12 Miles and a Collision on Bellevue Loop Trail

Vicky isn’t feeling well, we survive a minor bike collision, learn that fellow bike riders are concerned and willing to help others, and end up with a nice bike ride on the Bellevue Loop Trail after all.

Last Bike Ride of Summer

Last Bike Ride of Summer

Last weekend we headed back to the Bellevue Loop for our last bike ride of the summer. I do not phrase that last sentence to imply we don’t hope for more rides this year, but instead, to make a note to ourself and our readers that summer is indeed over.

The bike ride did not start out well. About a mile or so down the trail Vicky asked if we could please stop because she was out of breath and not feeling well. We pulled over to the side of the trail and parked our bikes.

Vicky sat in the grass for quite a while catching her breath. As we waited for Vicky to feel better, one bicycle rider happened to come and stopped for a bit to make sure we were okay. Although we weren’t quite sure of this, Vicky said she would be okay in a few minutes. A thank you to this unknown rider that stopped to offer help if needed.

After a bit she insisted she was feeling okay, and wanted to ride some more. Cautiously, I suggested we first slowly ride back in the direction of the car to see how she felt while riding. You see, several years ago we finally learned that we are not indestructable.

Although this has nothing to do with the way she felt on the ride, you may wish to visit Vicky’s website FactorVIII.org and learn how Vicky overcame a rare bleeding disorder called acquired Factor VIII Inhibitor.

We began a very slow ride back towards our car, however, Vicky was not about to give up on this bike ride, and soon Vicky impatiently asked me when we could turn around and continue our ride.

Now I wasn’t quite sure if this was a good idea or not, but we did turn around and resumed our ride, but at a very slow comfortable pace. Vicky followed quite closely behind me, and I frequently glanced back at her to make sure she was doing okay.

Bellevue Loop Picking Fall Decorations

The Collision

We stopped in this area so that Vicky could pick a few stems of this neat looking grass for an autumn decoration at home. Of course there is always the problem of getting items transported home that we pick up on our rides, but Vicky managed to attach these to the rack over the rear wheel on my Trek Navigator, giving it somewhat of a festive appearance.

Getting back on our bikes, we continued our ride at a casual pace, with Vicky riding much too close behind me…

Slowing down a bit to glance back at Vicky, I felt her front wheel contact my rear wheel quite solidly, and as she attempted to turn her bike away from me, her three wheeler tipped and Vicky tumbled to the ground. Her three wheeler’s contact with my rear wheel also threw me completely off balance, and I also hit the ground.

We both have different reactions to things like this. As is usual for me, I immediately got up as fast as possible, just to make sure I could. Vicky lay there quietly, mentally going over how she felt and determining whether she was hurt or not. Vicky’s reaction to potential injuries always scares me, and I rushed over I reached a hand down to help her, and urged her to get up, at the same time asking if she was okay.

At this moment another bike rider who saw us go down, pulled up to see how we were. Thank you, whoever you were.

After I helped Vicky to her feet, we both learned that it felt like we had no broken bones (first priority), and amazingly no scrapes or cuts! Of course we weren’t entirely pain free, Vicky did develop a large bruise and my neck was just a bit stiff for a few days.

The bike rider that stopped hung around for a few minutes to make sure that both of us and our bikes were okay, commenting that he wasn’t sure how well he would do riding a three wheeler with its much different way of cornering than a standard bicycle.

Once we calmed down a bit, we continued our ride with a goal of reaching the trailhead parking near the sewage plant. As our confidence returned, we eventually returned to our normal trail riding speed, although Vicky made sure she was not quite as close behind me as she had been previously.

Reaching the trailhead parking, we were pleased to see that its one bench was in the shade this time of day. We both were ready for a can of pop, and a short break sitting down.

Soon we were one our way, heading back up the Bellevue Loop Trail.

Bellevue Loop Trail Soybeans

Autumn Colors

Although not yet offically autumn the day of this ride, cornstalks had turned brown and some of the soybean plants were a pretty shade of yellow, as seen in this picture Vicky took. As usual, our bike rides are a combination of riding, enjoying the outdoors, and photography, followed eventually with a posting as a memory of our rides together.

We kept our eyes open for wildlife, and although two large hawks flew over us multiple times (perhaps considering whether or not we were edible), we did not see as much wildlife as we hope to see.

The balance of our ride was pleasant but uneventful, and eventually we reached the beginning of the trail near Haworth Park. That’s in Bellevue Nebraska, not too far south of Omaha.

Missouri River Haworth Park After Riding Bellevue Loop

At Haworth Park

After completing our ride we were not ready to head for home yet, and bicycled to this nice picnic location at Haworth Park. We admired the river, watched the boats, and were more than pleased to see another older couple ridng their bikes through the park, the man had a basket on the front of his bicycle, and in this basket was a small dog, obviously enjoying the ride.

Overall, except for a few moments, this was a nice ride, with a total distance of 12 miles. This twelve mile ride was significantly longer than our previous ride of 3 1/2 miles on the Walnut Creek Lake Trail, yet it was a much easier and less tiring ride, simply because of the level terrain.

Length of this bike ride: 12 Miles

Total miles biked together in 2008: 134.78 Miles

Date of this ride: September 21, 2008

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