spills and thrills

my worst spills have been two that i took backwards when trying (before i was
good enough) to learn to walk the wheel. the ground comes at you very fast. i
was fine after both, but quite shaken too.

the funniest was a few months after i had learned to ride. i was going along the
sidewalk in bloomington (indiana) and passing in front of a mcdonalds. the
mcdonalds had tables outside and there were quite a number of people sitting out
in the sun, just feet from the sidewalk.

as i got close, i felt a slight tugging on my right foot. looking down, i saw
that my shoelace had come undone and was getting wound up where the pedal meets
the crank. this was before i could ride backwards or idle, and by the time i
figured out that i didn’t have much choice, i’d gone another revolution or two
and i tried to jump off. i did the usual dismount but got completely fouled up
since my leg was attached to the uni, and my foot couldn’t reach the ground. in
the end i finished up flat on my face with the uni tied to my shoe on the ground
behind me. the people eating a few feet away just looked at me like i was a
lunatic. i was even denied a quick escape since i had to sit there on the
sidewalk and untangle the mess.

i’ve always double-tied my laces since then…

terry.