A Bang Up Adventure

Dani and I reserved Saturday a few days a go for a Dani-Mommy Day.  We decided we’d head out on the Brompton (Tyke Toter attached) toward downtown Portland.

 

Leaving the house.

Dani was VERY excited for a train ride.

The only thing we really planned was breakfast at St. Honore Bakery. 

OJ followed by delicious sandwiches and pastries.  

After breakfast, we decided, we’d head toward the waterfront and ride there for a while, then get on MAX and head back towards Hillsboro.  A few detours a long the way included a stop at a bike shop to see if I could purchase a waterproof seat cover for my saddle.  Empty handed we left, but with the advice of taking the next street over to the bike shop down the street, “…so that you’re not having to deal with the tracks (Street Car tracks).”  The shoulder looked rideable on the street I was advised not to ride on so I made my left hand turn and before you know it Dani and I took a HUGE spill in the middle of the street!  

Wet road, wet leaves, and tracks - not a good combination!

I noticed a vehicle behind me a ways and the shoulder narrowing because the sidewalk gets wider at each Street Car stop, so I gave my left hand signal and started inching over.  My tires got stuck on the slippery tracks and we fell to the left and slid about 10 feet. 

I had so much adrenaline I don’t really remember the fall.  Since the Tyke Toter seats Dani in between my arms and legs, I just remember holding myself up as we were sliding so I wouldn’t mash Dani into the concrete under my weight.  I quickly picked her up, checked her face for blood, picked up the bike and tossed it on the sidewalk, and held my screaming child.  She calmed down fairly quickly, but the whole ordeal left us with some bumps and bruises as a souvenirs. 

Dani's pants, dirty from the fall.  

Outside Dani's left thigh, scraped pretty good.  

Both gloves ended up with holes in the center. 

Hole on left pant leg. 

Bruises on left knee...

leg...

and hand.

(All swelled up pretty good in about 10 minutes)

Damage to the bike was minimal.

Tear of Tyke Toter orange handle cover and small rip on grey Brompton handle cover.

Tears on the left side pocket of the Brompton T-Bag.

Small scrape/tear on the left rear side of Brooks saddle.

As we tried to regroup, Dani wanted to scrap the waterfront ride and was a little scared when we got back on the bike…and truthfully, so was I.  We rode a little ways to get to the nearest MAX stop and the few blocks served as a nice way to calm down.   

Post fall.

Waiting for MAX headed towards Hillsboro.

Our ride from downtown Portland to our stop in Hillsboro took about 30 minutes.  From our stop we headed to the fabric store.  

Dani was in great spirits, but I was down.  Not only had all the pain set in, but so had the guilt.  I couldn’t get over how irresponsible I felt.  The guy had told me not to go down that street and it didn’t even register that he said that because it was a safety issue.  I didn't even remember the fact that my tries could get caught on the tracks if I cross it at a parallel.  I felt shitty and low and couldn’t stop thinking about all the ‘what if’s…’ that could have made the situation worse.  I took a few minutes to take some breaths and accept that it happened and realized that learning from it was the best thing I could do. 

With our shopping done at the fabric store, we headed to our last stop, a haircut appointment - which was the whole motivation for a girls day in the first place.  In better spirits but more pain, I opted for a MAX one stop over and then rode the bike the ¼ mile to the salon from there.  I ended up skipping my haircut, but Dani loved being pampered.  

She got the works – wash, cut, and style – and she loved it. 

Tired, a bit beat up, but a lot wiser; we arrived home after a much unexpected adventure. 

**Please Note:  Falling off the bike was due to user error.  There is a safe way to cross tracks.  I pulled this as a reminder from http://totcycle.com/blog/i-crash-ballard.html**

CROSS TRACKS AT A RIGHT ANGLE

And while we're at it, easy on the front brake while riding on wet leaves.