Oops! How Embarassing

by Jeanne
(Oswego, IL)

I have done not so smart things on my bike, like driving through a few front lawns, killing the engine in heavy traffic and jumping a curb, but yesterday takes the cake. I have gone from one type of person to another....from one who will dump their bike to one who has!!! I am little salty with my husband, however, this was entirely my fault. There are two ways out of my neighborhood. One has a stoplight and you are turning from a nice wide lane into a nice wide lane. I ALWAYS go that way. The other way is from a narrow two way lane onto a busy two lane highway (Route 34 and Clark St. if you live near here.) My husband always gets aggravated with me over not wanting to the "quicker" way and turn off of the narrow street. I tell him he needs to respect what I am comfortable with and get over it. That is all the husband blaming I will do. So yesterday we are going to ride from Oswego to Woodstock after work, he pulls out ahead of me and goes right to the narrow street I don't like. Instead of just going my own way and meeting him at the gas station, I lose all common sense and follow him. Then he beats me to the stop sign by like 500 feet and then doesn't wait. So I get to the stop sign, I am seeing traffic coming in both directions. I wait FOREVER until there are no cars coming either way I try to pull out. I dumped the clutch a little bit (nerves) and then started revving the engine and for some stupid reason I hit the front brake and down she goes, right in the middle of a busy road at 5:15 at night when everyone is driving on it! How embarrassing! Luckily I had taken a class to learn how to pick it up. I remained calm, got up, dusted off, put out my kick stand and started to right the bike. Luckily another biker was going by the other way (probably wondering what all the commotion was) and helped me pick her up. I rode to the gas station and there was my husband pumping gas, completely unaware of what happened. That is the THIRD time I have had an incident and he doesn't notice!!! Me thinks me needs a new riding buddy.

On the bright side, the bike is scratched but fine, my knees are scratched but fine and we rode to Woodstock anyway, I got my new rain suit and nothing else bad happened. Guess I will think of it as a learning experience, as in learn to respect my own comfort zone and NOT follow my husband when he is not respecting it.....oh and don't hit the front brake with the handle bars turned.