BAD DAY

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day


You know that song by Daniel Powter - "Bad Day"? That was me today. Last Sunday night I installed the bike computer I got for Christmas and was really stoked about riding this morning to try it out. Mel and I were going to our first Weight Watchers meeting of the year, so I wouldn't have time for a long ride, but I was stoked nonetheless.

I ignored the 40 degree weather and the Mountain Cedar allergy alert and filled my Camelbak, got dressed, and hit the road on my bike. Right off the bat, I noticed that the bike computer wasn't recording anything. No distance, time, or speed. "Shit", I thought. Oh well, I'll have to troubleshoot it when I get back home.

About half an hour into my ride, I noticed my front wheel was acting weird. I stopped to check and sure enough, the tire was losing air. Not a problem, I thought. I recently bought Slime tubes which are self-sealing tubes. It had already worked once before, so I quickly aired up the tube, but continued to hear the hiss of escaping air.

I spun the wheel and found the culprit, a small slit in the tire. It must have been caused by a sharp rock, because flats are usually a result of a puncture by a thorn. By this time, I realized that the tube wasn't sealing; it continued to leak air. I decided to pump it up some more and quickly ride to an area of the park with a bench so I could change the tube.

I found a bench and removed my backpack, which was sopping wet. Wow, I thought, how could I sweat that much in 40 degree weather? I didn't....my Camelbak was leaking water. "Shit, shit, shit!" I resealed the cap, which seemed to stop most of the leak and turned my attention to fixing the flat. I was able to change the Slime covered tube in about 10 minutes, so I didn't think the ride would be lost.

I replaced the wheel, put my wet backpack on, and hit the trail again, when I heard "thoop, thoop, thoop" from the front wheel. Slime tubes are notorious for making noise, as they actually have slime in them, which slides around inside the tube. Usually, I add more air to the tube and the noise goes away. Not this time.

By now I'd had ENOUGH. I decided to head back home, listening to the thoop, thoop, all the way. When I reached Thousand Oaks Ave, I was replaying the morning's incidents in my head, wondering if it could be any worse. It could....

I slowed as I saw the traffic light was red, hoping I could time the change to green. No such luck. As I came to a stop, I unclipped my right shoe, so I could stop and wait for the light to change. Any normal person would then lean to the right and support themselves on their free leg. Not me.

As my bike tipped to the left (with my left foot still clipped to the pedal), I tried not to make eye contact with the motorists stopped at the intersection. Too late. One elderly lady watched me fall to the ground with an expression that could only be interpreted as "you poor bastard; you must be having a bad day".

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

One bad ride does not a weekend ruin. One bad ride AND a bad weigh-in can. I gained 8 pounds over the holidays. Now I'm a clumsy, fat, sneezing, watery eyed bastard who is having a bad day. Not to worry. There's always FOOTBALL! Unless the Cowboys lose, then you'll hear:

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

No need to worry; no suicide watch for me. Tomorrow is another day, another ride, another football season. I'm just happy to be alive! I am truly blessed! Now I'm off to find some Claritin...