I’m pissed off. And I can only blame my own stupid judgment (or lack there of). Every idea always seems better the very moment you think of it. And in my case I usually make my best decisions after a night of home brewed Belgium beer. And the decision that I am going to explain was no exception.

Here it is – I had a focus group 22 miles from my home and decided that I should just ride there. Make money for riding. I felt almost PRO when I decided to ride to the focus group to make my $150.00. And here is were it all goes to hell. 5 hours after consuming way too much of my “Attitude Ale”, I rolled out of bed to discover that the roads were wet. What the hell, it was raining in Los Angeles. Screw that. I’m a Belgian want to be hard man. I will show the weather I can not be pushed around.

After a quick change of bikes, I pull my Frankenbike (cyclo-cross bike built from every left over part in my garage I could find) off the rack and put a good 60psi in the Ritchey Speedmax cyclocross tires. Put some embrocation on my freshly shaved legs , pull up the arm warmers and head to my destiny.

Everything was perfect. 18 miles of blissful riding in the early morning rain and fog. My headlight ripping the darkness to shreds, and tail light blinking red and bright enough to piss off more than a handful of drivers.

The Perfect Storm Road Hazard Sign - I needed this sign

And to wake my ass up, the devil throws the perfect storm of road hazards at me. Take this tough guy. I can hear the cycling devil screaming at the top of his lungs, “AHHHH, This Is Going To Be Fun!” And then it appears in the form of a, manhole cover, a line of white paint, and a 3” wheel devouring crack. And just like that my (in my own brain) highly tuned bike handling skills fail me completely. And down I go to kiss the asphalt with my freshly repaired skin. Skid a good 15 feet and smacked the curb with my rib cage. And then the sound we all so dread. The POP. That noise the minute you hear it you know it is going to be bad. The sound of a broken bone. In my case 2 broken ribs.

The kind of break that has no status. Even though you know they are there, no one else does. No metal plates, no casts, no surgery, just personal pain and no sympathy.

In the end I have a pretty good injury total for my 2010 cycling season.

And at least I have had a real 2 weeks off the bike, like watching the TV on Sunday, off the bike. And I was able to find the time to brew 6 gallons more of my Volebak Ale.