Failure to Pop Shoes out of Pedals Leaves Nasty Mark

Photo by Ashton Bitton
I've crashed before, but this is the most photogenic one yet. My left handlebar smacked into my sternum, then gouged its way down my belly. Why am I still smiling?

Sunday, March 19, 2005

I continue to train for the BEAST adventure race in Seattle, and today put in some time - probably too much time - on my mountain bike.

I left my house this afternoon with the intention of riding around Lacamas Lake for one hour. I got back an hour and 45 minutes later. That's a lot of time in the saddle for me. I think I have bruises, but there's no easy way to find out.

My bike has special "cleated" shoes that lock into the pedals. Experienced riders don't seem to have many problems with this type of system. In fact, it makes them more efficient, because they can get power not only when they push their feet down, but also when they pull their feet up. For me, though, this special combination of shoes and pedals has caused several crashes.

I should know better. I know I should pop my shoes out of the pedals when I approach a tricky part in a trail, or hit a traffic jam of slow hikers who won't yield, or come up to a traffic light I'm going to have to wait for. I just get so engrossed in the joy of zipping through my surroundings that by the time I realize I must get my shoe out of the pedal NOW, I twist my foot to pop out (doesn't work!), I twist it again (why isn't it working?!!), and again (oh, no!!), and SMASH! Some part of my body has a new boo boo. Today it was my chest.

I honestly took about 30 seconds to untangle myself from my bike, get the shoes out of the pedals, and stand up. How humiliating! I looked around to see who'd witnessed my stupidity. Nobody. What luck! I dusted myself off, took a long hit from my bottled water, and got back on the bike.

The ride down to the lake was gorgeous. I wish I knew all the names of the pine trees and the other trees and the ferns and the bushes, but I'll have to fake it and say the trail has a lake on one side and dense forest on the other, and it is amazing. I can not believe I live so close to a setting so serene.

I got to the end of the lake, rested for a few minutes, then got back on my bike. It had taken an hour to get there. I figured I could get back faster, and so used some of my 28 gears on the return trip. I got back to the trailhead in 30 minutes!

This training for the BEAST is giving me an excuse to do the things I want to do anyway. It adds a sense of purpose and even urgency. I like training because I feel the suffering is for a specific reason. Just going out and doing it for fun isn't nearly as fun.