12/13/2007 Entry: "I'm invinsible"

Yesterday it was proved to the world once again that I cannot be killed. As if past proof wasn't enough - A 16 foot face first swan dive onto pavement while stacking hay, falling off the roof of a car at 20mph, numerous ridiculous mountain unicycle crashes, and being lit on fire / almost blown up repeatedly every weekend throughout most of high school - as if these things not killing me weren't proof enough that it can't be done, the world decided to remind me in the form of a 30mph bike crash that I walked away from.

Yesterday it was 34 degrees and wet. I, not being an idiot, realized that there would probably be ice on the roads in certain areas. I live on a very steep hill that I enjoy riding down every day. Near the bottom there is a sharp turn that I usually hit at about 30mph. It's fun. The top of the hill had little ice on it so, I being a hubrical (yes, I turned "hubris" into an adjective) idiot decided to go balls out 'cause it's fun. Right as I was thinking that "maybe this is a bad idea" I hit a huge patch of ice. The fall happened so fast that I only heard it. I suddenly realized that I was sliding on my side, still on the bike, and still going near 30mph. Time slowed down as it does when things like this happen and was able to assess the situation. I decided that if I just ride out the slide things should be fine. It appeared that I would miss the oncoming traffic by a few feet and that there weren't any large obstacles in my way. This thought process took about 0.5 seconds.

Luckily the patch of ice was huge so I was able to slide out the whole fall. I slid about 20-25 feet before I stopped. I suffered a small strawberry on my elbow and a little bruising. My clothing was barely torn. My bike did not fair as well. My right pedal was caved in and partially ground off. My handle bars and break levers were also bent. My handle bar tape was also partially ground off. I was able to drag my bike to the side of the road and, after about 5 minutes of pacing back and forth going "holy shit, holy shit, holy shit," I bent my bike back to a workable form and continued to work. Oddly, no cars stopped to help. Not even the car that was going up the hill that I nearly hit. Jerks.

And so, I not only walked away from a 30mph fall but I was not even hurt. Therefor I cannot be killed. Had the ice patch been smaller and I had slid on dry pavement things would probably have been different... but I'm going to ignore that for now and pretend that I am invincible. Also, I'll probably be more careful on that hill.