1st big accident on the Mojo today. We were riding in a new location in PA. The trail surface was pretty sketchy, with lots of loose, broken shale. Kinda like riding on a bunch of broken plates. About 15 minutes into the ride we were headed downhill along a narrow single track. I was in the rear, watching Biskey, Raab, Waldron & Adase cruise through the trail. Pat B was just in front of me, and I watch him flow over a small smooth rock right next to the tree. I figure I was doing 10-12 mph when (as far as I can tell) my right handgrip grazed the tree. The next thing I know I’m whipsawing down the trail, trying to fight back for control. I yelled something obscene, then hit on my right side. I yelled something obscene LOUDER as I slid 10 feet down the trail, until I came to a stop as my head hit the trail.
At this time, I’m pretty freaked out. It’s the hardest I’ve beefed in a long time, possible the hardest hit ever. As I’m trying to get my left foot unclipped, the guys came running back up the trail to check me out. After I do a mental check, I sit up to make sure that I’m ok. Everything seems to be working, and a visual check of the helmet shows no damage or even scratches. Pat give the Mojo a good once-over and exclaims that he can’t understand how it came away without a scratch.
After a few minutes we get back on the trail. I’m still shaking pretty badly from the scare, and can’t get a firm grip with the right hand. At this point, it starts to rain pretty hard, making the trail pretty slippery. I’m sliding all over the place, and have lost all confidence in my ability to ride the bike. I get dizzy when I’m up on the bike, and I end up walking over some really simple stuff. Once we get to a climb, I’ve got no power in my legs at all. I decide to call it a day.
Bob leads me and the rest of the guys back to a road, and I say my goodbyes, and head down the road. Once I get a mile or so down the road, I can feel my knee starting to throb and notice a nice knot starting to appear on the kneecap. The small bit of road riding actually helped sort out my head and I could feel the adrenaline starting to flush out of my system.
I got back to the car and started to wipe myself down to assess the damage. Most of the scrapes were superficial. The worst pain in my right forearm was just a big bruise on the muscle and not on the elbow joint. When I took a look at my hip though, I was surprised to see how big that scrape was. My entire right ass-cheek is glowing bright red.
During the drive home, everything got tight and sore, but nothing that a warm shower, Advil, lunch and a beer can’t put right.
I think I’ll live to fight another day!!
Way to go Greg!! Glad you didn’t break anything but bruised elbow bones are nasty. No damage to the bike is a BIG plus… it adds MUCH more pain when you get up off the ground after a stack and look to your new bike and see it is scratched!! :-0
But no amount of Advil or Beer helps that stinging “sensation” of the water on the graze in the shower and of rolling onto your bum during the night in bed!! OW.
This is when, for consolation, I kid myself… “that Chicks Dig Scars!”….