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Stacked
Yesterday I crashed my bike. I nosed in really hard on a fifteen foot gap jump before sliding off the trail and into a tree. Fortunately I was wearing my full face helmet and hydration pack — I’m sure those two pieces of gear provided some protection against a more serious injury.
My bike made it through the crash without too much damage and I was able to walk off the mountain with the help of a friend (who took care of my bike on the way down). I did take a precautionary trip to the emergency room at our local hospital to have x-rays taken and the verdict was a good one — a sprained neck and sore muscles all around but no broken bones. Given the speed at which I smacked the tree (I would guess it was about 20-25km/h) and how exposed my body was during the fall, today I count myself as a particularly lucky duck.
So what happened? The crash occurred on a trail I helped build and have ridden about 50 times this year alone, so familiarity wasn’t an issue. As many of you might recall, I have a new fork for my bike and that surely played a role in the crash (I need to turn up the high speed compression).
Regardless, I blame myself for my injury. I’m an experienced rider and I should have taken a pass on the jump or the trail in its entirety, especially since I was running a new piece of equipment and because I was a little fatigued from recent rides.
So this message is a warning to all of you riders out there: anyone can crash at any time and you need to be prepared when you’re out in the hills. When you do crash, you need to keep your wits about you and understand the implications of walking out or waiting for the local Search and Rescue unit. And it’s always a good idea to have friends to ride with.
As for me, I’m going to take it easy for a few days, let the swelling go down, and have my stiff neck checked out again by a medical professional during the coming week. I’ll be back on the bike as soon as possible, but I won’t be pushing it for a while. I’ll be as active as possible with this site, but my focus is going to be on getting healthy again.
1. Posted by From the ashes » The Biking Hub | 10:58 pm, 28 November 2005
[…] As many of you know, I crashed a couple of weeks ago. I’m still dealing with some of the side effects of the bail — my neck is sore, one of my shoulders has a low-grade separation, and my confidence has taken a bit of a beating — but I’m able to perform regular tasks without a tonne of discomfort. […]