I have been thinking about a new road bike via the Ride2work scheme and Evans Cycles had a heavily discounted (slightly soiled) carbon Jamis with electronic Ultegra Di2, which was delivered to the Brighton store for me to try out - so good so far!
On Thursday I had a gap in my work diary and decided to take a test ride on the Jamis beauty.
It certainly felt good, I loved the electronic whirring as the front derailleur moved up and down changing from the big to small cog and back the other way.
I cycled down to Preston Park on the main road to complete a few circuits of the velodrome. On route I headed down a side road only to see a guy watering the plants with his hose in the middle of the road. With little time to react I had to cycle over the hose. I am sure I wouldn't have had any problems on my own bikes but with the very slick tyres on the Jamis (no grip at all) I lost the bike from under me and found myself sliding down the road. My right elbow took the brunt of the impact but the bike was not in great shape - one of the spokes had come out of the front wheel and it was badly buckled. Elsewhere there was damage to the rubber hoods on the gears/brakes and the saddle was a little chewed up - I suppose given the circumstances it could have been a lot worse.
One lady kindly came over to see if I was alright. The guy with the hose mumbled something like 'that was your fault mate' and went on with his watering. Then a couple of local thugs were shouting out their window 'F**king Cyclist - always causing trouble'. I couldn't of chosen a worst neighbourhood to have an accident!
Despite the blood dripping from my elbow and cuts/ grazes on my hands and legs I was still more worried about the borrowed bike and how I was going to explain this disaster to Evans Cycles. Given the abuse I was getting in the street I picked myself and the bike up and headed back to Evans - about a 15-20min walk. I had to carry the bike for most of the way or lift the front wheel to keep moving, all the time I was inspecting the damage and trying not to think about my own wounds.
When I finally got back to the Evans store it was a little busy but they were generally OK and more concerned about me than the bike. The damage to the Jamis was checked out by the mechanic and he confirmed £15-20 should be enough to fix the front wheel. Fortunately as the bike had been soiled beforehand they didn't seem to upset about the front hoods or saddle damage. The was no noticeable damage to the frame, I think I actually got off quite lightly.
I left Evans and headed for Boots, which is opposite, to be patched up. After 2 hours from leaving the office I was back, feeliing pretty sorry for myself (a bit of a dummy - 'a crash test dummy') only having ridden the bike for only 10 mins.
I still have the option to buy it but I think not - too many bad vibes.
So with my Achilles' tendon problem still not cleared up I feel a bit of a mess and training since the 'fun and games' on Thursday has been nil.
Big thanks out to Alan Law of The Physio, Fitness and Wellbeing Company for all the great advice about my Achillies problem on Saturday morning. I left with a sensible plan for getting me back to normal form. Hopefully a fortnight in the sun with plenty of rest and relaxation should also help.
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