I expected that the trail would be underwater in several places where it goes under the road but was pleasantly surprised that none of them were covered. While nice for me, I hope it's not an indication of lack of water. This time last year I couldn't pass about three or four roads because the water was too high. It wasn't until about end of May when the water cleared. It was a pain because sometimes I would have to ride quite a ways out from the trail on the highway to bypass the water.
Just past the actual Jordan River Park is a series of trails that wind through trees. Not sure what kind:
I got to the 39th South park. Last year I noticed the city was building a pedestrian bridge over the road. This was the only stretch between 17th South and 90th South were there wasn't an easy way to cross the road, either from underpass or pedestrian lights.
I could tell the sun was only about 45 minutes from setting and realized it would take me close to that amount of time to get home. But I saw the newly finished bridge and wanted to ride over it and back. I rode up and over the street and started descending. I quickly (but not soon enough) realized I was going too fast. The concrete was new and rather slick. And it was poured in a series of two sections on a descending angle and one flat. I could tell I was going to lose control so I braked with both brakes. Unfortunately the front tire was just at an intersection of angled and flat concrete. This coupled with the braking action took the bike right out from under me and I hit the concrete. I slid a good amount because it was downhill.
While I was a bit shaken, I was able to stand up immediately and take stock of the injuries. It has been suggested that I find a less painful hobby. This was reinforced by the gift of elbow and knee pads for my birthday last year. In comparison, this little spill wasn't nearly as painful as the accident last year in Moab. It took a few minutes to be able to stand after that one. Brandon was kind enough to pick up my broken bike parts and watch that came off my wrist.
I decided it was time to turn around and ride home. The worse part about the crash was I ruined my underarmour shirt. When I got home, I took off the shirt and saw more blood, realizing I had also scraped my shoulder and back. There were a few scraps on my front calf as well. Here's a few pics of the battle wounds:
I got in the shower and let the water run over the cuts for a few minutes and then braced myself for the toothbrush to the wounds. Gotta get the gravel out. After crying like that girl on American Idol (not really), I finished washing up and toweled off. Time for the hydrogen peroxide. That's when I really cried (mostly not really). I think I did more of a growl than whimper. It was the whole road-rash-being-butch thing.
When will I learn to ease up on the front brake?
