Everything was going so well, I signed up for the Spinner Saturday mileage today, and I am meeting someone for a ride Saturday, and I have 4 charity rides scheduled this year so far... Then today was the first day with 60+ degree temps and no wind... and I got off work a little early to take care of some issues.

So, I decided to go for my first ride of the season.

I can still squeeze into my bibs, and so I was psyched. I took off on my Schwinn Voyageur with brand new 105 components. I can ride this bike instead of my comfort bike... another good sign. I was a little bummed that I only had about an hour of daylight, but I figured it would keep me from over-doing it.

I planned an easy ride, so I took off southbound, and turned around at the next intersection and headed north. As I approached the entrance to a dirt access road, I decided I would go ahead and scout it out to see how it would work for commuting, since it bypasses a moderate hill that I didn't really want to climb early in the commute.

I got out of the saddle, and glided across the boundary between the pavement and dirt with a grace I didn't really expect. I then sat down and started pedalling. About 50 yards later, I thought "This isn't going to be a very pleasant commute," but I decided to see how it went, since it has to be better than the hill.

About 25 yards after that, 0.76 miles into my ride, the front tire sinks into loose dirt and the wheel turned to the right, and I couldn't maintain my balance. I went down.

I slowly got up, pushed my bike back to the road, and rode home where I completed my 1.14 mile ride.

Before I got home, I did notice some scratches in my right shifter, so I don't have to worry about when the first scratch will happen any more.

The attached are pictures of my injured rigt knee before and after cleaning. My shoulder and elbow are a little sensitive, and will hopefully not even be noticed in the morning.

I'm still planning on riding Saturday, but I was hoping for a better first ride before I got there.