Riding With Regret 300-word flash

Annie enjoyed cycling.

Riding With Regret

Annie was ready to enjoy the sun . Her favorite way to do that was riding her bicycle. No electric bikes for her!
“My good old two-wheeler, complete with bulb horn and people-power is enough.”
She was safety conscious for the most part. A bright helmet, elbow, knees and shin pads. But she always wore a thong type shoe , mostly because she hated sweaty feet.

She took off, prepared to spend hours riding through her community. Unable to stop grinning at the world, she missed a few frowns from people who noticed her footwear.
Annie liked to pedal up hills to vary her ride. Her favorite hill was difficult.
“It’s challenging, but without challenge, what is the use of exercise?” She was huffing and puffing on the uphill, but in spite of the effort was enjoying it.
As she began downhill, the toe of her flipflop ended up getting caught in her back wheel ! She frantically tried to clear it. The bicycle stopped abruptly, throwing her over the handlebars.

She lay flat on her face on the gravel shoulder, trying to get her breath back and check herself for injuries. She heard another bicycle stop behind her.
“I saw you go down, are you okay?” a male voice asked.
“Not sure.”
“What happened?”
“I got my flipflop caught in the wheel.”
“Do you want me to call someone?”
“No, but I’d appreciate if you would help me up.”
The young man was about her age and cute. He helped her onto the sidewalk.

” Thanks for stopping, uhm….”
“Brian.”
“I’m Anne”
“Thanks again,” she said cautiously
She called home and her dad came to pick her up. He scolded her about wearing flimsy shoes while riding. She listened in silence.
She told her bestie later, “No more flipflops!”