It could have been me .......

This afternoon we took our bikes and went biking on a fantastic trail created by Rails to Trails, an organization I wholeheartedly support, by the way. We were having a great ride but were only a short distance along the trail when I made the mistake of looking back to see how the kids were doing. They've only started riding two-wheelers this summer, so I still worry about them when we're on a linear trail that doesn't give them much room to wobble. Of course, because I looked back and took my eyes off the trail, I edged off the paved part and onto the gravel. I stupidly tried to bump my bike back up on the paved part, which immediately became apparent was a BAD idea. I went down, the pavement came up and we met with a crash. Luckily, I hadn't been going very fast and I have a little padding on my hips, which is the part of me that took the brunt of the fall.

I wasn't hurt badly, although it did (and does) sting. My left hip has a little road rash and is bruised and tender. My right shin is bruised and has a teenytiny cut. My palms got just a bit scraped. On the whole, not so bad. My pride was hurt more than anything else! It's been a looooooooong time since I've fallen off my bike and I wasn't thrilled that the kids saw it. I think HandsomeBoy just about jumped out of his skin! He was at my side in a flash!

Anyway, I got back on my bike and was fine. We bike for about another half hour and were on our way back to the car when a biker passed us. We were crawling along because HandsomeBoy was tired, so she couldn't have been going faster than 12 mph. Maybe even a little less. To my shock and horror, SHE DID THE SAME THING I'D DONE!!!! Her tire went off the path and then bumped up against paved part and she went down to the ground. Unfortunately, she wasn't as lucky as I'd been.

Where I'd tipped over to the side, she seemed to go forward. She hit the pavement face-first and lay there with her arms at her side, next to her toppled bike. I raced toward her and tried to assess her injuries. She didn't move for a minute and seemed stunned. When she finally raised her head, I could see that her cheek was shockingly red and very swollen. I carefully took her helmet off (thank goodness she was wearing one!) and started to see what else could be wrong. Her left elbow was also red and swelling fast. I suspect that she fractured her cheekbone and arm. Her husband came up a minute later -- he must have been biking ahead and turned back to find her. She was saying she didn't need 911, but I could tell otherwise. I called 911 and they were there within minutes! There are so many stories about 911 failing to respond that it was reassuring to see them show up so quickly, especially considering we were on a bike path in an otherwise non-accessible section of a national park!

We didn't stay much longer because we didn't want to be in the way. The boys were very upset by it. Especially considering HandsomeBoy's bike accident earlier this summer. CutiePie asked me why I called 911 for the woman but not for HandsomeBoy. I had to assure him that it was only because we didn't need 911 for HandsomeBoy. Close, but not quite.

Anyway, all afternoon I've been thinking about why things happen to some people and not to others and why even when the same thing happens to different people, the results may still vary. We both were going slowly on the same path and made the same stupid mistake. I ended up with wounded pride and she probably spent the afternoon in the ER. I've always felt fortunate in life. Even the bad things that happen to me have never been as bad as they could be or they've had a silver lining or they've led me somewhere I might not have ended up if not for the unplanned event.

It's something to think about........