There were a couple of groups on the mountain running shuttle trucks; and Brian, Jay and myself hooked-up with Doug and the Morewood guys for several trips to the top; before I got buggered up in a rock pile on the Windmill trail. I had been sitting-on-the-verge-of-getting-it-on all morning, and I knew I was about to get into a groove. But I got off-line in the rocks and my front tire washed out, and I went over the bars into a pile of rocks. My hand took the full brunt of the fall. I heard a snap, got nauseous and felt like I was going to pass-out. At that point I was certain that I had broken my hand. So with the help of the group, I hauled my bike out of the woods, got into my car and took off for an after-hours clinic. But they were all closed. To make a long story short, I ended up at the ER for 5 hours while they x-ray ed my hand; only to find out that nothing was broken. I couldn't believe the doctor, I almost wished he would have told me that I had broke something so I didn't feel like an idiot for forking over an ER deductible and wasting a Sunday.
My hand is bruised and sore, the price you pay for wrecking like an amateur. Taking it easy this week, I got out on a beautiful night in Chattanooga on the Riverwalk trail, a twenty mile corridor through downtown and parks along the river.
The next night, back in Knoxville, I pedaled over to a friends house and on the way home had a run in with a car that trashed my front wheel. I was track-standing in an intersection turning back onto a greenway trail from another, when a car came through the intersection making a left hand turn, and clipped my front wheel and fork. The wheel was destroyed, but I didn't realize it was that bad at the time. I got a ride home from the driver, and ordered a new wheel today. I guess I am need to start being a little more safe.
In mountain biking news, I am considering selling my Yeti 575 frame for a Dekerk Implant steel hardtail. I would like to make the move from a full-squish to an aggressive all-mountain hardtail, just for the sake of trying something different. I like the instant control of maneuvering a stiffee, vs. the pre-load of a squishy. The feel and maneuverability of my Kona cross bike has me stoked on riding a hardtail, and I've had the itch to build a mountain bike of the same breed.
Chattanooga, TN; Riverwalk trail
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