Pain II

In my past "Pain" post (see March 1, 2009) I talked about how Mountain Bikers are the true pain masters, as riding a mountain bike in the Northwest at least is all about painful workouts known as climbs (no shuttles here). This time I would like to talk about the physical injury side of mountain biking.

"Look at the scenery, become the scenery" has been a true statement lately. I joined Jim "the plumber" by getting "marbled" (like riding on a pool table covered in marbles). Jim lead with his wrist on a night ride on his cross bike, I was done with the ride and was on the flats when the front end washed out and I led with my hip. The resulting bruise covered my hip, ran down the inside of my leg and finished below the back side of my knee. I could still ride, but it made sleeping difficult. A few years back I had to have my left hip drained three times after a similar hard bruise, so I didn't wait this time, and had it drained after a week.

After our Saturday ride this past week, we a few "blackberry bites" which are common during this time of the year and that night the "Mossman" showed me his hip bruise from a crash in Bend.

So why am I talking about all this? I read an article in a mountain bike magazine that summed it up, the article talked about the new bike park the City of Seattle had built under a highway over pass. Their concern was liability, and they said, "It took some getting used to, that mountain bikers when they crash don't sue, but take pictures." That about sums it up, and it is a credit to the type of people who enjoy this kind of "pain." So, here are a few pictures...(now if I could only get some sympathy when I come home looking like this)