Riding in style

"Do you want me to call 911?"  "No," I said through clenched teeth.  "I'm ok."  Said in the same way people do when they trip over nothing, and try to retain their dignity in the face of total humiliation.

Noah and I went for a bike ride Friday night, designed to give me some wind-down time after work, Noah some wind-down time before bedtime, and a chance for Mandy to get E down to bed after a long day.

We hadn't gone but a few blocks, and were heading downhill towards a roundabout when I warned Noah to slow down a bit.  For some reason known only to him, he decided to stop.  If I were driving a car, I would have been ticketed for following too closely (which would have been cheaper, in the end).  

I tried coming to a rapid stop without destroying my son in the process, and ended up on the ground so quickly that I couldn't tell how I landed.  My hand hurt like hell, as did my knee, and I could barely breathe.  As I stood back up, I looked to my left and saw a lady walking her dog, standing there with a horrified look on her face and getting ready to dial her phone when she asked me the question.  Noah looked at me with concern, and asked me what happened.  What happened was he stopped suddenly, and as I tried to do the same without running him over, I went down.

My knee - the same one I just had surgery on not too long ago - was already bleeding, and after I waved off the dog-walker and allayed Noah's fears, we got ready to keep going.  Inspecting my knee with concern, Noah said, "Dad, you're really brave.  I would be crying if that happened to me."

We ended up riding nearly four miles before coming home. Noah was more cautious afterwards too - not about crashing, but about his dad's ability to handle a bike safely.  As I was riding up behind him at one point, he heard me and veered off the sidewalk and across someone's lawn, saying, "Dad! You go in front of me!"  After I got him to bed, I noticed road rash on my stomach, and a splitting pain in my ribs.  I have no idea how I landed - I don't know if I hit the handlebars or the ground - but I clearly screwed something up more serious than my knee.

A couple of sleepless nights later, I finally went to the ER to get my ribs X-rayed.  The good news is it is either a bruised rib or an intercostal muscle strain, and not something broken.  I should be healed in a few weeks.  Unfortunately, it takes me out of my exercise groove for awhile.  Ironically, once I get on, riding a bicycle is the only thing I can do that doesn't hurt so I may be doing that for awhile.