Dust yourself off and try again.

So yesterday was the kick off to my ‘be more green’ personal goal. I rode my bike to work, mind you the last time I rode regularly was up in SLO, a much more...bike friendly (and all around more friendly) town. The ride to work was kind of tough, I started realizing, the people here do not give to shits about bicyclists. There was a bit of a hill, which made my thighs feel like they were the size of giant tree trunks, but the downhill part towards work made me feel whimsical. The wind blowing through my hair and cooling off my cheeks, and the beautiful morning sun shining down on me I thought to myself, “This is the BEST idea ever.” Fast forward 9 hours or so, and I’m getting ready for my ride home. I decided to take a less busy road home versus the one I took in the morning.
The ride was really nice except for 2 really busy intersections that I decided to walk across versus ride across (they both have double left lanes and double right turning lanes). Once I crossed my main cross street I tried to find a back road to my condo. I ended up on a mountain and so I turned around and while I was on my way down my tire got caught on a curb and I got tossed a good couple feet landing on my face and chest (think flying squirrels). All I remember was the noise of my tire screeching against the curb, seeing cement, and the crunching noise of my head and face bouncing off the pavement.
When I looked up there was a gas station attendant and another bicyclist. Neither spoke much English but asked if I was ok. I was able to get out, “Give me a second.” Then the bicyclist asked if he could move my bike out of the way. I stood up and they asked “What happened??”. I just shook my head, I was in s-h-o-c-k still. The wheeled my bike up to the gas station and the gas station guy let me use his bathroom. My ears were ringing and I just felt pain all over my head and face. I tried calling a couple friends in the area but no one was picking up. So I walked myself home and promised Fred, the gas station guy, that I’d pick up the bike in a couple hours. I talked to my cousin (didn’t want to scare my immediate family), and she gave me a checklist of things to do until Kieran got there.
After I checked my teeth, cleaned my wounds, and got an ice pack ready, Kieran got back from basketball and was able to help me and check my face out as well. I have one photo of what it looked like within the first hour, but since it has turned a very dark blue/black. I’m going to get back on the saddle on Friday, and hopefully figure out a safer route for my ride home. No one said that completing my “Promises to Myself List” would be easy now did they?

DAY 1
DAY 2 - at doctor's office