Well, it's been about three years now since I first began biking, so I celebrated that fact a bit by getting a new pair of bibs and a jersey to make a Louis Garneau kit. After recovering all last week to a pulled tricep in my right arm, this morning, found me fortunate enough to get the offer of child care, so I dropped off the kids then headed out. I was cruising right along, making certain to stop with a foot down at a stop sign I know through blogs and groups that the police are handed out $100 tickets to cyclist for coasting through (or not even slowing).
Continuing on, I noted that I'd been maintaining about 17mph or better average along the way. For some stupid reason, I decided to really push myself and do a bit of a sprint. Yeah, that's where my trouble began. I pulled over at a country driveway to drink and cool back down, but it wasn't happening very fast. I took my inhaler (gotta love cycling with asthma), but things just kept worsening as I tried to add water reasonably. Then I started feeling faint, so I thought the better part of valor might be to scoot up to the patch of grass and sit down (lay down, if necessary) until I was feeling less shaky. Barely coming to a stop, I fell like the proverbial sack of potatoes. Getting back up, like any cyclist, I checked my bike and my brand new kit to make sure everything was okay then did a cursory check of me...still dizzy but upright with some bumps.
I'd planned to take the newly tuned-up bike and my new gear on a nice long ride, but I was barely over nine miles out. With my head swimming, I called my wife. I don't know what I expected her to be able to do beyond talk me out of trying to go on and go home instead. I knew that's what I should do, but I think my ego needed to be told that someone would be too worried to have me try to go on.
Feeling completely stupid, I turned around and headed home at a much slower pace, taking my time and begin very aware of my body lest I get dizzy again and fall into traffic. I have to say, basically passing out off the bike is far worse as far as embarrassing than the failure to clip. On the bright side, I fell in grass this time instead of asphalt, so I'm more bruised and dinged. And being in true cyclist mode this summer, the wounds I did get on my leg were easier to clean up.
In retrospect, I realize that I probably wasn't prepared for being out in 70+ temperatures. For those temps, I should've hydrated a bit before getting on the bike. Plus, while my legs were doing great maintaining higher speeds, the rest of me wasn't at the point and that temperature, so I need to balance things better and probably get out on the bike sooner while it's still cool(er), especially since I feel like I missed some of the natural transition of going from spring to summer temperatures.
On the bright side, I did have several cyclists who passed me double check to see if I was okay. I lied and said I was, but it's nice to know that if I hadn't gotten right back up, someone would've checked my unconscious form by the road. Now off to tend to the bruises on my body (I found more after getting home) and ego....
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