Day 48 – Disaster Strikes!

Today started like any other. Our Hero headed out again, but today, only made it thirty-two miles. Of course, you want to know what happened, and today, I won’t tease you. The wheel of Art’s bike severed off:

First, Art did not get hurt. He was riding through a grassy area at the end of a bike path. There was a big hole covered evenly by grass and weeds, so it was not discernible. His wheel disappeared into the ground, and the bike simply stopped moving forward. As he started walking the remains of his bike to the parking lot where Cindy picked him up, he found another huge hole covered by the same grass and weeds. He said it was cut nicely and looked flat in both places.

He felt total defeat until he said a prayer and the Spirit instructed him to call the bike shop where he purchased his bike (AngleTech). They found a local shop close by, Bikes and Trikes of Omaha, and are overnighting the part. Art called the Omaha shop to explain the situation and asked if they could get it down the next day. They agreed to do so.

Let me reassure you, this does not end the bike ride. Thursday is his usual day off, so now it will be a day getting his bike repaired and ready to go, hopefully on Friday.

As a former insurance adjuster, I can tell you that the city owes Art the cost of repairs for this incident. Next time, it might be a child falling to their deaths. If you have holes in your grassy areas, fill them up or make them discernible. It’s almost as if someone did this intentionally.

Before the ride came to this unhappy end, he took this photo of some wild turkeys grazing in the green grass:

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We may try to get me out and about since my pain level has dropped quite a bit. I’m sleeping through the night with one pain pill and, thankfully, took none today.

Next Up: Day 49 – It’s going to be a surprise, even for me!