Renewal, and a ride

[magid]

I went to Hebrew College tonight to see Renewal, a documentary about USian faith communities working to protect or restore the environment. There's a wide range of topics, ranging from Appalachian Evangelicals fighting mountaintop removal (strip mining that literally takes the top off the mountains; it's incredibly ugly, as well as disturbing the ecosystem), churches going greener (solar panels, rethinking trash, etc), Muslims in Chicago finding sources for local organic (and free range) halal meat, and more. There are eight profiles, and they're all interesting. I noticed that the Jewish profile was of the retreat in CT where Hazon has has its Hannukah gatherings, where kids learn about the environment, rather than one community more specifically. I wonder whether this was their best example, or they didn't find Jewish communities getting involved to the same extent (yet?). Though there were Jews in the last segment, about an interfaith environmental movement. (I had to laugh: a woman said that it brought people together, Jews sitting next to Muslims.... Orthodox Jews sitting next to Reform Jews. Rueful laughter, yes, around the entire room.)

Pico review: worth seeing, and has potential for use in non-public-school settings (the profiles can be shown separately).

It seemed appropriate to get myself there without a car; late this afternoon I decided to bike.

First issue: getting the new headlight on the bike. Yes, this is small, but I couldn't seem to figure it out. I went over to Broadway Bike, and they were nice enough to help me out. I felt like an idiot, but I wanted to be a visible idiot after dark.

I was cutting it close on time, particularly because I tend to forget how much stop and go there is with city riding. It didn't help that I forgot my sunglasses, and I was riding into the setting sun. D'oh. I felt slow and logy through Cambridge, feeling like I should've been able to move faster, rather than being passed so much. Still, I navigated some interesting intersections (the left around St. Elizabeth Hospital in rush hour traffic isn't trivial in a car, even), and was doing fine until I made the left from Commonwealth Ave. into the BC campus, at the end of the B line.

Or rather, until I attempted it. I was trying to be careful to cross the tracks as perpendicularly as possible, and I think I was too focused on that. Somehow I fell, landing hard on my left leg (why is is always the left I fall on, and that kneecap the one that is more likely to move?). A motorist stopped to ask if I was ok, and I said yes. I stood up, knowing that at least the left knee was very bruised, and perhaps more. The battery for the headlight had popped out of the water bottle holder, and one of my reflective anklets had come off as well. I gathered everything up, and limped across the intersection. A pedestrian came over, thinking I'd been clipped by the car, but I don't believe I had been. I reassured her, and she continued on her way.

A quick check, and the verdict was: a big scrape on the left knee, a hole in the pants I was wearing right there, also on the right ankle, which felt lightly abraded. Otherwise, I was ok.

I got on the bike to continue on, feeling that the sooner I got moving, the less likely my knee was to stiffen up, and realized that my bike wasn't right either, with the pedals not turning properly. I had a moment of panic (I am not mechanically inclined, to say the least), then looked more closely: the chain had come off the gears. OK, that, I can deal with. I put the chain back on (can I just say that bike grease is quite gunky?), then upended the bike to make sure the pedals worked as they should. Happily, they did. So I toddled off.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, except that I really need to get in much better hill shape. There was about 250 feet of elevation, and when I was going up the street to Hebrew College, it was not a pretty sight. I made it, though, which felt great. (It also felt like my thighs were as wide as a house when I got off the bike at the top.) Note to self: always bring more calories than you think you need.

Coming home was happily uneventful. It was colder, and I put on mittens as well as the windstop fleece hat Electrictruffle made for me a while back. The wind was noticeable, but I warmed up quickly even so. I hope I was visible enough. I had the headlight on the bike, a headlamp, a red blinky on the back of the saddle, and another on the back of my pack. I forced myself to take a route that crossed railroad tracks a number of times, to be sure I didn't get weird about them.

By the time I left Hebrew College, my left knee had swelled up, and while it's moveable and functional, it's going to be really sore for a while. It's pretty spectacular, a scrape over a black and blue mark, and all much larger than it should be. *sigh*

Comments

[gingicat]

Meep!

If it's doubled in size, you should get it X-rayed, especially if the swelling doesn't go down. You should still be able to buy into COBRA if necessary, and it'll be retroactive to your last day of insurance coverage.

[rethought.livejournal.com]

I have to admit, I chuckled a little at the Orthodox/Reform joke myself. :)

[hrafn.livejournal.com]

Oh, ow :( I hope your knee recovers soon; I took a spill one winter and banged my left knee (again with the left!) badly enough that it took weeks to stop hurting.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thank G-, not doubled in size, just normal swelling for a bruised area. It's already a bit less this morning.

Really, it feels like it's a regular, surface sort of thing, not anything more involved than what it seems.

[magid.livejournal.com]

There were a bunch of funny moments; that was just the shortest one with verbal punch :-).

(It was fascinating to see bits of Muslim worship, btw; I've never been in a mosque (I think?), and definitely not during services. Given it was Chicago, plus since the 60s, I'm not surprised that it's a much more racially integrated community than any Jewish community I've seen.)

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thanks. The swelling is going down, and I'm starting to put calendula oil on the scrape to encourage it to heal. It's still noticeably there, but today not actively hurting (though I haven't tried anything more challenging than around the house sorts of things yet).

[magid.livejournal.com]

Further notes:

• I have a black and blue mark on the inside of each forearm (how did I manage that?).
  
• My left shoulderblade seemed a bit tight as I was stretching during the beginning of the movie. I massaged it, and today it's just the regular whole upper back sore muscles from exercise.
  
• The brakes on the rear wheel were slightly unbalanced. I moved them, though it's probably not perfect.
  
• Gear shifting on the way home felt off. Not sure whether something there is out of whack. I should probably get a tune-up.
  
• Something felt strange with my right shoe before I headed home. I looked at the sole, and one of the two (screws?) that hold the clipless plate thingie in was gone, the other partway unscrewed, so the whole plate was coming off. I finger tightened it for the way home, and it was already coming off again by the time I got here (likely exacerbated by my tendency to always put the right foot down when coming to a stop, because I once had my left kneecap move improperly when I used that foot). I should get it fixed; I think the Ace Wheelworks in Porter might have shoes (Broadway Bike definitely doesn't).

I slept well, at least :-)

[gingicat]

Oh GOOD. Skenderian should have arnica, if you need it.

[mabfan.livejournal.com]

Ouch. I hope your knee (and the rest of you) feel better.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten about arnica! Thanks for the reminder.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thank you.

The knee is the only part that's really noticeable (I have to admit, I rather like the muscle soreness that comes the day after; it feels like I'm really using my body, rather than just walking my brain around :-), and walking is fine. I haven't made it to the gym yet, though...

[gnomi.livejournal.com]

What he said!

Refuah shleima!