In cycling, the first trip has turned out to be a disaster for one too many people I know of.This first year guy I know of, Manu, skidded on the very first day he bought his bike and was riding it to his hostel. Another friend I know hit a bus, and still another one went off the edge of a steep sloping curve on a downhill.
My first such experience was at Malpe.
It was my first time out of Manipal, and I had decided to ride to Malpe with the group ride organised by Human Powered Endeavours, Manipal. I had been preparing for it, and was fully ready for it.
It was a beautiful and fast paced ride, mostly downhill. I had good speed and was feeling great.
We reached Malpe Seawalk in less than half an hour. It early morning and we could see the colours of the rising sun . We carried our bikes onto the seawalk and rode along the stretch.
Everything was going great and I was super pumped for the return ride, and we headed back. Thats when the most unfortunate thing happened and right there at Malpe, I tripped over absolutely nothing and fell. It was a flat road, there was nothing slippery either, but I swirled my handlebars backwards randomly and came crashing down on the ground.
I did not have any bleeding, but I was badly injured, the seat had hit my abdomen and caused a blunt injury, which swelled up in two-three days leaving a deep purple and blue-black scar. At the moment though, I freaked out a lot, and was worried about whether I'll be able to have kids in the future or not. Luckily, Anish Pai, the group leader, disassembled my bike, and put me and a fellow rider who was too tired to ride back, Tarun Asthana, in an auto-rickshaw and sent us to Manipal.
I was in pain and very upset that I had to fall on my very first ride. Now everyone will say "I told you so, I told you it was risky and not to go". But Tarun helped me a lot. He took me to the hospital so I could run some scans just to be sure there's nothing serious wrong. I am really grateful to that guy, he handled all my hospital paperwork, bills, payments and provided the mental comfort I needed.
My dad arrieved there about 90 mins later and took me home. Anish assembled and locked up my bike near the foodcourt, from where I took it on a later day when I was able to ride.
I couldn't ride for a few days, but I did learn something important from this.
At the time I fell, I had removed my helmet and had kept it on my handlebar. Ever since this happened, I always ride with my helmet on, no matter how short the distance.
At the time I fell, I was overconfident in my strength because I was keeping up well with the boys. Now, I am cautious no matter how slow or fast I am, and I always keep my hands on the handlebars.
At the time I fell, I had my hair untied so I could get the 'wind-in-my hair' feel. Now, I prioritize safety and road discipline more, and always pay full attention to the road.
