Ouch

So the big lesson this week was a physics lesson; the law of gravity to be more specific. 
One pays a price for breaking the law.
You know me.  I am brave, but not a daredevil.  I am not blessed with a great sense of balance, and I respect this.  I also respect gravity.  I do not like the sensation of weightlessness (unlike the rest of the daredevils in my house).  I avoid "falling" type of rides; you know like the Tower of Terror, Dr. Doom's Freefall, any sort of catapult or bungee, and there is NO WAY you would get me on ANY of the rides on top of the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.  You can forget skydiving or bungee jumping.  I can't even watch it on TV!
This "safety switch" so to speak, has served me well.  I managed to get through an entire season of triathlon training without falling off my bike.  There were several times that I had to use the "Force" to stay upright.  But I did not fall.
Until Saturday, that is.
Sigh...
I should have known before I even got to practice.  We were meeting at 7:30 AM (or so I thought).  I was happily making my way to the training ground early Saturday morning; listening to some tunes, drinking my coconut water, and munching on my peanut butter and toast.  I received a text from one of my teammates that said, "R U Coming?"
I thought, what is she talking about?  It's only 7:20, I'll be there in 5 minutes!
Then I panicked - uh-oh!  Maybe I should check my paperwork at this red light - ARRGGHH!  We were supposed to meet at 7:00!!!
I'm Late!
To the first official training!
Cue the stomachache and cold sweats.
I almost turned around and went home in shame.
But, since I was 5 minutes away, I perservered. 
As I pulled into the parking lot, I saw everyone was just getting on their bikes.  The coach came over and I'm sure he said some thing clever.  I couldn't hear him over the frantic apologies (mine).
The bottom line was this: They weren't going to wait for me, but I could catch up.
Good enough for me.  The time alone on my bike gave me a few minutes to compose myself and promise NEVER to do that again!
I eventually caught the group and was christened "The Snail."  I could live with snail.  I like snails.  They are kind of cute. And delicious with a little butter and garlic.
We warmed up with a 7 mile ride and started the drills designed to get us more comfortable on the bike (ha-ha). One foot pedaling, balancing, gearing up and down, sprinting and stopping... I actually did okay.  For a while.  And then I didn't.
Funny thing about being clipped into your bike.  You can't get your feet out when you are panicking. Without your feet free, you stand absolutely no chance of getting free of the bike as it is falling.  Even when you aren't moving forward.
Gravity is not just a good idea - it's a law.
So for violating the law, I paid the price.
Twice.
Ouch.
They call what I did a "static" fall.  This is the least dangerous, and the most embarrassing (of course) of the ways to fall off your bike.  Somehow I managed to land on my left knee both times.  I must remember to tuck and roll the next time gravity starts enforcing its law.
I am okay. Nothing is broken. I was wearing my running tights over my bike shorts, so the abrasions are not nearly as bad as they could be.  The swelling and the limp should be gone by tomorrow, and I will have to get back in the saddle and try again.
The bruising should be spectacular, though!