In the final days of one of the most painful seasons of his career, Red Sox Manager Bobby Valentine on Tuesday lay entangled with his bicycle at the bottom of a ditch next to the Central Park Reservoir.

On the wet, slippery path, Valentine was reading a text on his phone from Dustin Pedroia, the Red Sox second baseman, and riding his bicycle. When he looked up, he had to swerve to avoid the umbrellas of two French tourists walking in front of him. The bike skidded, and he lost his balance and went careening head over pedals down the side of the hill by the road.

“I shouldn’t have been reading a text while I was riding, ” he said. “That’s the wrong thing to do. But at least I was wearing my helmet.”

Valentine sustained minor injuries to his knees and hips. An avid cyclist, Valentine rides his bicycle to Fenway Park most days and takes it on trips to ride in the afternoons before heading to the ballpark.