* Back in the Saddle
This past weekend marked the 5 week anniversary of the accident.
I took the “new” bike out on Saturday, put on a helmet for the first time and pre-rode the course for the Red River Shootout in Ardmore, Ok.
I rode for an hour or so, one loop… and I felt great. I was a little extra cautious, both because of the injuries and because of the new bike… but I was very surprised at how I physically felt, so the next morning when I still felt pretty good, I decided to sign up for the race. I knew I would just be doing it to finish, but I needed to have that “restart” point.
I think I took about 3 hours to do the two 8 mile laps; but I did stop along the way to talk to a few people who were having mechanicals. I even stopped once to move a snake off the trail. It was a cute, green, grass snake. He was all stretched out in the sun and would not move. I didn’t want to run over him so I reached down and “petted” him. He moved slowly out of the way… so I just picked him up. That made him really move and he squirmed away off into the leaves.
I came in second out of two… aka last place. But I had a very good day and didn’t feel bad the next day.
It was also awesome being welcomed back by everyone. I know this was the first race after the Tulsa race; but it felt like I had been “gone” from the scene… so I really appreciated all of the well wishes and hugs from everyone!
More photos from the race here: http://www.jrmints.com/biking/2008/08_0504_shootout/index.html