Fall Down, Go Boom

Sometimes you just can’t win. It was about -17°F when I headed out to work yesterday. Normally when I commute at temperatures this cold I run higher pressures so that I am not pedaling against flexing frozen sidewalls. The disadvantage of this, of course is less traction. So when I hopped my front wheel up onto a curb and realized I was going a bit too fast to get forward and get my back wheel up as well, I knew I was screwed. My rear wheel hit the curb at the wrong angle, went out from under me and down I went.

I crash all the time; I crashed four times between Friday night and Saturday’s rides. Even though all those crashes were at speed, they were all into two feet of powder. My commuting crashes generally carry a midlevel sucktastic factor. They are always on ice, which is hard, but it has the advantage that instead of getting shredded by asphalt or dirt, you generally slide pretty well, so it’s really only the impact you have to worry about. I crash about every two months or so, and have yet to seriously injure myself. I hopped back on my bike and ignoring the shame generally associated with such an event, finished the ride to work.

When I got to work, I suddenly realized I could barely move my neck without getting shooting pains in it. I work with nurses and they noticed pretty quickly and yelled at me until I went to the ED. Several hours and a couple of x-rays later (I’d list the cost too, but I haven’t gotten the bill), the ED doctor was nice enough to confirm I had strained something and I would be fine in a couple days. I constantly tell people at the shop that studs for commuting are cheaper than a visit to the ED. I guess I need to take my own advice. It’s better than the alternative.