The Story Behind the Wounds

So I never really finished recounting the details of my trip over the bicycle handlebars. Let me start by mentioning this is actually the 3rd accident that the particular vehicle has been involved with while under my watchful eye- I was only the driver for 2 of these incidents, the other was while the bike was under Shea’s care (there was some drunken debauchery here, I have no such excuse, for my bike accidents anyway). & back to Erin, I am certain she is really shocked to read these ramblings after watching me nearly run into a bright yellow pole that was directly in front of us in broad daylight, again totally sober, amongst several other peel outs & very close calls. You would think I was some kind of wild mountain biker or something, but no, these incidents generally occur on strait forward cement.

I had just finished a long day in the lab & was excitedly heading out on the bike for one of our perfect yoga sessions in the Swiss Family Robinson house. I was carrying several items & when attempting take off realized that I had better pack some stuff away first. So I put everything except my umbrella in my already heavy backpack & cheerfully headed down the trail towards the River Station where we live. I got about 20 meters down the trail & my mind had wandered away from the important matter at hand- riding the bike without injuring anyone- when I was surprised by a party of 3 heading towards me around the corner. I quickly squeezed the brake of the hand that not holding the umbrella. It had been raining heavily- a regular occurrence in the tropical rainforest- & since this bike had been sitting in the rain all day nothing really happened when the pressure was applied. I guess I panicked & squeezed the brake about as hard as I could, as it turns out this was the front brake & as best I can ascertain I was promptly thrown forward in a sort of a somersault fashion, with the bike, my huge backpack & myself kind of in a big pile left skidding across the cement. My tank top was pulled over or under, my bra was covered in dirt & both my body & my ego were severely scraped & bruised. It was pointed out to me that I was dripping blood & may need to seek medical attention- I limped the rest of the way to my room & found my roomie, Chris & friend Kellie chatting. I was kind of laughing hysterically by this time, mostly due to wounded pride, but after the blood was noted my emergency team sprung into action. Brenda came prepared with a well stocked first aid supplies (note to self: bring one!) & is not afraid of a little gore, Kellie has a background in Search & Rescue, & Chris provided a little ego first aid & valued friendship by complementing my tenacity, if not my grace. I was in good hands, especially when Emily joined the bathroom party to add some more humor & moral support.

I thought that I had some pretty good excuses/ reasons for these accidents, but after discussing the event with one of the party- Scott from Alabama- who I thought I nearly ran over, I am forced to seriously question my skills. He reports that I had a good 10 yards of stopping room when I took my tumble. Oh well.

So I thought I was up to some yoga today. Which was good, but I discovered that I had even more bruises than is obvious- when going into chataranga I found the mild roadrash across my left chest was accompanied by some deep bruising, on top of my obviously bruised left knee, inner right knee, right thigh & hip, right elbow, chin & right eye socket/ cheek. But in reality I am just really happy to have not knocked a tooth out here in the jungle & I know that this is all an important lesson in something- mindfulness I think…