Fork in the Road revisited

This picture is a re-run from January of this year. It was bitter cold but sunny back then. When I published the picture in the post someone asked for the GPS coordinates. Having recently acquired a Garmin Zumo I now have the coordinates. If anyone still has an interest here they are:

N 44 degrees 33.654'

W 122 degrees 58.723'

The demand for riding classes is increasing all the time. Headquarters has been scheduling more classes. During the summer the added classes happen in the middle of the week. After receiving a desperate plea from HQ, I arranged some flex time from my job to teach. The first half of yesterday and today were spent with another eager group of riders in a beginner class. I had just taught an intermediate class on Saturday and an advanced class on Sunday. I never really know what day it is anymore. When you work 30 or 40 days in a row they all blend together. I do know when Sunday rolls around because the newspaper's much bigger!

After class yesterday I managed an awesome ride. In the next few days I'll write up the great ride to work and the long way home. I found a really unusual water tower and took a picture of it. My riding's going to be curtailed for a few days, unfortunately. I really tweaked my left ankle today doing a demo ride. Yes, the great Master has injured himself on a little training bike!

It was a demo for a cornering exercise. I was riding a Suzuki GZ250 which is a cruiser style bike. During the demo we ride close to a a pivot cone which sets up the path of travel for the next corner. I admit that I like to lean a bike. Cruisers don't have as much ground clearance as the bikes I usually ride. Especially little ones.

I usually just kiss the peg feeler to the pavement going around the cone. Not enough for anyone to hear it, just enough to know I did it. A small touch of finesse. There was just one slight variable today that did me in. A new pair of Red Wing boots. They're great range boots. When you pound the pavement so much these hiking type work boots are excellent. Only thing is, the new boots aren't beveled on the edges yet.

Simple formula. New boot sole meets blacktop. Boot sole does not slide. It grabs traction on the pavement. Boot twists backwards off foot peg. Contents of boot also follow on this unwanted journey. I got my foot lifted but only after a painful twist of the ankle happened. Ankles will rotate but I'm pretty sure 70 to 80 degrees is more than they were designed for. The good news is that the students were on the right side of the bike and a little farther away so their view of it was blocked.

This happened early in the range session today. There was a short time when I tried not to let anyone see me hobble. After a while I hardly noticed it. When I got on my own bike to come home, the real pain started. My left ankle hurt so badly that I was really tempted to ride home in first gear. I guess the action of trying to put my toe under the shifter wasn't good for the ankle. Neither was holding up me and bike with it a fun thing.

Once home I took off my boot. The pain was so rough that I experienced the flushed, sweaty face, and nausea typical of a broken bone. No, I haven't been to a doctor. There's only a little swelling and a tiny bit of bruising. I have a high pain threshold and I'll deal with it. Probably just a strain. Right now I'm limping around because Katie's gone for a couple of hours. I'll crawl back on the couch before she gets home. Before she left she made me promise to stay put. The dear angel brought me everything she thought I might want. I'm not comfortable asking her to wait on me but she wants to baby me. I'm not sure how I got so lucky.

We were planning to take a ride to Kirkland tomorrow. A small dinner party is being held in honor of the company I work for being in business 20 years. The plan was to take the bike and stay overnight. On Saturday I'm planning to take Katie to the Italian restaurant with the vintage Italian bikes on display. It would qualify as a very long ride to work as it's to the corporate offices.

This trip is going to happen by car. I'm not wild about it but there's no way I'm going to put Katie in danger as a passenger. By myself I'd grit it out. Our riding students get an ongoing lesson in knowing one's limits and riding within them. This is a time for the Master to heed his own wisdom.

Miles and smiles,

Dan