Two of us went down in perfect unison this afternoon in a high wind gust and a patch of newly dumped gravel. The other young male rider shouted a very loud, heartfelt curse in front of several spectators and a bunch of kids walking on a field trip.

I shouted "ta da" as someone mentioned on this forum. It lightened up a scary moment and earned me a few style points from two of the men who were walking about six feet from the crash site.

I was wearing a helmet that made a nice, loud sound as it hit the sidewalk. My crash partner wore no helmet and had a messy gash on his head.

My hand is bruised, but not scraped. My crash partner had torn up palms.

The teacher turned to her students and said, "That's why you should always wear a helmet when you ride your bike." A sweet little boy said, "I want those hand things, too."

Thanks to everyone here for the safety reminders and great posts. And thanks to whoever it was who posted about "ta da" after falls. It made me feel cool after my crash.

I think my Sirrus and I may take tomorrow off, but thanks to good safety equipment we'll be rolling again in no time.

Best regards,
Hunter