I've been riding 4-5 days a week since I started bicycling again at the beginning of March. In that time I've covered just less than 3000 miles over mostly the same roads near my home. Until 2 weeks ago I'd never even had a close call with a spill but that's all changed now.

The first one happened as I was coming to a stop at an intersection where a lot of loose asphalt has accumulated. I always warn my riding companions about it, but on that day I found myself too far to the inside of the corner and mired in the loose material. I started falling to my right and couldn't unclip in time to stop the fall. Because I was nearly stopped, the impact wasn't too hard though and my bike seemed fine. But about 6 miles further into the ride I heard a noise I've become all too familiar with and discovered a broken spoke on my rear wheel, drive side. I stopped, removed my wheels, and waited for my friend to go home and return with his car.

Early this morning, the same friend and I were about 22 miles into a planned 30 mile ride. We were accelerating and pedaling about 16 mph after making a 90 degree turn. This is the same road that I'd had my first crash on and the asphalt has some really bad spots. I accidentally dropped my front tire off the right side where the roadway is built up 2" and fell to my left this time. My left knee and shoulder absorbed the brunt of the fall and my helmet also made solid contact with the road surface. As it did I saw my friend's chain ring pass only a couple of inches from my face as he swerved to avoid me. I popped up immediately and the bike seemed fine, but I was dripping blood from my knee and my right hand which I'd apparently extended across my body to arrest the fall. There were a few small cuts on my fingertips but not a great deal of pain, and then I noticed my thumb extended at an odd angle. It popped easily back into place and I mounted my bike again and finished the ride home.

Between these two incidents earlier this week I had a close call when I dropped both wheels off the asphalt at almost the same location as today's crash. I really didn't ever feel like I would fall, but there was a really bad sound and I pulled over to check my spokes and tires. I thought at the least that I'd be changing a flat, but my tires were fine.

My thumb is pretty sore now and somewhat swollen. It seemed to pop right back into place, but I tried to lift a 1/2 gallon carton of orange juice a while ago and it seemed to dislocate again and it hurts to try to turn the ignition key in my truck. I'm hoping to ride again tomorrow and if the thumb isn't better will let the Dr. have a look at it on Monday. I think I was really lucky today, it could have been much worse. But whatever, I'm studying the maps for an alternate route and won't be on Womack Road again.