Falling Off!

[Splatter Paint]

Just before Mountain Mayhem 2012…. Jumping in the woods and then I ran out of talent

 

[novocaine]

More holes in me because doing stupid things on bikes than I care to mention

 

[Lhatch4]

There is a rather technical single track just west of Denver Colorado, in Morrison, called Dakota Ridge. There are probably some member of the group who are familiar with it. That is the location of my closest, close-calls. In 1999 it was the main trail that I would ride on my old GT Tempest. There are some very steep drops that I probably had no business trying to ride down. I eventually was able to do it. There were a few times that my old Answer Manitou Pro fork would hit the bottom of the drop first, bounce like a pogo-stick, and launch me over the handlebars. Then as I go tumbling down the trail, my bike would come bouncing over the top of me. I can clearly remember a couple of times laying there with the wind knocked out of me and taking a few moments to figure out if I had broken anything. I was fortunate. Now 24 years later, the thought of it makes my joints hurt.

 

[vtwinvince]

It wasn't the dirt that got, or even a serious road ride, it was on the commute to work, hit black ice in a corner, multiple injuries including broken tib\fib above ankle, broken ribs, blown right knee, back injuries and serious nerve damage in my right foot. But I'm still in the saddle.

 

[dyna-ti]

Myself and a mate polished off a bottle of vodka in about an hour then I rode home.

It didn't end well. Rode straight into a traffic island and went otb.

Thankfully I landed on my head, but ended up with whiplash which stayed with me for a number of years.

Life lesson learned there. If you intend to tan 1/2ltr of vodka before riding your bike, avoid traffic islands

 

[Lhatch4]

Then there was the time, probably 2001 or 2002, when I was riding my Trek 930 with a RS Indy-C along the top of Provo Canyon in Utah. A small section of the narrow single track had washed out on the edge of the cliff. I didn't have time to stop. I slid down the side of the canyon for about 20-25 feet before hitting a small sapling and stopping. Unfortunately my bike continued to fall about another 10 feet. I held tightly to that little sapling and began to ponder life's mysteries. For example, I wondered "how the f**k did I get here?", and "Am I really this stupid?" After realizing that I was only a bit bloody but not broken, I figured out a way to get to my bike. I managed to get the top tube over my shoulder and scale back up the side of the cliff to the trail. At the bottom of the canyon there was some road construction on the highway. Several of the construction workers decided to take time from their busy work-life to stop and watch. I'm sure they had a good show.

 

[dyna-ti]

Then there was the time, probably 2001 or 2002, when I was riding my Trek 930 with a RS Indy-C along the top of Provo Canyon in Utah. A small section of the narrow single track had washed out on the edge of the cliff. I didn't have time to stop. I slid down the side of the canyon for about 20-25 feet before hitting a small sapling and stopping. Unfortunately my bike continued to fall about another 10 feet. I held tightly to that little sapling and began to ponder life's mysteries. For example, I wondered "how the f**k did I get here?", and "Am I really this stupid?" After realizing that I was only a bit bloody but not broken, I figured out a way to get to my bike. I managed to get the top tube over my shoulder and scale back up the side of the cliff to the trail. At the bottom of the canyon there was some road construction on the highway. Several of the construction workers decided to take time from their busy work-life to stop and watch. I'm sure they had a good show.

Theres also the Portal in Utah. Meant to be rather precarious.

Nowt like this though.Forward to 7 mins in.

 

[Frankenorange]

Worst crash for me was from ploughing into a rollerblader who went onto a cyclepath, in front of a mate, many years ago. We were caning it and when my mate shouted and skidded out to the right i suddenly got a brief look at the victim before the hit.
Rollerblader went down and i went into a cartwheel with the bike(toe clips done up tight) and things didn't go well. Broke the frame(cracked headtube), taco'd a wheel, injured my spine from landing on my shoulders, got a mild concussion, and my metal watch strap cut into my left wrist.
My two friends bent the wheel back into round-ish and the same with a mudguard. I was pretty out of it, but they got me back on the bike and rode either side of me to keep me upright. This was pre helmet days so it could have been worse.
Two lessons learnt. One was dont ride like a tw@t on a cyclepath and dont wear metal watch straps. They cut wrists badly.

 

[Tootyred]

1990. Following a mate too close going into a quarry hole. He stacked it, i tried to get out of the gulley we were riding down in to avoid hitting him, didn't make it, ripped the rear mech off my bike on the edge and bent the dropout, before chucking myself over the bars.....landed on my mate, on top on my bike knee first!

The frame still has the dent in the downtube and a set of very odd suntour dropouts in a marin frame as a result......Bent his Fuquay front wheel, long walk back to the car and nearly died laughing about it for the best part of 35 years.

Injury wise...punctured him with a pedal and chainring (sorry) and multiple bruises all round.

We also managed to tangle 2 pairs of drop bars together in city traffic, after crashing into each other at a busy junction....as we both thought we were turning the opposite way....

 

[Tootyred]

Seems a bit dull these days...but i don't bounce so well!