The older boy and I went out to pick up some groceries a short while ago. As we were leaving the neighborhood, one of my neighbors came charging in on his roadbike and so I told the boy the story he didn’t know of his father.

“When you were really young, I know you remember that I used to be really into cycling.”
“Yeah, weren’t you in a few races,” he asks.
“No, they weren’t races, they were for charity,” I respond.

So I go on to tell him about the time that I went all Italian. Bought the Italian bike, Italian helmet, Italian jersey, Italian shoes, and Italian clipless pedal (you snap your italian shoes into place once you mount your bike).We’re living in a fairly large and nice neighborhood at the time. The way rides would go for me is that I’d ride out of the neighborhood, take side roads to the edge of town and then ride low-traffic country roads for miles upon miles. So I gear up and I make my way out of my neighborhood, getting comfortable with my new gear.

While I’m sill in the comfort of shade trees and old homes, I pass a young couple out for an evening bike ride on their grandma seat leisure bikes. I whiz by, not intentionally, but because I was on a different mission than them. But instantly, I’m at a stop sign.

So I come to a halt and am about to pop my feet out of the pedals and they’re stuck!! So I’ve got all of about half of a second to wrangle a foot out of either pedal before I just fall to the side. Couldn’t do it. So with gravity giving me no reprieve and balance leaving quickly, I just fall like a dork to my right.

Meanwhile, Jack and Sally, who I had JUST left in the dust, slowly pedal up to me. They ask if I’m ok or if I need help. “No, I’m good, thanks.” Meanwhile, I’m taking off my shoe at this point, unable STILL to pop it from the grip of the pedal. I couldn’t do anything but laugh about it then and it still cracks me up. But it dawned on me today that they’ve probably laughed at that story as many times as I have. The viewpoint they had must have been hilarious.

Not my most graceful moment.