That's gonna sting a little.

I'll start off by saying I'm all right, it's not that bad.

Foreboding, yes?

So I went into a turn a little fast, and hit a bump that sent me airborne unexpectedly. I landed in the decorative rock ground covering next to the paved trail, the front end washed out, lowsided, and STeve and I hit the asphalt doing about 18 miles an hour.

Normally, I swing pretty far to the inside of the turn to avoid said bump, but there was someone walking there, so instead I held my line. I probably should have scrubbed some speed, too.

Left forearm, knee and shoulder made initial contact with the ground, as far as myself, with the shoulder taking the brunt. Bike hit on the left side brake lever, bar, and pedal. As we slid to a stop, the wheel grabbed, and spun the bars a neat 180 degrees, ramming my frame pump and breaking one of the zip-ties on its mount.

After stopping, and groaning, I looked up at the person I was avoiding in the first place, who had turned, and was staring with a shocked look on her face. What else could I do? I smiled, and said: "Don't mind me, I'm just gonna crash here."

I don't blame her for walking away without a word.

Battle damage, the bike: Scrapes and scuffs on both brake levers and hoods, lightly torn bar tape, front brakes knocked out of adjustment, bars tweaked, one brake lever tweaked. Spedometer sensor acts a little funny, but still works. And a broken zip-tie.

Battle damage, the equipment: Put some holes in my t-shirt, tore the tip of the thumb on my right glove somehow, put some scuffs on the visor of my helmet, (No direct impact damage on the helmet.) and tore a little hole in the side of the tailbag.

Battle damage, the Polarbear:
Plus a scrape on the left forearm, a bump on the knee, and some scrapes on my right thumbnail. I'm still trying to figure that one out.

As if all that weren't enough, STeve's rear tire went flat right when I got home.

All said and done, the damage to the bike is minimal, and I'll be riding it to work tomorrow morning. Damage to me is minimal, all things considered, but I'll be sore for a few days. This is yet another crash where my helmet didn't have an opportunity to act. I've been riding with helmets for 9 years now, and not a single crash I've had has involved a helmet. Doesn't mean I'm going to stop wearing mine, though, just an observation. However, this is the closest my helmet has come to hitting the ground in a crash. The next one may just make me glad I keep it around.

Mileage: 19