On Saturday K, her crazy mountain biker friend and I went to Blue Mountain. Crazy mountain biker friend (cmb) went to enjoy a day of discount rides up the mountain and exhilarating rides down (you should see the jumps they make voluntarily - your stomach falls just watching!). K and I went to do a bit of less adventurous riding and enjoy the scenery.
The scenery was beautiful. The Georgian Bay is such a peaceful site of blue and light blue and darker blue beside blue sky. From the top of the mountain (which is more of a hill really but I suppose by flat Ontario standards it's quite a giant) the view is lovely.
K and I took the "cross country route" which extends along the top of the mountain and is supposed to be "easier" (but is definitely not for beginner bikers). On our first incline I took quite a spill. K was ahead of me and out of site so I peddled fast in the hope of catching up. Then when the incline started I thought nothing of it - at first.
The incline is a short slope probably less than 15 degrees but formed in gravel and rock so that, although not steep it is VERY fast, and difficult to brake on. I flew for seconds, minutes (hours??) I can't say - I can just say that I flew and tried to keep my wits about me and my bike upright (it felt like walking a very thin line between abject fear and well - terror).And just after passing 2 pedestrians my bike skidded and fell. I skidded for a bit but didn't break or even sprain anything (other than the bike fender). I just received scrapes and a tattoo across my calf from the gears.
Truth be told I was relieved to fall because the terror of riding out of control is far worse than the actual fall - when you don't know how it will end you can imagine twenty horrible endings and the suspense of not knowing which one it will be is the worse part. Will I crash into a pedestrian or another cyclist? will I go off the path into a tree? will I hit something and fly over the handle bars? will I .....but when it has ended I can safely stop worrying about the other possibilities and deal with the one that is. Not knowing is the hardest part I think.
So I took stock of myself - declared myself ok to the pedestrians who stopped to make sure, and walked the rest of the way to K, who was by now wondering what was keeping me. She was able to fix the bike (didn't even need to ask assistance from a boy!). and when we returned to the main building and saw another biker who had to be fixed with a neck brace and taken out on a stretcher to an ambulance - I felt much better about my wounds...
However, I did not feel any less shaken up or any more confident. Afterwards we rode to a town near by. I did not enjoy the ride because I had visions of wiping out on being hit by a car. Thankfully no such thing happened. I guess it will be a while before I can happily go riding again. But all in all I come away healthy and grateful. grateful for the guardian angel who may not spare me from all pain but spares me from most of it, and gives me strength and a sense of humor to bare it.
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