Jordan still blogs ... sometimes

Hi, Internet friends.
This is Jordan. I've been, um, busy, shall we say and not doing a lot of blogging, or even reading blogs so much lately. So, I guess I wouldn't do so well on a quiz of what is going on in the lives of many of my friends and families. I could, however, tell you plenty about promissory estoppel and supplemental jurisdiction (want my hint on that one, just save yourself lots of trouble and only get involved in litigation in state courts).

So, I do have a few interesting things to share. I have been riding my bike to class most days, and I think I have ridden enough to save more than $40 in gas so far this semester! Hooray. I have also gotten in better shape and lately been able to listen to general conference on my ride, which makes the whole day better. Anyway, I originally wanted this post to be about my new bike mirror, which Crystal says makes me look like a nerd, and which helps me see the cars coming up behind me.

Anyway, I can't show you a picture of my mirror now, because it died today... Only two days after it came in the mail! This is what happened...

Crystal, Megan and I went to Ohio State's football game against Minnesota (they won) (also, if you're wondering, David didn't go because he sprained his ankle really bad and is on crutches right now ... poor guy) and we rode our bikes because it beat traffic and it was really fun. Also, there are a group of volunteers who run a bike corral parking service at the games, so we got to park our bikes in an enclosed, guarded area for free. That was great.

Anyway, after we left the game, we were riding home and I was having a good time riding along, so I decided to have some fun by riding up on the hill beside the bike path and then dropping off an 18-inch landscaping wall for fun just because I have a cool mountain bike and I can. So, I said "Hey girls, watch this," and went for it.

As my front tire went off the drop-off, all of a sudden I felt like I got punched in the face. I stopped quickly and tried to gather what had happened. The first thing I knew was that I had been hit in the face and I had no idea how. Also, I put my hand to my face and found I was smeared with some sort of petroleum jelly. I looked back at the place I'd dropped off and didn't see anything. Then, much to my chagrin, I noticed my new, special mirror was no longer attached to my helmet. Megan found the little arm of the mirror, but the mirror itself was lost. I was still completely confused as to what hit me.

I wondered if it was some sort of Vaseline container that had flipped up off my tire, but I couldn't find anything. Then, Megan found a huge clue which broke our case wide open. She found a footlong, 3-pound spring lying in the grass and leaves alongside the trail. After I saw that spring, and saw that it was covered in some sort of petroleum goo, we figured out what had happened.
As I dropped off that ledge, the spring in the front fork shock of my bike shot out of its casing, going straight up and hitting me in the face. Along with the goo on my face, I was bleeding in a couple places, too, as it hit me in the chin and the left cheek. My cheek almost immediately began swelling up will probably leave a mark for some time.

When I got back to my bike, I realized just how much the shocks make a difference, as every bump was very hard, and it felt like was always riding downhill, having to lean way forward to rest on the handlebars. Since I'm pretty sure bike shocks aren't supposed to explode and hit you in the face, I sent Specialized an e-mail to see if it is under warranty or whatnot, so I hope they get back to me soon. In the meantime, I guess, I'll be riding the bus to school.

Now that you've listened to my story, I'll show you some pictures.
Here is me and the spring, and then a closeup of my almost tennis ball-sized lump on my face.


Now, here is a picture of the Ohio State game we went to (the stadium is huge!)




And, finally, a picture of world's cutest college football fan. (We root for the Buckeyes out of courtesy, but we're still Cougars!)