PMS + no sun (remind me never to move out of Sydney unless it's to Spain) + fall of bike = not wanting to ride my road bike any more.
The bruising has now presented and I feel like it's gone to a 3 out of 10.
It hurts to move my left knee and my right shin is quite sensitive.
I went from this:
(Image via one of my favourite blogs: hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com.au)
To this:
(Image via Hyperbole and a Half)
I don't even want to touch my road bike right now:
(Another Hyperbole & A Half image via otpwg.wordpress.com)
My husband suggested that maybe I hyped up the easiness of the clipless yesterday too much.
(Image via hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com.au)
Falling bent the hood of my bike so we went into the bike store and they moved the hood back into position. Apparently this is really common and some cyclists have it loose so they can move it back easily when this happens. So no damage. (bummer hey? ;p)
I can tell that my road bike in my mind has been enveloped by a cloud of fear.
(Image via jason-hedrick.blogspot.com.au)
I feel like I've been a bit defeated. Like I've been in a fight mentally & physically and lost.
But my 2014 New Years Resolution is to conquer fears that I know are false.
(Image via welcometoladyville.com
Like they say in Strictly Ballroom:
(Image via themoviescene.co.uk, text added by me - wow, I've turned into someone that adds text to pictures)
So I could see the cloud of fear forming and after lots of talking to myself, I forced myself to go on a ride on my commuter bike because I didn't want the cloud of fear to eat the concept of cycling in general.
After all, it had already taken my road bike.
(I still haven't been able to touch my road bike since put it back in the garage after falling.... my husband had to walk it to the bike shop and back...)
(image via http://dreamreboot.com/tag/fear/)
I actually ended up doing 40km in total. (Which is a lot on a commuter bike with a pannier / rack / fenders).
Actually, I wasn't sure what length I was intending to do, but I just kept going, lap after lap.
I actually had a bit of a cry while I was riding because I felt so annoyed / upset at myself for not wanting to get on my road bike again.
(But then this guy tried to race me - you can tell because they keep looking back to see where you are - and so I took him on and kept on his tail for a lap and a half and that amused me for a good bit. One of the reasons I like cycling is that you have lots of arbitrary goals - other cyclists - that come and go randomly and give you reasons to chase.)
Anyway, I know that it's just fear because I know that I love riding my road bike and I can't believe that I wouldn't want to get on it again.
I guess next time I get on the road bike, I think I will practice clipping and unclipping first, with one foot still on the ground.
But the sun just came out, so I'm going to watch Amelie to cheer myself up.
(image via dellawhite.com)
While eating Chicken Twisties & Campbells soup,
(image via creativechristianmama.com)
And maybe,
(Image via Hyperbole And A Half again)
AS IF! That's one fear I'm definitely not planning to conquer in 2014!
[EDIT: After having some friends cheer me up, and now that the sun is out, I do feel like I want to go and have another go at it. However, I'm feeling pretty tired from the emotions of the morning. But I'm pretty happy that I'm at least considering getting back on the road bike!]
