And a stack...

There's a new building site in the business park where I work, which I always ride through. So there I was, riding through the piles of dirt, when it occurred to me that (a) it had been raining; (b) I had no steering; (c) no grip; and (d) NO CONTROL. I daren't brake. And it was dark. And I was getting faster and faster as I slid around down the hill and there was a corner coming up with a steep dropoff behind it. FUCK! I veered off the "road" and onto the rough stuff hoping that it would slow me down, but all that happened was that I bumped up and down faster until the front wheel dug itself in and I went sailing A over T into the dirt.

>splat!<

crap.

After picking myself up, spitting out a mouthful of dirt, and collecting bits of broken bike, I WALKED out of the worst of the dirt. Even a short stretch on a dead flat bit had the back wheel sliding out of control and nearly spat me off again. Ugh.

Made me a bit nervous about all the other unsealed bits I still had to go.

But on the bright side, as I was making hard work of the last steep bit before the trail, something young and sleek zoomed past me and called out, "tough hill, huh?"

"yuh", I puffed.

As I turned onto the trail, I saw him waiting by the gate, and we rode together up the long slog to Mt Evelyn. It's funny how cyclists can talk about everything and nothing, when all they have in common is a weird fascination for riding in the dark! I don't even know what he looks like!! (except that his twin beam headlight makes mine look like a penlight). Anyway, it made that part of the trail - which I was dreading after being winded during my tumble - go a lot faster.

38 km for the day

Totally buggered.