Okay, to be fair, I haven't been cooped up in doors all winter. I have been outside hiking, running, snowboarding and enjoying the beautiful snow. However, I have not been able to take my bike out since after Christmas. Boise got some crazy amounts of snow followed by a heck of an inversion that kept the temps in the single digits which kept the snow and icy roads around for the entire month of January. I am aware we still have a few more days of January, but the roads are JUST NOW clearing up and I am beginning to see the bike lanes again, but there is still left over ice on the roads.
This weekend, it actually warmed up to over 30 and we got some rain and some sunshine which helped to melt the snow and dry up the sidewalks. I was so excited! I was certain the greenbelt would have dried up so I made a plan to ride this morning. Actually, I looked at the weather channel and it said we were expecting another round of snow, but it wouldn't arrive until this afternoon so I thought this morning would be my time frame. I got all dressed up and headed outside this morning just to find it snowing already! At first I thought I would just forgo my ride. But I REALLY wanted to ride outside. I miss it so much! With the encouragement of my friend Kurt, who is also doing the Spring Ride for Fuller Center for Housing, I decided to go outside and play anyway!
With hand warmers in my shoes and in my boarding gloves, 3 shirts, 3 layers of pants, my boarding coat, my helmet, sunglasses and iPod, I was ready to go! The greenbelt had chunky patches of dried slush covered with a fresh coating of dry powder. It was a bit crazy with my bike fishtailing, but I could handle that. Though I totally wished I didn't have my clip pedals and longed for regular ol' pedals and shoes at this point. Cause I just new that when my bike decided to go down, I was going down with it. Oh well, I kept pressing on. The bridges over the river were slick, but nothing I couldn't manage. Then I hit it. I thought I was in the clear with the fresh flat snow covered pavement. But what I didn't know was that underneath that fresh flat powdery snow lurked the evil ice monster just waiting to throw me to the ground and show me who is boss!
I don't even know what happened. All I remember was "BAM!" my head hitting and bouncing off the pavement with an "aaaoohhhh" escaping my lips as I slid a few feet with my right foot still clipped into my pedal. OUCH! I watched the birds singing and flying in circles over my head for a bit, then I shook them away and carefully stood up. My clip shoes don't give much traction and I was on thin ice, literally! I made sure to take a picture. What kind of blogger and adventurer would I be if I didn't take pictures of my insanity? 
After considering the pounding headache I now had in my head, my longing for riding my bike outside, and realizing I was just a little over a mile in and I had already fallen pretty hard. I realized I likely had a concussion and going further would NOT be advisable. Especially since my hubby was at work with no car to rescue me with if I really got bad further out. So with a heavy heart and pounding head, I decided to take my broken pride home. Back on my bike, I pushed my pedal down and felt my back tire just spin in place, and I prayed. "Dear Lord, please just let me make it to my car without another incident." I might have even made a bargain with God. I don't quite remember. It probably went like this, "If you just let me get back to my car safely, I promise to not ever do anything foolish like this again." (Of course, I had my fingers crossed behind my back so he couldn't see them!)
On my way back to my car, I saw a cyclist riding up towards me on a fat bike. I know ONE guy who rides them in town and knew he would be out riding today. However, there is a huge cycling community here in Boise, the greenbelt is a favorite place to ride, and I also know there are others with a fat bike in town. We were both bundled up for winter so when he got closer, I couldn't tell who he was. We said hi to each other and kept on riding, but then I heard my name. "Martha?" I stopped and looked back and he had stopped and looked at me. It was my partner in insanity! KURT!!! Yay!!! We visited for a bit and laughed at my spill. I was sad that I was going home and he was still riding cause he was taking the same route I had planned. I would have much rather been riding with him, but I knew what my head was telling me, and as I sit her nauseous, dizzy and with a splitting headache in my quiet dark house, I realize my decision to come home was the right one.
It was quite the 2 mile adventure today! Just goes to prove you don't have to go far to live an exciting life; you just have to get out of your house and be open to the possibilities! Had I not gone out in the lovely snow covered greenbelt, I would not have seen the fat squirrels, the many ducks swimming in the partially snow covered river, the stillness of the snow covered bike path or the excitement of learning to ride my bike in the snow! It was short and joy filled 2 miles... even if I came home with a concussion!
In the words of Heather Small, "What have you done today to make yourself feel proud?"
Thanks for reading my crazy stories and cheering me on. I am over half way to my $2000 fundraising goal! Thank you!!!! If you have not donated yet, there is still time and I would greatly appreciate it! People keep telling me (apologetically) that they made a "small donation" but please know that there is not such thing as a small donation. Each $1 counts and keeps the momentum going! So, even if you can spare just $1, it will make a HUGE difference! Here is the link where you can donate:
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