Falling Over

I fell over yesterday.

In a McDonalds parking lot.

It was embarrassing.

We had stopped in Lahaina to use their restroom. Upon exiting the parking lot, I made a sharp turn at a slow speed, lost my balance, and couldn't get my left shoe out of the pedal in time. Down I went. It was the drive-thru exit, for crying out loud. Right in front of a woman who had just picked up her cheeseburger and fries. She didn't ask if I was ok, but I avoided making eye contact with her.

Fortunately, I landed - hard - on the left side, sparing my bike any injuries. When it came down to it, except for a couple of scrapes, the main injury to myself was my bruised pride. Waaaaa. I thought about taking a selfie, but, no not really, I never thought of that.

We had intended to do another tour all the way around West Maui, but the head and cross winds were so strong that we turned around at 25 miles and headed back to our car.

I can't recall when I last fell over. It's so embarrassing. I did it a few times in my first season cycling - once at a stop light on Wasatch Boulevard, once at the end of my own street.

And then there was that time in Corsica a few years ago. It was the first day of my first cycling tour. The support van had set up on the side of the road mid-morning to provide us all snacks.

Our support van. (This picture was taken on a different morning.)

After a bite, Mark and I got back on our bikes. I, unfortunately, made the decision to lock myself into my pedals before confronting a 6-8" height difference between the dirt shoulder and the asphalt road. Down I went. 

The very first morning! My knee suffered the brunt of the fall and I had some very noticeable scrapes. Fortunately, everyone was still on the other side of the van and didn't see my little accident. When people asked about it later in the day, we told them a wild pig had run out on the road in front of me. They believed me. 

Corsica is known for its wild pigs.