Last Sunday the weather was absolutely gorgeous and I was excited to get out and bike on Beach Drive, a stretch of road through Rock Creek Park that on weekends is closed to cars.

Biking in traffic still scares me a lot so I like to take advantage of car-free biking whenever I can.

Sunday's ride was going so well. I was intentionally take it easy since I had just worked out like crazy on Saturday.

I was just out enjoying the weather and being outside.


At one point I felt something on my face and went to wipe my nose.

I lifted my left hand off the handle bars for a fraction of a second.

At the same time I must have pulled a little too hard with my right handle while trying to balance because the next thing I know, I had lost control and was heading straight for the curb.

I didn't have time to swerve back to the left before my bike went up and over the curb.

I remember thinking for a second that maybe I could maintain control and just come down the other side.

Turns out road bikes can't really handle that, so instead I found myself flying through the air.

I crashed onto the grass hard on my right knee and shoulder. My momentum led me to completely barrel roll and then pop back up on my feet.


I winced my when I put pressure on my right leg and sort of hobbled back to my bike.


A cyclist who had seen the whole thing happen stopped to see if I was OK.

I checked out my arms and legs, didn't see any blood.


I didn't hit my head at all so I wasn't dizzy (and I had obviously been wearing a helmet.)

The only real damaged seemed to be that my bike chain had popped off. The guy who stopped helped me get it back on. After a quick thank you, we both headed on our ways.

I hopped on my bike to quickly pedal the rest of the way home. I knew the adrenaline would eventually wear off and I would start to feel the pain of the impact.

Sure enough, as soon as I get my bike back home, my knee and shoulder started to throb.

My knee was bruised and ridiculously swollen and it hurt to lift my arm. I had a few scrapes and more bruises developed in the following days, but because I fell on the grass, I managed to avoid any road rash.


All things considered, this was a fairly minor crash, and it hasn't shaken my confidence too much on the bike. But boy was I sore all this week. It's only today that my right arm is starting to feel more normal, and the bruises on my legs are showing signs of healing.