The temperature outside was nice and cool, the air was almost completely still...perfect weather for mountain biking! I was nearing the halfway point in my ride...about 6-miles out from where I had parked, when I decided to take a little different route than I had originally intended. I ride alone most of the time, and when I ride alone, I limit the amount of chances that I take...for obvious reasons. My split second decision to go left rather than right, would not take me to an area that I consider dangerous...unfamiliar would be a better way to describe it. I suppose however, in the sport of mountain biking, unfamiliarity can lead to some degree of danger...kind of like choosing the Red pill or the Blue pill. Lesson learned.
My choice to go left had resulted in a very challenging, technical climb through loose rocky terrain...nothing too different than anything I have encountered during my years of riding mountain bikes. With my lungs searing and my legs running on empty, I crested the short climb and found myself looking down at a challenging, rocky downhill section...one which I had never attempted before.
One of the rules of mountain biking is to maintain speed. What I mean by that is if you slow down too much, balance becomes a factor as does stuffing your front tire into a rock, and going for a tumble. So...while many have heard the phrase "speed kills"...in the mountain biking world, speed saves. I'll be honest with you all...it can be a little daunting carrying the appropriate amount of speed to prevent the dreaded 'front wheel stuff' when you are heading down steep, rocky, loose, and unfamiliar territory.
Another well known rule of the sport is too look ahead. It sure sounds simple...I know. Lifting your eyes and looking ahead however, is one of the most difficult tasks on a mountain bike. It is very easy, and common, for a rider's vision to become focused on the ground just inches in front of the tire. Short-sighted vision often causes the rider to look too long at a particular object...like a rock or cactus. Looking too long at something usually results in a crash...into that particular object! So...riders who are able to lift their field of vision often crash less, and ride faster.
So anyway...I crested the hill and was met with a very challenging descent. One which would require me to maintain speed,but not too fast...while going slow, but not too slow. Sounds fun huh? I stopped atop the hill and quickly sized up my challenge, picking out the line that I thought would get me down with the least potential for crashing. The bottom however, was out of sight. The trail turned left after about 50-feet, which meant that I would have to perform another size-up...on the fly.
I began pedaling, dropping into the descent and grabbing the line I had picked out moments before. I pushed on the handlebars as I slid my rear end off the back end of the saddle, keeping my weight shifted toward the rear of the bike so the front wheel could 'float' over the terrain. My line was working out great, and I was able to stay off the brakes and keep my speed up...all was going well. I neared the apex of the turn where the trail bent to the left, and quickly picked my next line. Again I was able to pick up some speed and avoid stuffing the front wheel. As I neared the bottom, I realized that my line was going to take me directly into an area that was full of thick, loose granite, followed by a quick right turn...not what I had anticipated.
My eyes opened wide...a reflexive action that is part of the sympathetic nervous system...the fight-or-flight response. My brain was taking in as much information as possible, while conscious and subconscious thoughts began to direct my actions...all of which was happening over a period of one or two seconds. The human body is amazing! In an instant I knew that I was in trouble. If I grabbed the brakes too hard, I would end up going over the handlebars onto the rocks. If I modulated the brakes, I could slow the bike too much, and stuff my front wheel into a rock, which would also result in a quick trip over the handlebars. If I maintained my speed, I would enter the mini 'gravel pit' too fast, which would most certainly cause my wheel to turn sharply to the left or right...again I was going over the handlebars...in this case however, I would at least land in gravel rather than solid rock.
The choice was made...keep up the speed and do my best to not let the front wheel wash-out in the thick stuff. Seconds later, I felt a tremendous amount of pain in my left thigh as my wheel was forcefully turned to the left, by the thick, loose granite. As my wheel turned left, my body kept going forward...something about a body in motion stays in motion...inertia...kinetic energy...blah, blah, blah. That Newton was one smart guy! What that law states is that a body (me) in motion (riding my bike) will stay in motion unless acted upon by another force...which in this case was the handlebars of my bike, and of course...the ground.
You see, as my wheel was turned 90-degrees to the left, so too were my handlebars, thus placing the left end of my handlebars in close proximity to my left thigh...wonderful. As Newton's law unfolded, my thigh made contact with the end of the bar, as my bike made contact with the ground...while I was still moving forward, exerting a large amount of directed energy right into my thigh. Yep, it was painful...and to make matters worse, I would have to ride another 6-miles back to the car. Fortunately, I had bar end-plugs on my handlebars, or I would have taken a rather large, deep tissue sample from my thigh!
 |
| This is gonna be ugly tomorrow! |
Please understand that I am not complaining...just sharing :) That's mountain biking!
Until next time....
No comments:
Post a Comment