Really proud of myself! (Add yours!)

[Hunter]

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

[Bike Chick]

I hope you are okay and I'm really happy that you had your helmet and gloves on. It's too bad that you had a crash but it sounds like there was a positive side to it. If only one of those children remembers what the very smart teacher pointed out, then it will make a difference.

Be sure to have your helmet checked. Sometimes you need to have them replaced after they have sustained a bounce in a crash.

I'm glad you weren't seriously hurt but I'm sure you are sore today.

[Hunter]

I hope you are okay and I'm really happy that you had your helmet and gloves on.
<snip>
I'm glad you weren't seriously hurt but I'm sure you are sore today.

Thank you very much. I was glad something good came out of the crash, too.

I'm okay. I stalled getting up this morning. Assorted body parts rashed up and bruised, but nothing serious. My bike is fine, too.

I'm sending out healing vibes to the other guy. Maybe he'll think about a helmet.

Thanks again, Bike Chick.

Hunter

P.S. - My helmet does have a little divot, so I'm off to get a new helmet later. Thanks for mentioning it. I -love- my helmet this morning.

[XMcShiftersonX]

I am so proud of myself today! My husband and I were planning on doing a 45 mile bike ride today with 2000 feet of climbing, this would have been the longest ride I've ever done, but not the most climbing (my max was 2200 feet). I was really excited about that, but while we were out on the ride, I was feeling good and so we decided to extend the route a bit. Anyways, we ended up doing 52.10 miles, with 2215 feet of climbing, and I averaged 13.3mph for the whole ride! I'm so happy with my performance, and I can't believe I did a half century!

-Jessica

[jodz1984]

I think it is awesome whenever anyone starts to ride and they increase there kms they do. When i heard a guy said that he'd ridden 10,000kms on his bike in the 2.5yrs he had it i thought ohh my gosh that is a lot of kms to ride, but in less than 1 year since i have started i have done over 8,500kms.

My proud moment came on the weekend when i competed in my first major track cycling competition. i had to race australian champions (also place 4th at worlds) another lady that was world masters champion and world record holder another lady that competed at national level. in one of my handicap races i heard the commentator saying that the world masters chamption was coming up the outside of me and i managed to kick and hold her off to the line, so i beat the world champion and then in my next race i managed to eliminated both the world champion and the national champion to get 2nd place. i had only been racing track for about 2 and a half months. in the other races they only got away from my in the last half a lap and i only finished about 15 metres behind them. one of the ppl asked how long i had been racing and i told her and she was speechless. All these ppl were riding track bikes that were at least $5 or $6000 worth and i was riding a 20 yr old bike that i have borrowed just to see if i liked to race track. I love track and i ordered a biek but it didn't turn up in time

I also got to meet an olympian

[sundial]

Jodz, that's quite an accomplishment!

I rode 30 miles in the rain with really windy conditions just to prove to myself it's not that bad. And it wasn't.

[Bike Chick]

I rode 30 miles in the rain with really windy conditions just to prove to myself it's not that bad. And it wasn't.

Sun, that takes some determination and grit. I don't know what's worse in that situation, the rain, the wind or the argument you have with yourself while in the midst "this is stupid being out here---just stop and call someone--no, it's not much further---I can do this--"

Jodz, great accomplishment! You must really be proud of yourself.

Hunter, that dent in your helmet could've been a dent in your head

[Ritamarie]

This is a great thread. I enjoyed reading about everyone's proud moments! I find you all inspirational!

I had a goal this year of continuing to ride through the winter which I have never done before. (My last ride in 2008 was November 2, with temps in the 60s.) I have ridden this year in conditions I would never had considered before. On Friday I did a 25 mile road ride with a friend in 17 degree weather, 15 mph winds and had a blast. As I was leaving the house, I was thinking, "this is crazy!" but when we were done, I realized I'd just raised the bar on my perception of what my body could handle.

[curlieOne]

You sound like me last year. I did the same, started off slow to make sure I can get into cycling. I absolutely love it and am now looking to purchase my first good bike. Keep at it and good luck!

Portia
http://thenewbiker.blogspot.com/