Not a Good Time to Fight Physics

herzalot said:
Yesterday, clipped. Today, flats. Pedals had zero to do with this, other than I may have gotten more injured if clipped in.
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Oh I don’t think pedals cause crashes but as you alluded to, I’m personally convinced that flats have saved me from potential injury on several occasions. I like how I can eject/get away from the bike when I feel things going bad....which doesn’t always happen but ever since getting REALLY hurt in 2014, it’s a spidey sense I’ve developed. Since that episode, my bike has crashed many times more than my body has.
 
Glad to hear it wasn’t worse, and great that the ER wasn’t involved. What’s your line again? “Sending healing vibes, mojo, kismet, yahtzee, and anything else that will help with the soreness”! -All going your direction. Go a little easy for a bit
 
scan said:
... Think the new bike had anything to do with it?
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I don't think so. I've got a dozen solid rides on the Meg. I am pretty familiar with it, and I am not riding with that "new bike" fury that often fuels the first few rides. But I suppose there may be some nuances that I am not yet familiar with, but this was pretty routine. And, I don't think the tire slid out, I think I just got too close to the top of the berm and went over.

Blessings counted... :thumbsup:
 
SnakeCharmer said:
Herz, let's see the bumps and bruises. Share some pics!
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Bruises are all internal except a swollen hand and scrape on my elbow. I was wearing knee pads and elbow/forearm guards.

Here's my swollen hand for your amusement:
Hand 3-29-20.JPG
 
Doctor’s orders: no bass guitar for eight weeks! Hands and ribs take the longest to mend, so you better summon some patience, brother herz. You know the drill...

@scan asked if it was the bike. Of course it was the damn bike!!! When you buy a superbike one of your first duties is to make sure your abilities are not limited by it. :cool:
 
Hea
herzalot said:
I always say "It's not a matter of "if," it's a matter of "when" and "how bad."

Today was the latest "when" for me, and the how bad was pretty bad, and just short of medical intervention.

Doing a repeat of last Sunday's ride in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. Up Willow, Missing Link, Fenceline, Lizard, Up Laurel Spur, down BVD, up Emerald Canyon and down T and A. All was going according to plan until the last left hand berm on the new section of T and A. Front wheel over the back of the berm, slam onto left side of body - hard. At first I just said "Oh no no no no no... Please not a broken collarbone or dislocated shoulder." Tried to move my arm. It cooperated. Assessing other parts that were hit - hand - hurts but not broken. Arm - same. But that shoulder - ouch! Buried my face into the turf a little too, but nothing but a small scratch. No concussion.

Seriously bruised ribs around my left shoulder I guess. The back of my shoulder hurts when I take a deep breath. I think I got lucky. This was very similar to the crash I had in 2014 that knocked me out, dislocated my shoulder and re-arranged my face.

This is looking up the trail. Innocuous, but coming into the berm off a little steep section and I just lost the front wheel looking ahead to the next turn. The little branch you can see shows where my bike went.

View attachment 63156

As we all know, this would be a HORRIBLE time to need medical intervention. I will use this as my wake up call to lay low. I don't think I will have a choice, as ribs tend to take a month to heal. I will consider myself lucky.

Oh - and the bike's fine. Didn't even have to adjust the handlebars. :thumbsup:
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healing vibes :thumbsup:, hope you get better soon. Indeed good that it did not lead to an ER visit. I’d double check everything though. When i had my crash, i thought i was just bruised up but after weeks i realized i had actually broken my elbow :thumbsdown::unsure:​
 
SingleTrackJB said:
Hea

healing vibes :thumbsup:, hope you get better soon. Indeed good that it did not lead to an ER visit. I’d double check everything though. When i had my crash, i thought i was just bruised up but after weeks i realized i had actually broken my elbow :thumbsdown::unsure:​
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Well that sucks!

So far I am pretty sure I didn't break anything. There's no malfunctioning or sharp, burning pain like you get with a fracture. I will keep my fingers crossed that there is no soft tissue damage in the shoulder itself.

Thanks for the outpouring of support. 'tis but a scratch!
 
mtbMike said:
Oh I don’t think pedals cause crashes but as you alluded to, I’m personally convinced that flats have saved me from potential injury on several occasions. I like how I can eject/get away from the bike when I feel things going bad....which doesn’t always happen but ever since getting REALLY hurt in 2014, it’s a spidey sense I’ve developed. Since that episode, my bike has crashed many times more than my body has.
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You can still have spidey sense being clipped in. Personally I think most people who were clipped in and went to flats were in to tight, my clips are set to release really easy, gotta be aware of your feet, and after awhile my brain programed my feet to stay in and quiet, until that emergency when it does arise! Not trying to talk anyone back into clips, it’s just not really been a problem for me, and I don’t think flats would make me a better rider, I also don’t want to put in the time.
 
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hill^billy said:
You can still have spidey sense being clipped in. Personally I think most people who were clipped in and went to flats were in to tight, my clips are set to release really easy, gotta be aware of your feet, and after awhile my brain programed my feet to stay in and quiet, until that emergency when it does arise! Not trying to talk anyone back into clips, it’s just not really been a problem for me, and I don’t think flats would make me a better rider, I also don’t want to put in the time.
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I have no problems getting clipped out. I run my clips tight. I've been riding in "bindings" for nearly 30 years. That said, riding flats is making me a better rider. I am not saying I need to stay on flats, I am saying I have had to be very conscious of my weight distribution and foot placement and use physics to lift my bike rather than just tugging up with my feet.

My motivation for riding on flats was riding Joplin. My prior experience on the trail there were many times when I just didn't want to clip in due to the uncertainty of the trail conditions, but without clipping in, I had zero effective place to put my foot. Changing to a skate-style 5.10 clip-in shoe definitely helped give me some unclipped purchase when needed, but still not like riding with flats. When I did Joplin (using flats) a couple of weeks ago, I was very happy with the choice to do so.

By the way, if your clips are set to release really easy, I hope you don't twist your foot a little while smoking through a rock garden or throwing a little style while jumping. Any slight twist of the foot can give you an unwanted release that would be - ugly. I know you are a fantastic rider, so this is not a problem for you. I have come out of my clips at inopportune times when they were set a little too light for my dainty self - including both of the situations I just mentioned. That's why I actually prefer the HT pedal's retention over Shimano - they can be set much tighter.

I am just really enjoying the two different styles of riding offered by two types of interface. The last two weeks, I rode in clips on Saturday and flats on Sunday. :thumbsup:

And now - back to feeling sorry for me for my crash. :whistling: :oops:
 
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How’s the paw, Chris? I hope you give it the time it needs. Quick recoveries are great but complete is better! :)

I ask because my buddy reminded me. He dislocated his hand three months ago. No broken bones but soft tissue carnage, four rods and a lot of down time. He is still getting out of the weeds, one of the tuffest MFs I know.

Stay sane, heal strong. :thumbsup:
 
mike said:
How’s the paw, Chris? I hope you give it the time it needs. Quick recoveries are great but complete is better! :)

I ask because my buddy reminded me. He dislocated his hand three months ago. No broken bones but soft tissue carnage, four rods and a lot of down time. He is still getting out of the weeds, one of the tuffest MFs I know.

Stay sane, heal strong. :thumbsup:
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Thanks for asking. My physical therapist brother in law believes it is a cracked/broken rib high on my rib cage. That sounds about right based on symptoms, and matches the mechanics of the crash. Frankly, it's more uncomfortable today than it has been since the moment I spit out the dirt. Not sure what that's all about. The other scrapes and bruises are fine, including my paw.

Looks like it's gonna rain/snow for the first three days of my spring break week - which would have been really frustrating if I were physically able to ride. Just gonna lay low and keep getting stuff done. Believe it or not, I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on for work.
 
herzalot said:
Thanks for asking. My physical therapist brother in law believes it is a cracked/broken rib high on my rib cage. That sounds about right based on symptoms, and matches the mechanics of the crash. Frankly, it's more uncomfortable today than it has been since the moment I spit out the dirt. Not sure what that's all about. The other scrapes and bruises are fine, including my paw.

Looks like it's gonna rain/snow for the first three days of my spring break week - which would have been really frustrating if I were physically able to ride. Just gonna lay low and keep getting stuff done. Believe it or not, I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on for work.
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Sounding "good" to me. Meaning, like a normal rib injury that you can't do anything about anyway. Glad to hear the hand is coming along well. Sounds like it's just a matter of time now, familiar terrain no doubt. Eh, rain helps lots of things. Enjoy the great indoors. :thumbsup:
 
herzalot said:
Thanks for asking. My physical therapist brother in law believes it is a cracked/broken rib high on my rib cage. That sounds about right based on symptoms, and matches the mechanics of the crash. Frankly, it's more uncomfortable today than it has been since the moment I spit out the dirt. Not sure what that's all about. The other scrapes and bruises are fine, including my paw.

Looks like it's gonna rain/snow for the first three days of my spring break week - which would have been really frustrating if I were physically able to ride. Just gonna lay low and keep getting stuff done. Believe it or not, I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on for work.
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Bummer about the rib, heal up soon
 
herzalot said:
Thanks for asking. My physical therapist brother in law believes it is a cracked/broken rib high on my rib cage. That sounds about right based on symptoms, and matches the mechanics of the crash. Frankly, it's more uncomfortable today than it has been since the moment I spit out the dirt. Not sure what that's all about. The other scrapes and bruises are fine, including my paw.

Looks like it's gonna rain/snow for the first three days of my spring break week - which would have been really frustrating if I were physically able to ride. Just gonna lay low and keep getting stuff done. Believe it or not, I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on for work.
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Rib injuries....SUCK!!!!!!

My tumble at the Wrightwood Social the year before last kept me mostly off the bike for several weeks.

Heal up.
 
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