It Is The Natural Number Following 4 And Preceding 6

The evolution of our modern glyph for five cannot be neatly traced back to the Brahmin Indians quite the same way it can for 1 to 4.

Okay, now that I've bored you fully, the explanation will begin. 5 is a significant number for me now. Last year (2006), I hit the deck 4 times and that was my record number of wrecks in a year. 1 was caused all on my lonesome. That dirty little rock came out of nowhere and beat the crap outta me in some random Thursday night criterium over by the BSU stadium. 2 were in feedzones at the Elkhorn Stage Race. Another was on a training ride on the time trial bike. An oil slick in a corner on a wet day got the best of me. 4 seemed like such a big number of wrecks. I'd never gone flying so many times in 1 yr before, not even close. The plan was to stay on the bike without any wrecks this year to make up for such a big number last year. What do I do in the stead of not wrecking since you know that's what I'm getting to right? I top that performance by 1. Not only that, but I had to 1 up my most painful wreck too. Last years wreck at the stadium took considerable hide off of my hip and wasn't much fun to deal with, especially sleeping on one side for waaaay too long. Luckily it healed up really well and the scar is tiny and hard to find.

On to 2007. No wrecks until I make the trip to Silver City, NM.

Wreck 1: Guys get all worked up when the best in the U.S. show up and there were a few wrecks on the first day. This was on a course that warranted zero wrecks! I'd missed the 2 previous significant wrecks, but the 3rd started 2 riders in front of me and that dominos train came roaring my way. Busted a good pair of glasses in that wreck and lost minimal skin.

Wreck 2: Travel from super dry Boise, ID to perma-soaked Enumclaw, WA. Late May and I'm riding the bike for the first time in the rain in 2007. Made it through the criterium without wrecking, an amazingly wet crit! That was some of the hardest rain I've ever seen let alone ride in. Next day is the road race. What do I do? 5th lap out of 5, I over-cook a corner and touch a bit too much of the rain soaked paint lines. Front wheel started sliding and I had less than 1 second to decide where I was to land. The option of trying to last ditch effort save it was not there, I had to choose where to land and in a hurry. Luckily there was a nice patch of grass just before a fence right next to the road. Those cows got a sight that day! Grass stained and wind knocked out of me, I rolled into the finish a sorry looking sort.

Wreck 3: This one really hurt. On the 3rd day of the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic, after the stage, my teammate and I are riding back to the start line from the finish line. 30+mph into a headwind and trying to talk, he gets a bee in his helmet and our bars are crossed. I tried to unlock them, but didn't have enough time. The ground came way, way too quickly that time. I didn't have time to prep at all, the ground hit me before I knew it was coming after me. Luckily, I didn't break anything even though there were a couple ribs that felt like they had been broken for about half an hour afterwards. Another case of sleep on 1 side for a month after. Here's the cheese pic taken afterwards. No I don't always have that bad of lines.

Wreck 4: Taking a dog for a walk on a leash attached on the other end to a cyclist may sound like a great idea, but it's not. When it's a sub 30lb dog, you'd think this would not be a problem. First half mile, no problem. Second half mile, big problem. Lucy the beagle decided there was something very important that had to be sniffed for longer than I was ready to give her time for. She stopped dead in her tracks and I do an endo. Thud. Most of me hits grass, but my hip hit the asphalt. Ouch, but that went away pretty quickly since it was a thud at around 10 mph rather than 30mph.

Wreck 5: 2nd wet criterium of the year. Elite National Criterium Championships in Chicago. I'd seen at least 15 wrecks happen before the 1 that eventually got the better of me. 2 guys went down in front of me, the 1st guy down would have been no problem to avoid. 2nd guy, impossible. Luckily, I just slid and slid and... slid. That was without a question the furthest I've ever slid on pavement. Probably a good 30 to 40ft is my guess. Get up and have 150-ish elite level cyclists go whirring by, hoping not to get hit by any of them. Checked out the body and bike and there was no damage. I still can't believe it! My left hand hurt a fair amount, but that was internal and could be fought through for the remainder of the race.

The bike is still in 1 piece and I've yet to break anything on it. Scary part is, I've been using the same handlebar since mid-2004. Maybe I'd better invest in a new bar over the winter.

I thought about adding in other kinds of wrecks, but other than the bike, I've been okay. No wrecking on ski's, driving, or even walking - yet.

So there you have it, a blog about wrecking. There were a couple other ideas on the topic title, but they just didn't fit quite right. Five For Riding and High 5 for 7.

Now, it's time to head north. Over N' Out