Bike + ice = annoying

Given the fact that before this week I hadn't written my bike in about a month and hadn't gone to the gym to work out in about 2 weeks, my body is saying it didn't want to jump right back into the old routine!  I went to the gym Monday after work and also today, and yesterday I rode my bike too and from Theological Summit.  And now this evening, I'm definitely a bit sore!  Totally bearable, just a bit annoying.

Part of that, however, comes from last night.  When I checked the weather forecast before leaving for Theological Summit, it said snow flurries in the morning then cloudy the rest of the day.  Since the windchill was hovering around 20 degrees all day (which is above my criteria of 10), I was definitely excited that I could bike there!  Shortly after I left home on my way there, I was in the midst of a snow shower, but that's ok because it's actually kinda fun biking in the snowflakes.

After Summit was a different story though!  My bike had ice on it when I went out to the bike rack, partly thanks to whoever moved the bike rack so I couldn't use a nearby overhang for shelter.  But the parking lot was decent, and the first few side streets I was on were a little wet but otherwise fine.  I noticed a little slickness when I turned from Crawford St to Liberty St, and when I turned from Liberty onto Putnam that was it - the ice got me and I wiped out!  It was a slow-motion wipe out too, a rather odd experience.  I got back up and started pedaling, at which time I realized that my back pack, which I secure to a shelf thing over my rear wheel, was off kilter and I knew that would throw me off balance.  So I stopped... and nearly wiped out again!  This time I stayed upright even though my bike went down.  I got my backpack fixed, and took the next side street over to Sandusky because I knew it would be significantly better.  After that the ride was uneventful, and only one car passed me on Sandusky, so I made it home just fine.

This morning while I was showering I noticed the inside of my right leg just above my ankle was annoying, somewhere between hurting and itching.  I looked down and realized my leg must have hit my gears on the way down last night, because I have surface scrapes in the shape of part of the gear!  It doesn't really hurt much, but it's annoying that I can't pull my socks up because that irritates it.  My left hip is also a bit sore today, but I suppose that makes sense after falling on it last night, and it really isn't bad.

The biggest problem with all this is probably that my mom is going to discourage me from riding my bike to class until the weather warms up! :-) But I don't know if that'll work.  I did pay close attention to the weather forecast this time, it just didn't tell me anything about the potential for ice!  And by the way, Bill did send me a text during the evening offering to come pick me up, but I had my phone turned off for Summit as was requested by the people leading the event, so I didn't get his message until after I got home.  If I had put two and two together and got four while at seminary I probably would have tracked down someone to take my bike and me home, but for some reason it didn't click that ice on my seat meant icy roads!  Guess my brain was either fried or too annoyed at other things (see yesterday's post).

Anyhow, I'm calling it quits on further exercising for the next few days to give my body a chance to catch up.  Depending on weather I may ride to church Sunday, but otherwise I really won't do much physical like that until my Monday workout.