Cursed?

I have this one jersey. I love it. It's long-sleeved, fleecy on the inside and just perfect for days like today. I distinctly remember the last time I wore it. Today was not much different.

After commuting 3.99999 of my 4 miles into work this morning and already escaping the obligatory close call with a car executing a U-turn directly in front of me (there's at least one every day), I was in the alley behind my office building. This is always a game of Frogger with all the delivery trucks, trash trucks and such, but today it was "The Perfect Storm." A near perfect convergence of every imaginable obstacle. There was the Staples truck to my right backing up to my building, the fish delivery truck to my left, the delivery guys all standing around, glass, oil, trash everywhere. The only thing missing was the homeless dude that hangs out smoking crack on his mattress... he's only there after dark. And then enter the most dangerous of them all: the morning car commuter that thinks it's faster to take the shortcut thru the alley rather than stay on L St. These guys go fast, zipping thru the alley at speeds more reasonable for the Beltway.

Here's how the the scenario unfolded. As car commuter was headed directly towards me, I realized I had no escape. Swerve right and find myself on the business end of a Staples delivery truck. Swerve left and wind up in some fish. (Maybe that wound not have been so bad after all. It may have been a soft landing.) Keep going straight and end up on the hood of a white BMW. What did I choose? I don't exactly remember because the next thing I knew I was on the ground. According to witnesses I must have hit the brakes and had my front wheel get stuck in some of the cobbles because I went flying up in the air and came down on my right side. Tuck and roll I guess. Thankfully car commuter slammed on the brakes and narrowly avoided running over my sorry self laying there on the ground. Staples guy got out of his truck and came running over and tried to get my bike off of me. Poor guy didn't realize I was still clipped-in to both pedals and just kept yanking at the bike, twisting my ankles in the process. The fish dudes were laughing too hard to be of any assistance. Car commuter, well he sped along on his merry way. I guess he was late for work. (But seriously, thanks for slowing down and not running me over.)

Mom, Dad, Donna, since you are going to ask... I'm ok. Just a scraped knee and a bit of a bruised ego. And that favorite jersey of mine... I think it's going back in the closet for now. 2 rides, 2 crashes. I don't like the odds.