Diversion fall

Was it the strength workouts at a gym, a new routine for me at age 60?

Was it the judo class I took so long ago, in high school — my father’s hopeful but feckless plan for me to fend off a pair of bus-stop bullies? I had little talent for judo, my father never gave me the needed lecture on persistence, and I quit after a few weeks. I did learn how to break a fall by slapping my hands on the mat.

Was it the bicycling gloves? That part is for sure.

So, last night, I was following my bicycle’s headlamp beam out to the street at my church. The front wheel went off the edge of a narrow sidewalk, slid along and wouldn’t climb back up. Faster than thought, I toppled over. The technical term is “diversion fall.”

But also faster than thought, my hands flew off handlebars and the palms of both gloves judo-slapped the pavement.

I slowly picked myself up.

In 1975 I broke a collarbone in a fall like this. Now I must be hurt somehow too. There often isn’t pain right away.

Knee, hip, shoulder, elbow, wrists, hands? No, no, no no, no and no. Not a single scratch or bruise or scrape.

I picked up the bicycle and slid the bicycle computer back into its bracket on the handlebar. I popped the front fender stay clips back into place. I spun the wheel and the computer still worked. I started for home slowly in case the bicycle might have other complaints. The gear shifting was a little bit odd but I wasn’t going to try to fix it in the dark.

Today I take the bike out of the garage to adjust the gears.

This time I was lucky, but it wasn’t only luck.

About jsallen

John S. Allen is the author or co-author of numerous publications about bicycling including Bicycling Street Smarts, which has been adopted as the bicycle driver's manual in several US states. He has been active with the Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition since 1978 and served as a member of the board of Directors of the League of American Bicyclists from 2003 through 2009.
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