As I was training for the 24 hours in a roundabout ride, I planned some longer training rides. I took a Friday off work, and plotted out a ~300 mile route from Indy into Kentucky where I’d meet my family. I set my alarm for 1230am, got up, ate some oatmeal and coffee, and was on the bike by 115am. I was feeling pretty good about myself, knowing- or rather thinking- that the hardest part was just getting started. I was so wrong.
15 minutes later, I was laying in the middle of the road. As I turned a corner, a raccoon darted in front of me, got under my front wheel, and took me down. Hard. Fortunately only a sore hip and road rash resulted, but my brand new SRAM jersey- which I had received for being among the top AXS test riders, was shredded. Plus the derailleur hanger was bent. I debated changing it- I carry a spare- but with the mental letdown and hip pain so early into the ride, I quit. I went back home and to bed for a few hours, got up, fixed my bike, and ended up with a 105 mile ride on the day instead of 300.
I titled my Strava rides here: Done before I Started and Mr. Raccoon you may take me down but bandages, bruises, and bent derailleur hangers will not keep me down.
My co-workers decided to have some fun. A couple weeks later, a toy raccoon showed up anonymously on my desk, followed soon after by a specially made raccoon valve cover sticker for the Super 9 disk wheel I was using for the roundabout ride. I thought it was awesome, so I had to share:
And so the legend of the raccoon was born. And to my co-worker who asked if the raccoon was ok- I like animals as much as anyone- but I don’t care if it was ok! I’m the victim here!
Why I Ride 