Evan Sarah Epstein

Nicole and I met while in graduate school at WSU.  In addition to having many of the commonalities necessary to be roommates, she and I found one another to be good riding partners.  In the years since, we have gone on many fantastic rides and this ride was shaping up to be another one… that is, until her knee started to revolt against her.

We were taking a leisurely ride along the Sammamish River Trail, with plans to stop at Marymoor Park in Redmond for a snack.  About three miles from said snack destination, Nicole’s knee started to give out.  We judiciously decided to take a quick stop, evaluate the knee and then keep going.  All was well.  We ate our snack, got back on our bikes, and started to make our way back to Seattle.

Four miles later we were on the side of the trail again.

This time we realized the pain wasn’t going to go away and we would have to take it really easy all the way back home, with frequent stops to rest.

The slow pace and our need to keep Nicole’s mind off of her throbbing knee, did bring about some fun reminiscing.  Mostly about previous rides where something went wrong – like the time we were 15 miles from finishing STP: it was really hot out, her feet had swollen and were causing her a great deal of pain and she broke down – absolutely certain that permanent damage was being done.  I, being such a wonderful friend (and also a wee bit tired and dehydrated) started to laugh uncontrollably.  The kind of laugh you get in elementary school during math and you just can’t stop.  Nicole, partly realizing the ridiculousness of the situation, turned to me and started laughing – still confused at my reaction.  In the end, it helped take the focus off her feet and my exhaustion.

While her knee actually started to feel better by the time we were finishing up our ride, Nicole is still going to have a doc check it out.  I really and truly hope it’s nothing serious, not only because I don’t like to see a friend in pain, but because I don’t want to lose my riding buddy just as the weather is finally taking a turn for the better!

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