Funny Story

This past weekend I went up north to visit my mom. After a nice visit, I continued up north to participate in a 50 mile bike ride. For those that are not avid bike riders…and I am not….50 miles is a long way. The ride was anything but flat and for someone that hadn’t been on a bike yet this year it was more than a challenge. Here comes the funny part. On one of the downhill runs, at about mile 35, I was pedaling fairly hard when my left pedal came off. Not come lose, but gone, missing, broken. After I came to a stop, I spent 15 minutes looking for the pedal in the weeds. After I finally found it, I walked back to my bike and tried to screw it back in. After about 20 minutes of trying I realized that the threads were stripped and there was no way I was going to be able to put it back on. I was disappointed but it is what it is, so I decided just to pull out my cell phone and call my wife to come get me (she rode just the first 25 and had our vehicle). No cell service…..great. The next part you really have to have a mental picture to appreciate. Me (6’7”), on a bike, one pedal, trying to ride one footed. This went on for about 2 miles…and it was a long 2 miles. At various times during my adventure, I had a number of other cyclists slow down to see if I needed help. Everyone had the same reply…”oh….that’s too bad” and then they rode off. After a while a helper vehicle drove by that was picking up bikers that had either broken down or had just run out of energy. I waved them down so they could give me a ride to the finish line. We loaded my bike on their trailer and the guy told me that his Jeep Cherokee was full but there was room in the back. This is where it really got funny. He lifted up the hatchback and I squeezed my 6’7” body in with the spare tire, folded my legs the best I could and he shut the hatchback. Along the way I got a cramp in my calf which I couldn’t stretch out. To make things even better, as I was trying to sit up to stretch out my legs, I got a cramp in my abs. OK…to re-cap. My back end is sore, I failed to finish the 50 miles, my bike is broke, I’m wedged into the back of a Jeep Cherokee leaning against a spare tire and I have a cramp in my calf and my abs. Hope that brightens your day.