[Dorothy Wood]

I fell two times in the past 3 weeks after riding incident-free for a few years. The first was just a dumb topple over because the person ahead of me was too slow and I lost my balance going up a small incline, ended up with nasty bruises, but overall was fine. Yesterday I caught my back wheel in a groove between pavement and a railroad track and got whipped to the ground. I cracked my helmet in a few places, got a lump on my head and a scrape near my temple. Minor bruising otherwise. If I hadn't have been wearing a helmet, I probably would've been knocked out or worse, strange to think about. I rode 5 miles back home and took it easy. Today I feel like I got whiplash, and my hearing and sight are really sensitive. I don't think I'm concussed, but I definitely jostled my brain.

I'll go back out soon enough, but I'm thinking maybe I should get thicker tires because I'm not racing, I'm on very bumpy shitty streets. And also I will not try to hop over rails parallel to my direction. And always wear a helmet! I'd been tempting fate a few times without one lately, it's like the universe was like "fuck you!"