried them in the backyard with the assistance of Chloe (and Blake, although his help was minimal. He got on his bike in front of me to demonstrate how one puts their feet on the pedals and then he raced me back and forth.) as she held the bike. After loosening the tension that I learned on YouTube, I was a professional at getting them clipped and then getting out. I took to the road. I went around the block a few times and felt pretty good. I was warned by Ed Packard that it wasn't a matter of if I would crash, it was when. I knew he didn't realize what a cautious girl I am. I was telling myself over and over again on my first "real" ride that I was clipped in and unclipped each time I was coming to a stop and had trained myself to unclip the left pedal since I am right handed. I don't know. I read that somewhere. All through the mountain preserves, neighborhood, canals, dirt trails, I was attacking the road. Well, kind of, since I am not used to the out of control feeling of the bike on the road. On my LAST stop, and chance to unclip, I failed. It was at the busiest intersection of my ride. I hit the ground and a bush. Road rash. Bike grease. Pride smashed. Thoughts of running later gone.
I also had thought of "What will I wear to church on Sunday to cover this? I will need to get a maxi dress." I was afraid that I would have everyone asking me about it and having to relive the story. That was until I got in the house. NO ONE NOTICED. There I was helping each one of them. Kevin asked me how my ride was. Blake and Olivia had demands. I started Dillan and Chloe on their chores. No one saw. Finally after thirty minutes of talking with everyone, Chloe noticed. Of course. She has always been very concerned. I thought it was a bad enough way to draw attention to myself. That is, until I went to Wet 'n Wild after this and put three large bandaids on there to protect the injury and came home looking like this:
Now it looks like road rash with white stripes, thanks to too much fun in the sun. I can only imagine what I am going to do next to draw attention to it. BUT, this will not keep me from using clipless pedals or biking outdoors again. I just hope the next crash is not in front of a bunch of people.

2 comments:

  1. Give. It. A. Tri.

    You must.
    You've got what it takes x 4.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is the reason I won't be using clips during my tri. Every ride we sponsor ends with at least a handful of clip related injuries! Exhausted muscles and clips tend to not work out so good. But that's a beauty!

    ReplyDelete