Crotchety

it was a sunny late spring day like this one.
i had just tuned a bike, and the finishing touch was the lubing of the clipless pedals.
i was wearing Nike Free shoes- minimal tread.

I brought the bike into an almost vacant parking lot.
I stood up and pedaled hard, undergoing the usual stress test, shifting under load. After 4 or 5 pedal strokes, my shoes slipped off the freshly lubed pedals, and before i knew it, both feet were dragging on the ground, with all of my weight on my crotch on the top tube of the bike going 15 mph.

Wanting to cry, I coasted to a stop- crotch still on the bar, shoes torn up.
A glimpse of yellow in my peripheral, i looked to the left.

An entire school bus full of high school kids had seen it all.
That must have been the funniest damned thing they had ever seen.
Listen to your guidance counselor, kids.

kp