Watch Out for That Ditch!

St. Charles & Home: 11.76 miles
Comments: Ride Time was 54 minutes, average speed: 12.9

Not every ride goes smoothly—today was just one of those days. The weather was great but my mind was just not in the game. I mounted my bike and began pedaling down the drive when I hear an awful noise behind me—I forgot to release the kickstand. Oh well, minor detail. My plan was to bike to the St. Charles Public Library to pick up some bike books I ordered and then head home. I reached the library in good shape and decided to use my new lock to secure my bike while in the library. Returning back to the bike, I noticed that although I took precautions to lock my bike, I left my loaded bag open displaying all the goodies inside. But this is small town St. Charles so all was well. I mounted back on the bike and continued on home. I was almost home when I was forced to the side of the road by 2 passing vehicles while trying to maneuver around rumble strips. I couldn’t keep it on the road edge so took the ditch. I kept the bike under control and came to a slightly less than graceful stop. My trip was riddled with minor distractions but I did make it home without a scratch and sat down to enjoy my library books only to realize I must have dropped my library card somewhere along my journey between St. Charles and home—will have to make a trip back to the library to cancel activity to the lost card but that’s a trip for another day.