look what i bought today

i think we have an emergency...

Katie's basketball team undefeated!

more carnage

This week, i fell down not once, but twice. The first time my tire got stuck in a rut at the bottom of a hill, and i scraped my left knee. The second time, i was really tired, and near the end of the ride, and my brakes locked up halfway down a hill. I skidded a bit, and the result is a scrape on my right calf. As you can see, last week's injury is still healing.



ETA: i had to show off my carnage on Sunday to my sister Katie's friends. Cassie said that my legs are "so muscular." Made me feel good. (: Not much else anyone said to me that day did. ):

more bike photos...

This time, closeups.

first blood

Yeah, i am pretty sure that i was the first person to bleed in my mountain biking class: today was our first time on the trail. My best guess is that when my bike started falling over (and i planted my foot) is that the pedal connected with my calf. The stinging pain lasted for an hour, the adrenaline for about forty-five minutes, and last i checked the wound is still oozing slightly. It gushed pretty good when i tried to wipe it off, which wasn't the most sanitary thing to do because i had gotten gas right before class, put some oil in the engine, waited five minutes for the bathroom to be vacated so i could wash my hands and empty my bladder, and ended up leaving so i wouldn't be late for class (i was still a bit late, but not the last to arrive). The class didn't go well, it was hot (mid-90's), the adrenaline made me nervous, and i'm behind on the learning curve, unfortunately. On a completely different note, why do my legs look so trim in real life, but not on film/flash card? Beware! It's a little gory:







ETA: The manager at the Bike Shop said that it looked like my leg connected with the chain ring, which is actually what i thought had happened, while my teacher had said that it looked like the pedal. I especially liked the spirals, but they faded after one day.

just a comparison

Got a new camera, images should be incoming, but first...

bike stash!

In this pic i've got my new bike, chain (old lock), backpack (from Wal-Mart), Camelbak bladder peaking out (10% off at the Bike Shop), and of course my old helmet, complete with my gloves tucked inside. You can click on the pic to make it bigger. i'm still figuring out my new camera....