Commuting casualty

Justin and I have an obnoxiously easy commute. It takes us maybe five minutes to get to school on bikes, on a route with essentially no traffic and a great view. We go over the bridge, with a mountain range downriver to the right and the ocean to the left, and often catch a glimpse of the cranes from the nearby sanctuary hanging out in the river. Then it's along the river, heavily populated by little dogs in stupid outfits, up the hill, down the hill, and we're done. Meanwhile, my sister still has flashbacks from commuting in Atlanta.

The only downside of my commute? Last week, we had a tiny skiff of snow. The bridge itself wasn't icy, but the ramp down from it was. I braked, I failed, I bit it. Here is the result:

Apologies for the leg hair. I promise the part at the lower right is a leg warmer.

Looking back on it, a five-colored kneecap was a small price to pay. As mentioned, I was on the bridge ramp, and when your bike wipes out, so does everything in your bike basket, including cell phone, house and classroom keys, wallet with foreigner card, and precious tuna sandwich. In a stroke of inexplicable luck, everything I was carrying stayed on the ramp instead of flying over or through the railings and into the river, where Justin would have had to fish them out. (Of course Justin - hey, I just fell off a bike here, people).

Moral of the story: Muppet Family Christmas was right. "Watch out for the icy patch!"