Bad Crank, Good Karma

I made up my mind that I’d drive to work today in order to avoid getting water from the rain that was forecasted on the bandage on my hand. This morning the forecast was updated to no rain so I rode. I took The Mule as a shakedown ride in anticipation of this weekend’s ride in North Carolina.

About 2 miles into the ride I noticed that my left pedal was skipping. Every rotation had this spastic jump in it. At first I thought it was my shoes. Then I thought my toe clip was falling off. After 3 1/2 miles I pulled over and saw that my left crank arm was loose. I turned around and headed back home. A mile from home the bold holding the crank arm fell off. I recovered it, threaded it on my hand and carefully rode the last mile. Normally, this would make me mad, but I am thankful that this happened here rather than in NC.

I switched to Little Nellie and rode to work. Along the way I saw a dead deer along the trail near Dyke Marsh. Next, in the marsh north of Slaters Lane, I caught some motion in the water out of the corner of my right eye. It was a beaver diving under the surface as he swam toward me.

As I passed under the railroad bridge north of the airport I noticed a runner coming toward me with a funny look on his face. I looked to my left and saw a scruffy looking fox just standing there next to the trail. He made no attempt to run off.

North of the Humpback Bridge I passed a three-car accident on the adjacent Parkway. It looked like a chain reaction rear-ender. I’ll take a broken crank over whiplash any day.

I rode in with a jacket on, but stowed it for the ride home. It was 60 degrees and the riding was lovely. A gentle tailwind pushed me along. When I arrived home, I felt unusually tired. I think the combination of dealing with being a lefty for a day and inhaling a ton of pollen wore on me.

Tomorrow, I’m heading south to Oriental NC for 3-days of biking, lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise.