A good bike ride gone bad

I had a couple of hours free Sunday afternoon, so I planned a bike ride. It should have been uneventful, a 20-30 mile ride in decent late summer sunshine, hopefully before the threat of rain.

Should have been uneventful is the key phrase.

A few years ago, I upgraded to a clip-in pedal for my road bike. For those who don’t ride in this manner, it means the rider and the bike mechanically unified. It also means the foot is in a better position for long rides resulting in less fatigue and better power when the bike rider needs it. Riders with more and different experience can elaborate on the goo...