Lets talk leaves!

I am not a Gardner and I am not a tree hugger and I am in fact NO LOVER of leaves.  Even less so after my journey home tonight.

I have spent the week so far travelling by bike and train and tonight I left the train following a fellow commuter who was in a rush.  After seeing him fly ahead I thought it’s time to catch him, so thus began the game of "chasing the rabbit".

All was going well as I approached an underpass only seconds behind my new found nemesis.  As you approach the underpass there are barriers to prevent cyclists flying through. As I approach I slow down, turn to the left to steer through the barriers and here is where the leaves come in.

Without realising a lovey pile of leaves is lying in wait on the approach, my front wheel has no chance! Amazingly I manage to keep the bike upright.  Sometimes that’s not always a good thing??  This time it meant landing straight into the barrier with Ribs arms and knee taking a battering.

A couple of lessons to learn

1) Maybe the silly rabbit chasing needs to be put aside for the winter. 
2) I need to respect the leaves a bit more

I have never liked leaves.  Dry, they get everywhere! wet they are lethal under slick tyres.

I always used to laugh at British rail when they used leaves on the line as an excuse to cancel trains.  Now I have admiration for them as the genuinely were putting safety first.

Don't forget though, crashing is part of winter cycling.  It’s a bit like dying, it will happen to everyone at some point, embrace it, laugh about it after and get back on the bike and enjoy it until the next time. 

Or is that just me???????

Not the real offender as I didn't have my camera  but you get the idea.

By the way feel free to post your crash stories - we all like a carnage tale!!