Well as we all met on one final Sunday for a very easy and relaxing 38 miles from Solana Beach to Oceanside Harbor, we all gathered around and got a few group pictures taken and a few final words of praise from Coach Pat Jak and we were off.
The ride up was very easy and a bit slow as we gathered in the Harbor and chatted with G2 as they were set to depart. As we made our final trip down the 101 to Solana Beach we all chatted about what to bring to SF so we all had a good idea what we needed to bring. As we approached Encinitas BLVD we stopped at the light at the bottom of the hill and as usual about 4 of us decided to race up the 150 yard hill to the top at the light. I am a perfect 5 for 5 for this contest of speed and I should of just let someone else take a turn at winning. But instead I decided to make it a clean sweep for the year and boy do I regret that.
Half way up I waited for someone to pass me to give me an idea who was the strongest of the bunch, as Mike passed me I pulled up hard with my left leg and out came my cleat. I made a god catch before going over the bars and quickly slammed it back into the pedal and gave it another hard pull upward to catch up with Mike who was just 3-4 feet away from me and I am guessing the chain had slipped off and when I pushed down on the pedal and pulled up on the bars to get some leverage, over the handlebars I went and all over the road I lay.
It all happened so fast I barely remember anything and just I hit the edge of the sidewalk with my left ass cheek and the very back portion of my helmet hit the ground as did the back of my right shoulder blade. Talk about embarrassing doing it in front of all my G# friends and the cars that were coming up the hill. I quickly got up and accessed the damage to myself and except for a few minor scrapes and a broken 4 month old helmet I was going to be ok. The guys checked out my bike and it seemed nothing much happened to it so it was back to finishing off the ride as planned.
Well 3 days later my left ass cheek has a bit of road rash and is completely black and blue from the impact it took hitting the curbs edge. The minor scrapes are really nothing and I have a really slight neck muscle strain but it is really slight. I guess I was really lucky as it could have been much worse and something that could have kept me from doing this ride. Coach Pat told me it was a text book "tuck & roll" and that I did very good considering what happened. Trust me there was no thought about how to fall, I was in autopilot and free falling to the ground and got lucky to end up how I did.
Now the ride will be even sweeter as I have a sense of how truly lucky I am in ALL aspects of life. Just a few hours after the crash Sayaji and I along with 45 family members and friends got together for our 10 year wedding anniversary and to renew our wedding vows. It was really a great time and my lovely wife never looked so beautiful, I really am a lucky man.
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