Down...

... But hopefully not out. I have been insanely chasing a century of climbing over recent months, and I was really thinking it could happen. Last Sunday I took on my great nemesis (i.e. the heat) and beat it. I was also closing in on 30 centuries for the year (Sunday was number 29). So it is perhaps a little ironic that I should head out for a ride this evening, with the heat not only beaten, but now firmly in retreat. A southerly wind was blowing and it was raining lightly. I was heading for my usual Tuesday evening ride out to the glow worms. About 8.5km in I had warmed up nicely and was starting to find form. In the space of a few seconds, it all unravelled.

There's a new road they're building out at Robina -- well, it's actually a duplication of Cheltenham Drive. Not open to traffic yet, but I normally cut through there anyway. Somehow I didn't see that bit of debris that went under my wheel (I still haven't seen it -- even though I got up and had a look for it). Can someone tell me why that split second when you're trying in vain to retrieve an off-balance bike seems to take forever? I tried to make the save, but failed and went down hard.

My shoulder took a nasty hit, my back is sore when I try to bend over, and I've re-opened an old scar on my left forearm. I had a headache immediately after the crash, but it seems to be clearing up pretty well now. All of this probably justifies a visit to a doctor tomorrow morning, however. I actually felt really down after all this, I even had some doubting thoughs about February's New Zealand trip. Instead I ran a warm bath when I got home, and listened to Sarah Blasko on the CD player -- I feel much better now (even if I'm still a little sore).

I've no idea how long I'll be off the bike. I've never had a back injury before, so I'll tread carefully here. I just hope I get some good news, the midnight century's only a few weeks away -- and I still want to get that last 9,000 metres of climbing to finish this thing off. It's also looking like another great streak will come to an end. This will be the first calendar month since February 2003 in which I have failed to ride 1,000 miles or 1,610km. The pitiful 22km for today won't quite get me there.



On the other hand, I did at least manage to get those tickets for the sold out Oasis concert, so I have something else to do this weekend.