It really was an idiotic fluke, getting my bicycle wheel caught in a train track.  I mean, for the thousands upon thousands of miles I’ve ridden over the course of the past decade, managing train tracks is nothing unusual.  I suppose it’s one thing to pass over them perpendicularly and quickly, while it’s another to ride parallel to them when they’re flush with the pavement.  The latter, of course, describes much of San Francisco!

The aforementioned fluke occurred in the blink of an eye last Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving.  Both my eyes and my bicycle must have strayed long enough for my front wheel to “fall into the groove” so to speak, a groove I very much knew was there.  One second I was up, the next second my body was skidding across pavement, and after a few more seconds I was up on my feet, dusting myself off and examining my bike, as well as myself, for any damage.

Fortunately, my bicycle seemed to emerge unscathed.  Neither tire went flat, the chain and gears were in tact, and all I had to do was bend my left brake lever back into place.  Not a problem.

The only problem was one I knew from experience was going to affect me for several days to come, this being my palm-sized road rash on my right hip.  Why, I asked myself, do I always fall to my right?  This is certainly not the first abuse my right side has taken, as I’ve naturally endured my share of cycling mishaps, as most any cyclist has.  I simply think my right side might appreciate my left side taking some of the burden.

I’m not one to make a loud fuss about my various bangs, bruises and abrasions, but this time hurt just a little more than the others.  Nevertheless, I continued on with my ride last Wednesday and reached my intended destination.

Now, here on Monday, I’m FINALLY ready to let my road rash start to heal properly.  After a long Thanksgiving weekend of trying some ineffective and detrimental remedies, limping around like an old man, and withstanding the soreness that comes from the constant rubbing of denim, leather, nylon and bedding, I visited this very helpful cycling link and read up all about road rash.  After all, it’s a common and expected cycling reality.

The keyword is TELFA, for any of you who have been or will be dealing with this matter yourself.  I now have plenty of it on hand, more than I’ll probably need this time around.  As such, I’ll simply save what I have for next time, which hopefully won’t be TOO soon.