But Can You Get Up?

Chris joined me for a 2-hour easy ride on Friday afternoon. We rode to Iona (Iona Beach Regional Park by the airport) and back via the Cypress Street Bike Route and Arthur Laing Bridge. Getting on the bridge from airport side is a little tricky. With the bike route closed as a result of the Canada Line construction, cyclists are left with two choices for getting on the bridge. One involves crossing two on/off ramps and the other involves a fast left turn and a ramp crossing. The left turn is fast because the intersection is huge and the green light is so short. Having had problems with the two on/off ramps the last time, I chose taking the left turn.

The light turned green, we started moving into the intersection, and the light turned yellow - we're only 1/4 through our turn! - we kept moving. At this point, I have my eye on a car opposite us that is waiting to turn right but that is rolling forward. Chris, who is behind me, is watching the same car. Chris yelled something to me about the car and, as a precaution, I straightend up my front wheel out of the path of the moving car. Chris, who is riding with one hand because he's fussing with his shirt, couldn't turn his wheel in time and hit me. Chris crashed onto the road behind me and in front of all the cars waiting to go our way.

Except for some stiffness and some bruises Chris is fine. He blames me for the accident but I think there's more to it than just moi. The important thing is we've learned from it. We won't repeat our mistakes that lead to Friday's accident. But we'll make other ones. That's the way it goes. We all fall down sometimes.

The million dollar question is "can you get up"?

(Note: After the accident, we saw cyclists using the closed bike route to get up onto the bridge deck. The route has re-opened.)

Running Scared

We're now running scared. Our fear can be spin doctored as being "aware" and "street smart" but, really, it's plain old fear.

The murder of Wendy Ladner-Beaudry, a woman of 53, a mother and an ardent runner, has shattered a family, a neigbourhood, and a city of walkers and runners. Wendy was killed while running in Pacific Spirit Park on the afternoon of April 3rd. Pacific Spirit Park is a forest with a large and well maintained trail system that attracts walkers, dog walkers, runners and cyclists year round.

My husband and I walk or run with our dog in the park a lot - more than once a week when we can. I have logged endless hours of training in and around the park as have most of my training partners. We have trained in the park together. We have all trained there alone. But not anymore. Now, we're running scared.

And, frankly, it sucks.