Why gravity sucks (or pulls?)

Isaac Newton was right all along. Drop something, and it will be caught up by the earth's gravitational pull and plummet to the earth below. It is inevitable. So why do I think that I can ride off the side of a massive wooden teeter-totter on a bicycle and avoid the consequences induced by gravity? Twice!!! One word: pride. Kristy did it, so why can't I? I have been riding longer. I have done stuff like this before. Should be easy. Wrong. Lack of speed mixed with inability to ride in a straight line spells falling four to five feet onto the unforgiving Oklahoma ground. The first time wasn't too bad. Brief lack of wind, dirt on face, no biggy. I even hopped right back on and tried it again. I succeeded! I tried it again and succeeded again. Score: me-2, teeter-1. I win. However, after riding the cross-country trail and second time Rachel suggests we get video footage of the girls triumphantly conquering the double-teeter. Crap. Rachel does it- my turn. I pedal-pedal-pedal, ride up, wait for it to go down, lose speed, plummet to the ground... again. This time everyone is watching and the video camera is rolling. Convenient. Now anyone who wants to can watch me fall off a teeter totter while uttering a rather uncharacteristic choice word (which according to Andy rhymes with "shoot"). This time I have no oxygen left in my lungs and I lay on the ground grunting until my lungs can reinflate. My legs are bruised and battered, my shoulder is throbbing, my left forearm looks like someone threw a handful of glass shards at it, and my pride is no longer in the same zip code. Score: me-2, teeter- 2.

-Ang