160th ride

On this lovely spring Saturday morning, I thought I'd ride early (before starting work at 9:00), and was pleased to be able to figure out a route that took me all the way to the heart of downtown Saline (Ann Arbor Rd. and Michigan Ave.) while honoring my pledge to Michelle to stay on walks and off the road. However, it was not quite a 'trouble-free' ride.

At 7:30 on this Saturday morning, Saline was quite sleepy, with almost no one out and no traffic, and this was probably a good thing. Shortly after turning back north for Ann Arbor, I took a wrong turn. And upon realizing this, I attempted to right my course by doing an about-face while staying off the road. I slowed almost to a stop for this, but the narrow sidewalk meant that my tire got caught in the grass and caused me to topple over, so that I struck my face on the inside portion of the cement curb. While I didn't incur any serious injury, as happened on several occasions last year, I did cut my face somewhat—and, more seriously, smashed the left lens out of my glasses. I was OK to keep riding, though, and so made my way cautiously northward back home. Though my left eye is the one most seriously nearsighted, I knew the route (walks and trail) well enough to make it without difficulty.

As I made my way on the Lohr-Textile Greenway, between Textile and Ellsworth, I passed a runner who, alarmed by the blood on my face, asked, "Are you OK?" But I quickly assured her with a thumbs-up, a smile, and a vigorous nod. Amidst all the drama, it seems almost unimportant to note that this 13.2-mile trek took me an hour and 18 minutes (a small portion of which was spent on the ground, however).