Biking is Hard

Dear Readers,

I apologize for the lack of entries lately. Last Friday I flew to Alabama for a friend's wedding and was there until Sunday afternoon. Monday morning I drove to Clemson and spent the night, the next afternoon I drove to Aiken and visited a relative, and then I finally arrived at the beach Tuesday night at 10 pm.

Last Friday through Tuesday I didn't have the healthiest meals ever, but I tried. Saturday morning I went to a local diner with some friends to get some breakfast and when I asked if they had fruit, I got a curt, "No." Um, ok. Excuse me for loving fruit. I got by ok with some plain oatmeal and two eggs over-easy. It's a safe bet to get plain oatmeal and add toppings yourself, like honey or brown sugar. NO FRUIT THOUGH, SORRY.

Check out our view:


I got to kayak in Mobile Bay, play tennis, and use the hotel's great gym so I did get plenty of exercise.

Ok, so onto the main subject of this post.

I brought my bike and clips down here so I could get used to them. I would rather get used to clips and fall and such on an island with low traffic than on a busy road in Louisville. Yesterday I took out my bike for two laps around the island (12.4 miles total) and although I biked well, I also fell. Twice.

The first time, I forgot to put on my gloves, and this is what happened:



I was coming to a stop and I unclipped from my right side but then I just kind of fell over to my left.

The second time, I was almost finished, and I just...fell again.


Ouch.

My body is in so much pain today. I have bruises and cuts all over me, not to mention that my bike got beat up a little bit too.

Why am I falling? It seems silly. What happens is that once you unclip from a side you have to lean to that side to put your foot on the ground so you can stop and balance yourself. What I MUST be doing by second nature is straightening up, but then I'm still clipped on the left and I can't stop myself from falling over.

What I'm going to try and do now is unclip both feet. I'll unclip my right foot and then my left, but not at the same time. Maybe I just need to Google "clipping tricks."

The bike is getting a rest today. I'm playing tennis at 10!