Crashing is fun

When we code we should be catching specific errors. Non-specific errors that you don't anticipate should be recorded in logs and hopefully researched. In theory, eventually you'll catch every error, right?

Today I was cycling along the Custis trail in Arlington, Virginia going around 22-23 miles an hour. Two cyclists were ahead of me and going much, much slower. As I came up to them I called out 'on your left' because on Virginia trails you always pass in the left lane. One of the cyclists then turned into the left lane. The other cyclist stayed in their lane.

Crap.

I hit my brakes but knew I couldn't slow down in time. On the left was a concrete sound barrier. On the right was a ditch several feet deep. So I went to the right. As my front wheel went off the path I unclipped my shoes and leapt off into the air. I'm not sure how fast I was going at that point so I'll say 18 miles an hour.

For decades I've practiced tumbling and falling down on various surfaces. The concept is that you'll get thrown, tripped, swept, or simply stumble and preparing for it is like catching the exception that is your own body when you lose control of your center of balance.

So when it came time for me to fall about 6 feet at about 18 miles an hour I was prepared. What could have been painful ended up being an awesome bit of fun that shocked the hell out of some other cyclists behind me. I rolled out of the fall and jumped up laughing.

My exception handling worked!

26 more posts to go!