Wipeout!

    In AutoCAD there is a command called Wipeout, where it essentiall wipes out an entire area, like it never existed.  It is a pretty neat command because you can easily see what a space would look like without that wall or without that column... not that as an Interior Designer, I would ever get rid of a column, but you know what I'm saying!  So this command essential wipes out the work done in that area.  I've only used it a few times and I only use it because the plans at work go between A&E and Store Planning, so I can't delete whatever I want to the actual building plan without A&E doing it and sending me a new building plan. 
  In many ways this command is similar to an accident or a wipeout in everyday life.  A few weeks ago, my Dad and I went for a long bike ride and then we were gonna go home and go for a run.  He seems to have jumped on the triathlon bandwagon, even if he hasn't signed up for one yet.  But that morning at 4am or so a storm rolled through and so it was wet out.  While it was done raining and the sky was clear by our 5:30am ride it was still slick.  My Dad has been trying to figure out a path from our house to a biking path in Aurora and then to bike up to my grandparents cottage in Wisconsin, approximately 80 miles!  So instead of going our usual route we did some back roads, etc.  But he had had a stressful week and was exhausted and just didn't have the gas to really book it like we are used to, so after 6 miles or so he was ready to head back home.  I had planned on doing over 20 miles and then going running so I wasn't ready to go back with him.  Mistake #1...  We got to the usual bike path, he went one way and I went the other, but I made sure to tell him that I didn't have my cell phone, yep that was Mistake #2... I'm sure you see where I am going with this... After doing another 6 miles or so, I was ready to head back home, would have put me at exactly 20 miles, with time for a run.  So since my Dad wasn't with me I could go my more normal pace abt 20mph. (Disclaimer: Not that he normally slows me down, but he was really exhausted that morning, so our speed was abt 15mph).  I was on my way back home and I came around a few curves that I could feel myself slipping a little... You'd think I would have realized that the curves are slick and to slow down...but I didn't!  WIPEOUT!  One second I was riding my bike and the next second I am sliding on my right side down the pavement!  THANK GOD, no one was coming the other direction around the curve...would have ended really bad! So I got up, my legs shaking like crazy, I rammed my elbow into the ground, so naturally its bleeding, my ankle is cut and I can tell that my hip and upper thigh is gonna look pretty bad when I take off my biking shorts (and yes I own a pair of the padded bike shorts, what of it?!). My biggest concern despite the blood trickling down my arm was my new bike!  The chain was off, I slid on the right side with the derailer and the tape on my handle bars were all ripped and my gear shifter was no longer sitting straight on my handle bars but curved in at an odd angle... Immediately I begin to think, CRAP what am I gonna do!?  So since I had no choice, I fixed the chain and hoped back on it to ride the last 5 miles home... SLOWEST ride of my life!  I got home and cleaned myself up, bandaids all over and huge bruises, probably a sprained elbow but I was too stubborn to go get x-rays, much to my parents dismay!  I took my bike in for a check-up and they straighten it out and put some new handle bar tape on and it looks good as new...sorta...  But I've realized... I respect my bike... before, when first bought it, I was terrified of my bike, I felt like I was going so fast and since its a road bike compared to my Mountain bike, I didn't feel as stable.  Now I realize I am terrified of my bike all over again!  Sure it hasn't stopped me from going on those weekend rides with my Dad but I certainly am more cautious!  Its like my AutoCAD wipeout, I feel like I'm starting from scratch all over again.  Atleast now I know where I came from, I guess Im not as afraid as I was before, but I now respect the power of the bike!  No slick roads for me again, if I can help it!  But I'm so glad that I've gotten back on my bike and not let the injury and fears keep me from riding!  It's funny, numerous people asked me what happened and I said I had a bike accident... yeah, everyone thought I was talking about a motorcycle... Nope sorry guys, just my bicycle! LOL!

Moral of the Story: A wipeout, be it in AutoCAD or life, brings you back to square one.  It's all a matter of what you do after the wipeout!  We can't let fear rule our lives, so we start over, scrape ourselves off the pavement and keep on trucking!

Rocking out to: Hold On by KT Tunstall