Lucy's Playground

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www.lucysplayground.com

 

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Thrills & Spills: Spills

Thrills & Spills: My Adventurous Weekend

Spills

The second half of my weekend was not quite as fun as the first half. We woke up with intentions to load up the mountain bikes and hit the trails. We were going to be adventurous and hit one new to us, Flatwoods in North Tampa. After we walked outside and found out how cold it was, we decided a local ride would be a better idea. We had a few errands to run, one of which being a trip to the grocery store, so we decided to ride to the store instead of driving. It's a nice 5 mile ride and the basket on our new trike fits a small cooler for meats and cold products and one large grocery bag for the rest. It's a great ride there and back!

It was a little cool but after we got to pedaling, we warmed up quickly. We even saw our friend Tony pass us by while we were on our ride. Tony and I had just spoke not too long ago about riding the trikes.

After getting home and putting away the groceries, we decided to take the girls for a run alongside the bikes. This is the primary reason for purchasing the trike in the first place. The hubs had taken both dogs for their first time alongside the trike last week. He reported the older one, my chessie Lucy, got half way around the block and put on the brakes. She was done. The report on the puppy, my lab Lacey, was much better and she seemed to really enjoy it with the exception of wanting to stop too often to smell the roses.

My Chessie, Lucy - 4 yrs old

My Lab, Lacey, almost 2 years old

Well, I had the bright idea of having my son stand out front with Lacey while I took Lucy around the block. Lucy did fantastic! She loved it so much! She couldn't have held her head and tail any higher. At one point she was running so fast she was pulling me and the bike. She only tried to stop to smell the roses a few times and a quick, "leave it" got her right back on track. As we pulled around the other side of our block, a small little dog that probably only weighs around 3 or 4 lbs started barking at her. She began to go towards the back of the bike but another quick correction and she was back on track. Not without a few head turns and barks at the other dog as if to say, "if only my Momma wasn't here..." though.

I pulled up to the house and switched dogs with my son. Lacey was a total and complete mess and disaster! She must have run into the front tire a few times and everything in the world distracted her from the task at hand. She was all over the place. She was nowhere near as fun to ride with as Lucy was. Well, Lucy is 4 yrs old, Lacey is just under 2 years old. Big difference! Major learning point here - maybe she should have been taught at an earlier age or perhaps I wait until the rotten puppy stage is over to teach her. Actually, I had quite a few learning experiences on this little ride around the block. 

I am, by no means, a dog whisperer, YET!

Before I tell the story, let me post some pics of the fun (or not) that took place next...

My fender is bent, reflector busted, there are many more bruises and scraps that I won't post here due to location, and my limited edition Infinite Hero Oakleys took a beating. Thankful their pieces can be replaced.

P.S. I love my Motorola Razr, that sucker flew across to the other side of the street, not one scratch on the screen and only a few on the case!! Go MOTO!!

This is where the SPILL comes in. Remember that little dog around the block? The one that Lucy had no problems ignoring, staying on the task at hand, and just giving a few barks? Well, Lacey was a completely different story. As we came near that house, that little dog came running out into the street as it ALWAYS does. Lacey saw that little rodent looking thing running towards us and she was gone. Only one problem...I was still attached to the crazed dog running after the "wannabe" rodent. The leash went under the handlebars instead of over and my 75lb brute of a dog pulled the entire bike and me over. I flew over my handlebars and landed flat on my chest. Then, as if having the wind knocked out of me wasn't enough, Lacey continued to pull me across the concrete road. I have never had the wind knocked out of me before. My close friend C.A. had recently told me a story about how scary it is to have the wind knocked out of you. She had her own little bike incident on the trails once. My sister also told me how scary it is. I have to say you guys, it was pretty damn scary. I had a fleeting moment in which I completely went blank. I didn't let go of the leash because I was totally out of it. A few seconds was all it took though for me to begin gasping for air. WOW!! That sound that comes out of your body after having the wind completely knocked out of you is eerie. It's the sound you hear from in a horror flick where someone who is supposed to be dead or died makes when they suddenly come back to life. As all this is going on, one neighbor is helping my husband get the bike back up and another, who is a nurse, is asking me how many fingers do I see, are they fuzzy, who was just nominated for President, and what's my name. All I can think of at the moment was, "damn..no broken limbs, that was scary, and I want to give that dogs' owner a piece of my mind." Please understand, that little dog runs around our street all the time without supervision. I can't tell you how many times I have swerved on my bike to avoid hitting it and in my car to avoid running the damn thing over. For those of you curious...yes there were some words with my neighbor about the fact our county law states all pets must be on a leash when outdoors, unless they are in a fenced/confined space. Even cats!! That is why part of my training for my certifications is to teach a cat to walk on a leash. Anyway, as I said, no broken limbs, A LOT of bruising, a VERY SORE body, and some valuable lessons learned.

How to teach your dog to run alongside you...for your protection:

Wear the same protective gear you would when out on the trails.

Keep the leash tight and the dog close to your side for added control & response time.

I find my dogs work best with a harness attached to their leash vs. leading by collar.

If you have a crazy strong and big lab like me...who is a puppy...avoid anything they think is "hunting" game!

Someone posted a Ghandi saying yesterday after my incident about falling down 7 times but getting up 8 times and it couldn't have been more true..I have fallen once but I will continue to get up and get back on, every time. A quitter never wins and a winner never quits!! 

I am a winner! 

Even after that major fail yesterday LOL