Levee Surfing

It was a nice morning today with the predawn temperature up around 60F and a moderate southeast wind flooding the city with that warm gulf humidity that ensures a bountiful summer for all the area's fungi. There were a few people missing today, and I don't think the group ever got larger than seven or so, but that didn't seem to be having a negative effect on the effort level. With mostly cross or tailwinds on the way out, the pace stayed rather fast. Fast enough, in fact, that by the time we were approaching the Dip things were starting to fall apart paceline-wise, and so eventually the whole group took it down a notch for a while so everyone could recover. By the time we made the turnaround out at Ormond, everyone seemed ready for a little breather, especially since the return trip would be mostly headwind.

Chad rolled off ahead solo and after a while the group started to ever-so-gradually speed up, eventually catching him somewhere around the parish line I guess. After that is was just a nice smooth paceline. That is, until I decided to do a little levee surfing.

There's a crash on the levee
And mama, you've been refused
Well, it's sugar for sugar
And salt for salt
If you go down in the flood
It's gonna be your own fault
-- Bob Dylan

The paceline was making one of those long gradual bends in the river at the time, and the apparent wind was starting to shift from one side to the other. I was near the back of the line, I think maybe on Justin's wheel, just cruising along when I guess someone up front zigged when the guy behind him expected him to zag. I heard someone up there say something and then next thing I knew everything in front suddenly slowed and swerved to the right and my front wheel was swept cleanly out from under me. I hit pretty hard on my right side and remember being briefly in the highly aero but UCI-illegal Superman Position surfing down the grassy slope of the levee as my bike performed cartwheels somewhere behind. Because of the slope of the levee, you get to fall a few extra feet when you crash, the same way you do on the track. Thanks to his quick reflexes, or just dumb luck, I avoided being subsequently squashed like a bug by Chad who had been behind me and also took a little grassy detour but remained upright.

Since I landed on the grass the skin damage was minimal, although I did somehow manage to twist the hell out of my right ankle which is now rather swollen and painful. I guess the lower part of the bike came down the edge of the pavement because my right pedal and rear derailleur are now just the slightest bit lighter. Anyway, if you've got to crash, this is the way to do it. No broken bones, no broken bikes, and no head injury! I rode to work a little more slowly than usual this morning, but I don't think this little incident will keep me off the bike at all.