morning glory

Excuse me while I copy and paste this story that I put up on my other blog. Its kinda funny and I figured this audience may enjoy it as well.



my ass hurts.

winter in holland is here and my backside is sore as a result of that arrival. this morning was kinda chilly on the ride to work but i didn't think it was THAT cold. the thermometer at home read 2 degrees (35 for you Fahrenheit people) so i figured that the bike path would be safe. i even was a bit cautious as i did the first km on the bike, making sure there was no ice. then i hit an open area, slightly downhill with a gentle S curve to it. that's where my day went to shit.

i felt the rear tire start to slide out and then the front followed, sending me crashing to the ground and sliding for a good 3-4 m (10-12 feet) along the ice. i laid there for a minute or two, my back and bum aching from the crash. i then got up and started pulling my bike out of the ditch. as i was doing so, i noticed an oncoming rider who was about to hit the ice.

i motioned to her to slow down and told her there was ice (in english of course, i couldn't remember any dutch at that moment). she was jittery and slammed on her brakes, sending her into the grass. a bunch of dutch swear words later and she pops up and starts yelling at her for making her crash! WTF!!! if she hadn't gone down when she did (into the grass) she would have bit it just as hard or harder than i did. the ice stretched for about 40 m (120 ft) through an S curve - no way in hell she was going to stay upright through it. but no, in her gratitude speech, she continued to bitch at me (now in english) for making her crash. i think that as she continued on, walking her bike, she realized how slippery and nasty it could have been if she hadn't lost it when she did.

as i walked my way down the icy stretch myself, i noticed a couple that i have seen many times on my way to work - a dutchman who rides with his surinamese girlfriend, side by side. as they came up to the turn (before the ice), i warned them about it and they walked their way through the stretch. alas, someone who appreciated my gesture of warning them before impending doom.

it took me an additional 20 minutes to get to work today b/c of my slowed pace and i arrived late. i wasn't the only one however as a total of 6 teachers from my school found their way off the paved path and into foliage or whatever was next to them. lotsa teachers walking around with limps, bruises, and a grimmace on their face thanks to mothernature's cruel little trick this morning.

but at least the day was a little better than how it started. my kids were good and we all laughed about my misfortune. if you can't laugh at yourself... but now i'm still in my classroom as i really don't want to get back on my bike to ride home. and since its past 5pm, the darkness has truly set in and my chances of spotting any ice right now are nil. let's hope for a event-free trip home. my ass doesn't want a reminder of what it felt this morning.