Westside BikeSIDE!

So last Wednesday I threw on some red, black, and white spandex matching my frame and headed out the door to do some riding on the Ballona Creek bike path. This could be called ill advised since it had rained that morning and dark clouds were situated approximately above the section of the bike path I was heading for. Whatever, you can’t let reality get in the way of training.

Perhaps, sliding 30 ft while braking for a light should have clued me in that this wasn’t the best idea. Regardless when I hit the bike path I tucked into the drops and raised my heart rate to 160. A few minutes in it starts raining. Fine, keep riding, and keep an eye on the water level of the creek. Eventually this rain starts hurting . . . but being an arrogant bastard I figure the rain just hurts because I’m riding so fast.

Wrong. It starts hurting more, but now it’s sticking. Rain doesn’t stick - hail sticks. That’s right - blueberry sized hail mixed with rain is clobbering me. At this point I’m a little confused as to why it’s hailing in LA, but I can see that the edge of the cloud is about a mile before the bridge over the creek to Playa Del Rey so I keep riding away from home.

Long story short - apparently hail can keep falling without a cloud to fall from, and as I make the turn onto the bridge my rear wheel slides out on the icy bike path and I find myself sliding on my spandex butt. Oddly enough spandex and ice makes for good sliding and I end up with only
a small scrape. The rest of the ride was a little dicey, but uneventful.

The weather is strange these days - and apparently bikes don’t handle the same on wet (or icy) roads. Be cautious!

Alex

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