Too Slow and Too Soon

I rolled off the couch around 8:12 this morning, certainly a bit later than I would have liked, but since I am fighting a cold I guess it’s all right. I did the chores, grabbed some coffee, and made a bowl of a hot cereal called “Simple Harvest”. Then it was time to hit the books (go figure!). I’m trying to finish my whole algebra class by Friday night. It’s definitely going to be a stretch, like I’m pretty much blocking out the next 3 days so that I can work on algebra. It will be very good feeling to FINALLY get it done. I’ve decided that after I finish a class, I’m going to play “We Are the Champions” very, very loud, no matter what time it is. That should end up being a fun little ritual. Will my parents care? Probably not. They’ll probably just be glad that I’m working hard on my school!

So 3 o’clock rolled around, and since it was a beautiful day, I couldn’t resist riding up to the library. I got about 1/3 of the way there, and there was a box in the middle of the path. I knew that this box was coming up, because I saw it yesterday and table-topped it. This time I was more prepared. I gathered speed down the hill, and then got ready to jump. The box came closer and closer, I jumped, and I cleared it completely! Oh yeeeeeah!

I walked up to the computer reservation desk at the library, got signed in, and I noticed that somebody had left their library card on the desk. It was a Round Lake card, so it had a photo of the cardholder. So I surveyed the room, found the most likely candidate, and asked if it was hers. It was. I found my computer, got signed in, and went to work on my blog. About 15 minutes had elapsed when a librarian comes up to me and asks “Are you Kelly?” I said yes, and then she says “Here, you left your library card at the reservation desk.” I laughed, and then thanked her.

On the way to the library I had noticed a garbage can that was lying on its side in the middle of one of the roads that I ride. I was sorely tempted to jump over it, but I was going against the wind, and a man who could have been the owner was nearby. But, on the way back, everything was set for me to jump it. There was an SUV behind me, driving at about the same speed as I was riding. I slowed down so that it would pass me, but it slowed down too. That was kind of annoying, so I just ignored the SUV, and started pumping for the garbage can. I stopped pumping about 20 feet from the garbage can, and prepared for a jump that was higher than I’ve ever jumped before. The garbage can approached quickly, and I jumped. Less than a split second later, my bike and I were lying in a crumpled heap on the other side of the garbage can. I was kinda like Whoa! I was totally seeing stars! I quickly got up and started riding away, cause I didn’t want the people in the SUV to come up and be like “Are you ok? That was a really STUPID thing to do!” I hurt in like 17 different places. The whole seeing stars thing ceased after about 30 seconds. I rode rather stiffly back to the house (about 3 miles away from crash site). I got home and Mike goes “How was it?” I gave him the thumbs up sign, and then walked right into the bathroom to assess the damages. I used like half a bottle of hydrogen-peroxide! Looking back, I could assess my crash in one of two ways 1: I now know the limit of my jumping abilities, or I could look at it from the physics aspect (#2): I was going much too slow and I jumped way too early. I would be inclined to go with #2, but I’m for sure not going to test that theory without wearing a helmet!

I began working on algebra again, played a little guitar, and then made a batch of popcorn. I grabbed my Dirk Pitt book and hit the couch. An hour and a half later I was finished with the book and the popcorn. Since I’m still fighting a cold, I think I’m going to hit the sack early and sleep in my bed.