Saturday 18 October 2014

The Day I Fell Off My Bike for the First Time

Wednesday was a great day! The weather was great, (after a very dreary Tuesday) the kids were great, (the best day with my new class yet!) I felt great, the interview I had for a post of additional responsibility went really well, I managed to make it for a quick drink with friends after work, (which doesn't seem to have been possible much so far this term) it was meditation club day, and it was the first time I properly experienced the maximum benefit of having a bike to get you from A to B to C to D quickly. Life. Was. Great. And then BAM! I had my first bike accident. The accident I'd been anticipating and freaking out about since the very first time I got on the thing. And it was all down to tram tracks - bloody tram tracks - the cause of so many of my friends' accidents too.

Luckily, the worst of it was a few cuts and bruises, and ripped trousers and ruined shoes. I'm so thankful because it could have been soooo much worse especially as it was at one of the busiest junctions in Den Haag and with a bus right behind me! Lovely passers-by were on hand to help me up and rescue my phone and I made myself get straight back on the bike despite being shaky and petrified.

That's what life is about, is it not? Picking yourself up after a fall, dusting yourself off, and getting straight back on the bike. Life's too short to be afraid of what might be. You have got to keep on moving forward and taking risks no matter how scary that might be.