Finding new and exciting ways to crash
Tuesday, September 12th, 2006I went over to Lebanon Hills right after work today for a nice 1.5 hour ride to blow some steam on my mountain bike. The ride went fantastically until a half-mile before the end of my last lap. Right after the top of the last big hill, which is about 70 feet tall, it goes into a section where you burn down ~20 mph through the dense woods on a ledge.
I felt really good, having made it all the way up the hill. Unfortunately for me, my left leg had plenty of lactic acid in it. When you go through fast sections downhill, you hug your seat with your thighs for stability and to keep your center of gravity further back. This is what I was doing when my left leg cramped and gave out.
Normally, cramps would just make me stop the bike and stretch, but this was different. I was behind the seat, so WHAM! I fell down behind the back of the bike, hitting my crotch on my wheel that was spinning ~15 mph. Funny enough, my balls acted as brakes (big brakes ;)), and my bike came to a complete stop, allowing me to dismount the back wheel and lean against the nearest tree to catch my breath.
Luckily, years of soccer have made my recovery time < a minute for getting hit in the crotch. It's still a long minute.
September 18th, 2006 at 8:57 am
Maybe it’s time to put the bike away and take up walking…at least until the children are born.
September 18th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
It’s going to be a long time until you hear a baby announcement from me. I bet you’ll hear about a broken collar bone first
September 19th, 2006 at 12:32 am
Don’t make fun with broken collar bones, that is very painfull. There are better things to break
September 19th, 2006 at 7:34 am
Oh. I see we have another graduate of Broken Collar Bone University. I have two degrees from there.
September 19th, 2006 at 9:50 am
Really man, I had it once. I have broken a lot more but the colar bone fractur was the most painfull of them all.
September 22nd, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Children are better…you guys are making my point.
September 23rd, 2006 at 8:30 am
Jury’s still out on children. There are already too many people on the earth.
September 24th, 2006 at 11:29 am
Brent.
September 25th, 2006 at 9:12 am
Brent:
Were you riding off road?
Bikes are better on roads (despite what car drivers will tell you) roads are smoother and you will crash less.
You can break your collar bone and have kids too!!
I fractured my hip in a bike crash when I had one kid (not on my bike at the time)and that did not stop me from having another.
Go for it (that it what you are supposed to say to people who don’t have kids)
September 25th, 2006 at 4:43 pm
Hi Mike. Welcome to the site.
Riding on roads is fun, but riding off-road is way better. I don’t get much of a workout on the road. Sure, it’s cardio, but off-road is full body because of all of the tight turns, log rolls, and near death experiences.
September 26th, 2006 at 11:35 am
Yea, fine about the off-road points - etcetera.
But, what about Mike’s point on kids? And, what about Bethany? What does Bethany have to say about this?
A couple of other ideas — maybe get some of that padding tape to blunt the blow - or - ride a girl’s bike for awhile. At least then you can keep your options open. Perhaps the world’s population will take a nose dive and you’ll want to jump in. Who knows?
There is never any reason to completely shut the door, that’s my only point. And, maybe it’s a bit crowded out here, and they do drive me nuts, but, I cannot imagine my life without Madi and Sam.
September 26th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
The truth of the matter is that we do want kids…just when we’re 30-35, not 25 and 23. That’s a really common starting age for children in the Twin Cities.
September 26th, 2006 at 12:34 pm
Oh. Very well, then. Carry on!