Sunday, June 29, 2008

crash...ouch

so, there we have it.  first crash of '08.

all in the safety of my own backyard.

and i wasn't wearing gloves or a helmet....doh.

....so sometimes it is really the little things that trip me up.  like for instance when i went to LA in april.  i spent about two hours extremely anxious wondering how the hell you are supposed to ride up the rail and grab hold for the beginning of the mass start races, if the minimum speed was 19mph.  

...so back to my crash today.  riding rollers in public pretty much terrifies me as well.  i like to do it in the safety of my door way.  where it feels like i am enclosed in a little cage.  and i put the rollers up flush with the right door frame.  and i lean on the door with my right elbow and then i eventually sit up straight and don't lean anymore.  this is a very easy roller method.

but, shit, it scares my shit thinking about riding them in public with people watching me... and away from the safety of my little door frame....

i am going to portland in a couple weeks and need to bring my rollers. this makes me very nervous. anyway, of course, there are about fifty things i should be nervous about riding at alpenrose.  shit, anytime someone says to you: "i can't wait to see you ride at alpenrose" with a heh heh heh look in their eyes, you know it can't be good.  so, yeah, maybe i should be worrying about these steep banks, tight turns, kinda bumpy track...fast competition....racing three days in a row.... but, nope.   i am worried about getting on and off these rollers in public, under that little tent, next to that flimsy metal pole that will collapse the whole tent if i fall on it.

so today, on a very beautiful day, where i could have gone for a pretty 1-2 hour spin with friends... i opted instead to ride my rollers in my backyard.  why?  i need practice.  bad.

so i set them up in the closest simulation as i could.  i put a lawn chair next to the rollers.  i made myself a little work out which included things like.  right hand on the chair; right hand on the bars, water, rinse, repeat.  that was pretty much every minute for forty-five minutes.  then every 5 minute increment, i came to a complete stop (but stayed on the rollers) and then started again, right hand on chair, right hand on bar.  then every 10 minutes i did the full get off/get on.   the whole, 'straddle bike, clip left foot in, stand on tippy toes, move front wheel on top of the roller, awkwardly stand on the metal bar of the roller on your tippy toes, try not to fall off, hold your breath as you hoist yourself up on the chair/sit down on saddle/clip right foot in/hope front wheel stays somewhat straight/and pray you don't fall off. (i hate this part the most!) then start biking, right hand on chair, then right hand on bar.  

[you see, this is a lot harder than my doorway method where i can hold on for dear life on the doorway...but in race warmup simulation, there is no doorway, just a flimsy tent...so i need to learn the one hand starting method, as well as the graceful get on method.]

anyway--- i wiped it.  i wiped it good sometime around minute 20.  i was on my second interval of the full get on/get off.  i just got on, kinda, and then started to pedal right off the side and fell right over.  the thing about crashing on rollers, is it is kind of terrifying, as it happens so slow... and you have about 10 seconds where you see it coming, freak out, can't do anything, and then slowly tip over very slowly....  my ugly knee is now a little bit uglier, and has some patio rash.  and i should have warn my gloves, cause now i have a black 'n blue on my palm.  

it is pretty embarrassing falling off your rollers.  but i needed to keep practicing...so i did.  right hand on chair, right hand on bar.  then my left hand fell asleep. then i felt blood rolling down my leg.  then my CD player started skipping and i didn't want to get off between intervals, so i just let it skip for 3 minutes straight.    

despite this big roller crash, i think i may have improved a tiny bit and now am a little bit better at the hand move.  but, shit, i am real nervous about the roller warmup/cool down in portland.  beware: if you are going to portland, please store your carbon wheels and carbon bikes away from me.  i don't want to be responsible for crashing on your shit on the infield.  but i have about two to three weeks to practice....so, i am going to be doing some patio practice on my off/on--and hopefully won't totally crash like a nitwit in front of everyone.  shit.  this is nerve racking.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well, you can't say you didn't warn them.

Good work on having another go. By the time Alpenrose comes around, you'll have it licked.

CT


PS I'll bet you don't have AN ugly knee.

place_holder said...

at least you crashed on soft grass, unlike someone i know who went head on straight into the metal door in her garage.

SickBoy said...

Good thing you were on the track when I fell off Jen's rollers a week ago Saturday....

Laura said...

Loved this post! Hey: in the Olympic trials last night, swimmers were setting WR times in Speedo Razor skinsuits. I think you should get them to make you an "unattached" one. Friction is friction. And it would cover your bloody knee.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for doing all this, as I have the same issues!!

beth bikes! said...

CT- i do have an ugly knee. see?

TP- unfortunately, i wasn't on the grass, but on the wood patio out back. i'm just preppin' for riding the boards in LA, yah?

Audra Marie Dewitt said...

Oh duder, if you have a washer an dryer in your house, I highly recommend practicing the on/off bit next to them. For they are the perfect height.

chatterbox said...

at least there were no witnesses to your tip over! Some folks actually video tape themselves wiping out on rollers and post to U-Tube. Crazy.

Can't wait to hear how it goes up in Portland!

~ lauren said...

fun! going up to portland, not the crashing part.

i've never ridden rollers. i could see much worse things happening.

sounds like it hurt.

i'll just live vicariously through you. do they have grass on the infield up there? maybe you should just plant yourself waay out in the grass field part.

levimanuel said...

So as i understand it Portland is gunna chew you up and spit you out? That is not the Beth i have come to know. Dont worry, we (portlandians) are a friendly folk who like to sing while we work. For instance, one of our songs goes like this, "im a lumberjack and im ok...!"