Getting Hurt Again

This seems to be one of my frequent topics in this blog.  I've heard it said that "Mountain Bikers don't sue, they take pictures" and that is the truth.  While I think road biking is more dangerous than mountain biking, there is no mistaking that you can get hurt on a mountain bike.  With a road bike, one fall can kill you (as can that semi, joy riding pick-up truck or that texting teen) or at least give you lots of broken bones and severe road rash.  I like to say that at least on a mountain bike I can see the trees coming and the ground is softer.  But the nature of mountain biking is that at some point you are going to get scraped, scratched or bruised, but rarely unless you choose to do something crazy you won't brake any bones or get killed.

Which brings us to "choosing" to something crazy, or in my case not listening to the "promptings" I was receiving.  I have been on a mountain bike high for the last four weeks.  It started with a great ride at the CPR.  Then came Moab where I road some crazy fun trails that were all rock with drops, steps, and trails very close to the edge.  Then we came back and road the three hardest trails in Mac Forest in one loop at night (The Plunge, New Groove and South Side Slip) all with only a small scrape on my arm (CPR) and my knee (Slickrock). Then came Black Rock last Saturday.

I love the Bonzi Downhill (green run) at BR.  It has such great flow and BR crew has worked on it so much to really get it dialed in.  It is such a blessing to have it so close and I have played on it many times.  Last Saturday four of us visited BR in the morning and after riding my longest skinny in the Practice Area we climbed to the top of the mountain and road the first (of four) section of Bonzi twice, then we did the 2nd section.  The 2nd section has two table top drops near the end and because I was on my Epic, I skipped  these two drops. My Epic just doesn't have enough suspension for those kind of drops.  BR is better suited for my Stumpy. We then climbed to the top again and headed down sections 1 and 2 again.  This time when I approached the first table top in section two (having no plan to ride it) at the last moment I swung into the entrance, but by then I wasn't carrying enough speed and I didn't pedal hard enough.  So instead of flying out, I nosed dived off.  I landed perpendicular and went over the handles bars and due to the steep landing hit my shoulder so hard it broke my left collar bone in three places.

This is the second time I have broke this collar bone.  Breaking a bone is like getting the wind knocked out of you, but you can still breath. The pain isn't sharp, but so intense you can't get on top of it so it makes you feel like you can't breath.  What did sting was the scrape on my knee and elbow.  They really burned and bled.  After getting my legs under me, I checked the bike which was okay, so I unzipped my jersey and stuck my arm in it like a sling. We walked down to the road and the start of section 3 and then I road out with one hand. We then packed up the bikes, hit the Bread Board for cinnamon roles in Falls City before heading to Urgent Care.

I was so glad that Dave, Todd and Lee where there with me.  When you crash, the first thing you want to do is jump up like nothing is wrong.  Having friends ride with you, makes sure there is someone else with a clearer head to assess things when you won't.

So what did I learn? Accidents do happen, but following the "red flag" warnings in your head (the Spirit) is always better and will help you avoid getting hurt.  That split second indecision is now going to cost me 6 to 8 weeks of riding and a titanium plate on my collar bone.  I have also learned that surgery is worse than the break but it is the only way to get better. What I didn't expect to learn? That pain pills cause constipation (the secret warm prune juice).

6/9/13 Update - back on the bike since last Friday, but only on pavement, any vibration can loosen the screws.

CPR 2013

Black Rock 2013

Moab and Black Rock - always the same spot

I didn't even know

Sometimes the cure is worse...

One nice plate and 8 fun screws

BPE III and the Beaver Freezer 2013

It is that time of year when things are starting to bloom, things are warming up, but the rain is coming down and the trails are getting really soft (and muddy).  It is also the time that the "events" start like the Freezer, Mudslinger, CPR, TOE, C2C, etc.  As part of a group that rides year round, we also have a few of our own events like the Best Plan Ever series of rides.  The BPE as it is know, is a quarterly event that can consist of anything as long as riding is included and most of the time is a surprise.  For example, take the latest BPE (III) event.

BPE
It started with the owner of the "BPE Card" let us know that we were to meet at my house at 10:00 p.m. Friday night (in March) and be ready for an all night adventure.  Then we drove to Newport on the coast and down the coast to Cape Perpetua (below Waldport) where we met some additional guides and then we went on one of my most favorite night rides of all time.

We climbed and climbed in clear skies (and 25 degrees) to the top of Cape Perpetua. After enjoying the view of the stars we had just a tremendous technical descent which ended getting back to the car at 3:00 a.m. and home at 5:00 a.m.

Beaver Freezer 2013

The next event was the Beaver Freezer in April which is a "sprint" triathlon that includes a mountain bike division (the only one I have found).  This is a well run very fun event that I would recommend it to anyone.  The swimming is short and indoors, the bike course is flat and the run is three laps around the quad.  I finished 17th for the the men in 2012 and 10th in 2013.

Mudslinger

While I did the Freezer, the next day several of the "old men" did the 2013 Mudslinger which is 30+ miles and around 6000 feet of climb.

Road Trips - Moab

It all started after a nice long Saturday morning ride as a bunch of us sat around drinking hot chocolates in the Adair Village coffee shop when someone said we needed to do a road trip to Moab. And that's all it took.  About 90 days later there were 7 of us in a rented 2013 Suburban loaded with 10 bikes.  We left at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday and drove all night and arrived in Moab to our condo at 7:00 a.m. local time (just over 1,000 miles).  That morning we road Slickrock and then that afternoon we did some trails at the Bar-M.

On Friday we got shuttled up to the top of Koppopoli and road down 22 miles including Porcupine Ridge to the Moab city limits.  We hit up Rim, Hot Pepper and Poison Spyder Cycles. Then on Saturday we road the Amesa and the new Captain Ahab (my favorite) and then in afternoon we went out to Bar-M again and road some additional trails including Bee Sting.

After a second great BBQ at the condo we packed up the rig and headed out at 11:00 p.m. and arrived back into Corvallis about 3:30 p.m.  It was a perfect trip with no egos or issues, other than some mechanical issues with some of the bikes.

Moab lived up to its name.  The riding was incredible and way different that what we ride in the valley.  The town itself is fun, everywhere you look you see dirt bikes, crawlers, 4-wheel drives, and $4,000 bikes everywhere. It is nice to see a community that embraces these kind of extreme sports and that all the different sports work together.

Tips for a good road trip:
1. Have a rig with enough room
2. Have a nice place to sleep (the BBQ, Hot Tub and Pool were worth it)
3. Pick some place you haven't been
4. Make sure everyone knows each others riding ability
5. Be flexible - sit in the back, the middle or take a turn driving
6. Warn before you "break the barrier"
7. Leave the egos at home
8. Make sure someone knows how to do bike repair
9. Share in the clean-up, cooking, and buying of food
10. Have fun, you still want to be friends when you get home!