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Saturday, August 1, 2009

Crashing Sucks

I raced the ICup today. I had not one, not two, not three, but four bonafide crashes. I sailed over the bars at least twice. Both times I took the blind corners a bit too fast and ended up going off the trail and off the sidehill. I put in an extra 20 feet of vertical climbing back up to the trail. And then I slid out and bounced on the ground once. I can't remember exactly what happened the fourth time, but I'm pretty sure there was a fourth time. It's all a blur.

My right side just healed up from my Solitude crash, which left me with a bent crank, bent chainrings, and a few stitches in my knee. I still cringe as I remember getting launched off my bike when my pedal caught a rock, and then skittering down the trail in my skinsuit. You'd think that this experience would have caused me to check my speed today, but apparently not since I now have to work on getting my left side healed up.

The learning curve in racing mountain bikes is, as I've come to find out, a bit steep. Jonny imparted some words of wisdom as I was washing blood off my left arm. Staring at the scab on my right knee, he said, "dude, maybe you should slow down a bit." I think that's good advice.

4 comments:

  1. I didn't mean to rub salt in the wound with my comment in the staging area. I had one bonafide crash today as well, in addition to a few off-trail experiences. If I could climb like you I wouldn't have to take as many risks on the descents. Great finish, in spite of the crashes.

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  2. For every rider there seems to exist a fine line between riding in control and out of control (out of control only in the sense that no one likes crashing, so to the extent a crash occurs, it seems that control was lost--if only for a moment). That line seems to move and evolve based on terrain, equipment, skills, and fear. Congratulations on finding your line and stepping beyond.

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  3. Well said 'old school'

    Yeah, sto crossin that line, it hurts, not crossing it serves me well, at least in total lack of current injury.

    I think the difference i time in crossing the line is measured in seconds. Except when you crash.

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  4. Hey Jared,

    This doesn't happen to be your missing frame does it?

    http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=7428811&cat=409&lpid=2

    ReplyDelete