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djarvinen
August 4th 03, 08:02 PM
I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
ride.

After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.

I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
(nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"

(begin 1/4 second RR)
"Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop

"Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"

"Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
with me"

Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.

"Damn that's gonna hurt later!"

((end 1/4 second RR))

I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
pavement, but not bad.

So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.

Which brings me to our pop quiz:

Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
'challenge':

A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
E. Hey, this looks like fun!

Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
promising. :)

DJ

Bill Wheeler
August 4th 03, 09:48 PM
On 4 Aug 2003 12:02:39 -0700, (djarvinen) wrote:

>I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
>ride.
>
>After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
>thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.
>
>I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
>(nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
>breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"
>
>(begin 1/4 second RR)
>"Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop
>
>"Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"
>
>"Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
>with me"
>
>Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
>Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.
>
>"Damn that's gonna hurt later!"
>
>((end 1/4 second RR))
>
>I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
>good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
>I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
>bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
>seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
>pavement, but not bad.
>
>So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
>confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.
>
>Which brings me to our pop quiz:
>
>Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
>'challenge':
>
>A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
>B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
>C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
>D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
>E. Hey, this looks like fun!
>
>Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
>Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
>promising. :)
>
>DJ

Nice RR....been there many times.

Heal fast,
Bill


The mind serves properly as a window glass rather
than as a reflector, that is, the mind should give
an immediate view instead of an interpretation of the world.
:-]

Doesnotcompute
August 4th 03, 10:12 PM
djarvinen wrote:

<snip 1/4 second RR>

You know, I had a very similarly rememberable 1/4 second only yesterday.
Whilst downhilling a singletrack of loose rocks (sorta the size of two
fists and upwards), I got a little target fixation on this one
particular lump of mother nature's finest. For some reason when the
front wheel hit it, the whole bike stopped dead. That's when the 1/4
second started, my line of downhill attack then instantly switched to a
line of trajectory.

The 1/4 second ended with me in a heap in the flora and fauna to the
left hand side of the trail. So many things went through my head in that
time frame. You know the standard stuff:

How's the bike?;
I'm glad I'm not going to land on the track;
I hope I don't land on that tree;
I hope I can keep my wrists away from the impact;
I hope this is going to be soft;
Maybe this helmet wasn't such a bad idea;

Fortunately I got away with it to try again another day!


--
Dnc

Paladin
August 4th 03, 10:54 PM
(djarvinen) wrote in message >...
> I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
> ride.
>
> After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
> thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.
>
> I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
> (nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
> breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"
>
> (begin 1/4 second RR)
> "Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop
>
> "Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"
>
> "Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
> with me"

<snippage>
>
> A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
> B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
> C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
> D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
> E. Hey, this looks like fun!
>
> Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
> Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
> promising. :)
>
> DJ

So where'd ya biff it, Dick??

If yer an early riser, you can join my easy group ride at 645am Weds
at Camelsback Park. Got a couple riders that are guaranteed to make
you look good.

Paladin

Stephen Baker
August 4th 03, 11:19 PM
jarvinen says:

>Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
>'challenge':
>
>A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
>B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
>C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
>D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
>E. Hey, this looks like fun!
>

I'll start with "E", but then usually finish up with "B" or "D".

"E" is more accurate, though. ;-)

Steve

Gazoo
August 4th 03, 11:52 PM
nope, it's

don't crach....don't crash...don't crash .........

over and over and over again

--

"djarvinen" > wrote in message
om...
> I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
> ride.
>
> After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
> thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.
>
> I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
> (nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
> breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"
>
> (begin 1/4 second RR)
> "Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop
>
> "Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"
>
> "Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
> with me"
>
> Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
> Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.
>
> "Damn that's gonna hurt later!"
>
> ((end 1/4 second RR))
>
> I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
> good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
> I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
> bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
> seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
> pavement, but not bad.
>
> So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
> confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.
>
> Which brings me to our pop quiz:
>
> Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
> 'challenge':
>
> A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
> B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
> C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
> D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
> E. Hey, this looks like fun!
>
> Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
> Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
> promising. :)
>
> DJ

Westie
August 5th 03, 12:54 AM
"djarvinen" > wrote in message
om...
> I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
> ride.
<snip 1/4 sec crunch report>

LOL! Yep. That's what it's like.
My last major 1/4 second was about 8 months (that's a bit over 85 million
1/4 seconds ) ago. And my good ol' Doc tells me this week to have an
operation to fix the on-going problems - again.

BTW, I choose 'B'. :-)
--
Westie

Dean A. Stepper
August 5th 03, 01:38 AM
My last experience at over the handlebars...one moment I was on the bike the
next I was lying along side the trail with the wind knocked out of me. Did
not remembering what I did wrong or anything about the accident. My riding
buddies told me that I flipped nicely after about ten feet in the air..got
my head down and landed on the back of my helmet and left shoulder then
rolled three times. I stay in "B" mode allot and live to ride another day.

"djarvinen" > wrote in message
om...
> I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
> ride.
>
> After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
> thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.
>
> I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
> (nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
> breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"
>
> (begin 1/4 second RR)
> "Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop
>
> "Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"
>
> "Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
> with me"
>
> Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
> Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.
>
> "Damn that's gonna hurt later!"
>
> ((end 1/4 second RR))
>
> I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
> good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
> I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
> bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
> seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
> pavement, but not bad.
>
> So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
> confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.
>
> Which brings me to our pop quiz:
>
> Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
> 'challenge':
>
> A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
> B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
> C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
> D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
> E. Hey, this looks like fun!
>
> Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
> Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
> promising. :)
>
> DJ

Shawn Curry
August 5th 03, 02:39 AM
djarvinen wrote:
> I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
> ride.
>
> After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
> thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.
>
> I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
> (nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
> breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"
>
> (begin 1/4 second RR)
> "Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop
>
> "Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"
>
> "Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
> with me"
>
> Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
> Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.
>
> "Damn that's gonna hurt later!"
>
> ((end 1/4 second RR))
>
> I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
> good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
> I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
> bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
> seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
> pavement, but not bad.
>
> So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
> confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.
>
> Which brings me to our pop quiz:
>
> Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
> 'challenge':
>
> A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
> B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
> C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
> D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
> E. Hey, this looks like fun!
>
> Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
> Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
> promising. :)
>
> DJ

You forgot
F. O F%ck I'm Gonna Die! Followed by E. :-)
Actually sometimes I try to invoke B. (40 next month, yikes!), but my
mind tends to reject that pretty quickly.
Another thing about crashing that amazes me is how well I remember that
1/4 second years later. Point to a scar, and hear the extended story.
I suppose to be serious G. would be something like "I know this can be
done and I can do it, and here's how" Then I visualize how I'm going to
do it. Or some motivational crap like that. Sometimes the visualizing
part ends in stitches (not from laughing) and that's when I whimp out :-)

Cheers,
Shawn

BB
August 5th 03, 03:22 AM
On Mon, 4 Aug 2003 17:38:19 -0700, Dean A. Stepper wrote:
> My last experience at over the handlebars...one moment I was on the bike the
> next I was lying along side the trail with the wind knocked out of me. Did
> not remembering what I did wrong or anything about the accident.

That seems to be how mine go, too. One moment I'm riding along at a good
clip, the next I'm lying on the ground in various amounts of pain!

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)

djarvinen
August 5th 03, 05:04 AM
(Paladin) wrote in message >...
> (djarvinen) wrote in message >...
> > I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
> > ride.
> >
> > After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
> > thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.
> >
> > I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
> > (nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
> > breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"
> >
> > (begin 1/4 second RR)
> > "Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop
> >
> > "Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"
> >
> > "Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
> > with me"
>
> <snippage>
> >
> > A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
> > B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
> > C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
> > D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
> > E. Hey, this looks like fun!
> >
> > Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
> > Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
> > promising. :)
> >
> > DJ
>
> So where'd ya biff it, Dick??
>
> If yer an early riser, you can join my easy group ride at 645am Weds
> at Camelsback Park. Got a couple riders that are guaranteed to make
> you look good.
>
> Paladin

It was on the Old Oregon trail route. I started from the now defunct
Oregon Trail parking lot/meditation center/whatever (just a parking
lot now) right above the Highway 55 bridge. It really is a
beginner/intermediate trail except for that one downhill into the
valley. Normally it doesn't bug me too much but for some reason,
today I was just 'nervous' about it. Damn death cookies everywhere.

And to add insult to injury, I just found out I picked up some poison
oak along the way; no idea where. And the bang on the shin turned out
to be minor but I now have a shiny new shoulder where I hit. :)

6:45am? Uh... uh... that's about two hours two early for me :) but
at least you catch the nice cool morning weather. And I'm not sure
I'm in any shape to make anyone look good. I spend a lot of time
pushing my bike up the steeper hills. I really need to carry an
oxygen tank. They couldn't weigh that much. :)

DJ

Rob
August 5th 03, 11:42 AM
"Phil, Squid-in-Training" > wrote in message m...
> Do any of you get so tired while riding, that when you hit some sand or
> start to go down, you just sorta flop down with the bike? It's so much
> nicer when you're on the ground, even if the bike IS on top of you.
>
> BTW, this probably applies more during a race.
>
> --
> Phil, Squid-in-Training
>

Never on a mountain bike, but that pretty much sums up my telemarking last week.

Rob

Paladin
August 5th 03, 04:13 PM
(djarvinen) wrote in message >...
> (Paladin) wrote in message >...
> > (djarvinen) wrote in message >...
> > > I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
> > > ride.
> > >
> > > After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
> > > thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.
> > >
> > > I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
> > > (nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
> > > breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"
> > >
> > > (begin 1/4 second RR)
> > >
> > > DJ
> >
> > So where'd ya biff it, Dick??
> >
> > If yer an early riser, you can join my easy group ride at 645am Weds
> > at Camelsback Park. Got a couple riders that are guaranteed to make
> > you look good.
> >
> > Paladin
>
> It was on the Old Oregon trail route. I started from the now defunct
> Oregon Trail parking lot/meditation center/whatever (just a parking
> lot now) right above the Highway 55 bridge. It really is a
> beginner/intermediate trail except for that one downhill into the
> valley. Normally it doesn't bug me too much but for some reason,
> today I was just 'nervous' about it. Damn death cookies everywhere.
>
> And to add insult to injury, I just found out I picked up some poison
> oak along the way; no idea where. And the bang on the shin turned out
> to be minor but I now have a shiny new shoulder where I hit. :)
>
> 6:45am? Uh... uh... that's about two hours two early for me :) but
> at least you catch the nice cool morning weather. And I'm not sure
> I'm in any shape to make anyone look good. I spend a lot of time
> pushing my bike up the steeper hills. I really need to carry an
> oxygen tank. They couldn't weigh that much. :)
>
> DJ

Hope ya heal up, quick. I might bring our group over your way, as
we've exhausted most of the close-in stuff, and I try to go somewhere
different every week.

You'd love a guy in our group I'll call dhg, for downhill geek. He
walks a lot of the hills up, but blasts down them. He has every
excuse in the book for why he has to stop on hills. It's really
pretty funny. Then we have a brand new rider named Patrick, who's
borrowing (and beating up a little), my geared bike, who tries hard,
but just doesn't have the fitness base down yet. Add to that mix an
intermediate rider girl, 2 expert class racers (good friends, but I'm
a little surprised they want to ride this easy stuff with the group)
and me on the singlespeed, and you've got a neat mix. I normally set
it up for the top riders to keep going up if they want, when we turn
down.

Anyway, glad to see you're out riding, and hope you get better quick.

Paladin

Penny S.
August 5th 03, 04:14 PM
who's idea was this anyway?
Ok, I can do this
don't think, just go
ohohohohohcrapcrapcrap****...wow, did it!
do not grab brakes

John Morgan
August 5th 03, 08:37 PM
> Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
> 'challenge':
>
> A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
> B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
> C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
> D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
> E. Hey, this looks like fun!

For me it's not a multiple choice option. It's TRUE or FALSE. If I'm
"feeling it" I'll take a risk, if I'm not, I'll walk it... but vow to ride
it another day.

-John Morgan

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