Oops!
Boy did I ever sleep well. I slept and slept until I was done. I got up and had a breakfast of oatmeal, cranberries and some smoothie protein powder. Yum! By the time I had everything cleaned up and packed it was 9:00 a.m. Off I went and to my surprise there was a hill right around the first bend in the road. From my memory I thought it was pretty much all downhill. Much of it was but there were also a good number of hills to keep me humble.
The further I got down the hill to Angels Camp on Hwy 49 it was getting warmer and warmer. It ended up to be just shy of 100 degrees. When I got to Angels Camp, I wanted to find a good ice cream store and cool off. After asking around I came up with nothing. My next big stop was Jamestown. Hopefully there would be some there.
On my way it was and up and a down, very narrow and winding road but it was a very nice ride. When the road opened up and I could see a big reservoir that had dropped to the point of perhaps drying up. I stopped to take a picture of Malone Reservoir. When I got back on my bike my front tire suddenly turned to the right, hit some gravel and threw me forward over the front. Now I know what your knees and other flesh feel like rubbing across the gravel and asphalt. When it was over and after a quick inventory, I found I was pretty banged up. I had two good size bruises on my left ankle and above the left knee. My skin was rubbed off on the right side of the right knee. The underside of my right forearm was scraped and bloody. The top of my right forearm had a small cut and bled out under the skin in a circle about 3 inches in diameter. The cut also opened up and soaked my solar sleeve with blood. My right shoulder also had the skin scraped off under my bike and undershirt. The clothes were not torn. Both knees were badly bruised. I had a bad bruise on my left lower shin with a big bump. I had bruises on my lower right leg and the back of the upper right thigh. Last but not least my head hit the pavement and was saved by my helmet but somehow, I got some fine sand embedded in my skin above my right eye. I did enjoy picking the sand out of my flesh. I also sprained a couple fingers on my left hand along with scraping the flesh off the knuckles.
Within a minute a man stopped in a small pickup and asked if I was O.K. I told him that I thought so and he started to leave. I was impressed to stop him and ask for a ride to Jamestown so I could get checked out. It was only a couple miles. He was reluctant as he was in a company truck that did not allow riders. I persuaded him that it would be O.K. as he was rescuing someone who had been hurt. He would be somewhat like a Good Samaritan. He took me just outside of town and dropped me so he wouldn’t be seen with a rider. I thanked him and off he went.
The first thing I saw was a “Frosty Freeze”. I went there and got my ice cream. First things first. While there I asked where I could find some first aid. This couple sent me down to a store on Main Street next to the National Hotel. When I rode past the store looking for it and turned around the owner of the National Hotel was walking out of the store. He came to me and said, “You need some help.” Go in the store and get what you need and then come to my hotel and use my restroom to wash up and take care of things. When I had done that, they gave me a great deal on a room and dinner. It is an old hotel of the 1800 era. One of the features is a large soaking tub on feet for guest to use. I used it and I am now ready for bed, very relaxed, and ready for sleep. Today I felt like the fallen traveler along the way when a Good Samaritan came to rescue and took me to the innkeeper to bind up my wounds.
Given my injuries and the discomfort they could cause, I had to ask myself if I should go on or be defeated. My prayers were meaningful as I pleaded with Heavenly Father to bless me with the strength I needed to fulfill His purposes for this ride.
Tomorrow I should be in Yosemite Valley. I have the faith that this is right and there is a purpose for me to complete this ride. I knew I had prepared ever so careful. Everything was right and now this injury. Could I overcome this possible defeat? The answer was YES! I had my mountains to climb, my goals to reach, and my dreams to be lived. I knew I could do it. That still small voice came again and again as it has in the past, “YOU CAN DO IT!”
View photos from this adventure in my Gallery – Yosemite Trip page.