Brain-iac

Well, my first Father's Day was awesome! Kate and I got to hang out on Saturday morning for a bit, just the two of us, and she made a card for me at day care and one at home. My special gift was a really cute book called I Love You As Big as the World -- depending on how you read it, it could be from the perspective of the Big Bear or the Little Bear. Yesterday was more family time, and she was happy as could be playing in the water and just being her cute self. It was about as perfect as a first Father's Day weekend could be!

Thankfully, hanging with Ms. Kate balanced out the bit of bad luck from yesterday morning. (One of these days, the universe will turn ...) I headed to Kettle from my in-laws to get in a ride before all the family festivities. Trails had been closed for a couple of days, and were a bit greasy in spots, but in general everything was in great shape. (And the new connector to the new connector was totally cool!)

So there I am, blazing along on the connector, when I get to the second road crossing. This is the one with the big horse trail clearing -- up on the road, down, and then into the switchback rocky climb. Well, I was concentrating on the trail and my line, trying to get momentum, and WAM! ... next thing I know, my head is whip-lashing backward, my right shoulder is scraping something and my bike is falling over underneath me. WTF?!?!?!?

Turns out, the lock on one of the "Trails Closed" signs had rusted in place from all the rain last week, and they couldn't get the gate open. Brown sign + forest + changing light conditions (trail-open-trail) meant I didn't see it, and I took it head-on. Helmet shattered, shoulder throbbing, and I'm standing there trying to figure out what happened. The back side of the sign had reflective material -- the front doesn't. I just didn't see it.

I took a few minutes to straighten my bars, and rode the road for a bit to make sure I was feeling OK. "OK" is relative, and of course I finished my ride, but it may not have been the smartest thing I did this weekend. By late afternoon I was feeling it, and I had Kim drive home as darkness fell because I wasn't focusing too good. I'm better today, so no worries ...

Somewhat incidentally, this week marks the anniversary of THE BIG CRASH(es) -- Father's Day at the Melrose Park Criterium followed by the next Thursday at the Northbrook Velodrome. If you're looking for me, I'll be the one with the rabbit's foot hanging from my neck, throwing salt over my shoulder and knocking wood this week ...