I was on the trail and then I wasn’t.

A friend and I were biking the Great Western Trail south of Des Moines yesterday. The day was beautiful – sunshine, 70’s, generally level. We were chatting away one moment. The next, I’m off the trail, down a riprap embankment, splayed against a tree.

In retrospect, there’s a lot of things I wish for. I wish I’d worn long pants and long sleeves. I wish I’d been paying better attention to what I was doing. I wish I had a video replay of the moment so I could know what in the heck happened!

For sure, I’m thankful for lots of things. I’m thankful I had on my helmet. I’m thankful for my friend and the two guys who stopped to see if I was okay and to help recover my bike. I’m thankful the bike was still in riding condition.

And, man-oh-man, I’m thankful for no broken bones. It could have been a whole lot worse.