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Gravity East Downhill Series @ Seven Springs Photos and Videos

when one has a digger like that, i would think some semblance of self-preservation would kick in and said racer would conclude a race run riding more conservatively.

i'm glad no broken bones resulted, but man, that's retarded. it's amateur dh racing, i'm all for pushing one's abilities, but you don't make a livelihood from it. And in the end, most of us has a job, school, and/or family to return to.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,191
media blackout
when one has a digger like that, i would think some semblance of self-preservation would kick in and said racer would conclude a race run riding more conservatively.

i'm glad no broken bones resulted, but man, that's retarded. it's amateur dh racing, i'm all for pushing one's abilities, but you don't make a livelihood from it. And in the end, most of us has a job, school, and/or family to return to.
you obviously don't know Chris. He was just gooning on the jumps at the bottom. For most of us, gooning like that IS riding conservatively. In case you didn't watch the video he basically slid down the back side of the jump. and to call another racer "retarded" shows a serious lack of respect. now where's that smiley face with the middle finger?:thumbsdown:
 

brungeman

I give a shirt
Jan 17, 2006
5,170
0
da Burgh
Nice stuff jon! Mike and I were at the trek tent next to the dirt rag guys, did you get any video of us crashin' it up in the rock garden?

Also, did anyone else have a horrible experience with that bitch at the coffee place in the hotel?

'DO YOU SEE ANY PLAIN BAGELS?'
Dan, was that you that I was talking to about her? LOL Did you say she made herself a plain bagel after telling you "ONLY WHATS IN THE CASE! DO YOU SEE A PLAIN BAGEL IN THE CASE?"
bwahahaha
 
so gooning = riding conservatively = endo on a jump after a pretty horrific crash....got it.

you're right, i don't know Chris. He's likely a faster rider/racer than me and all around nice guy. But this specific instance of riding and decision making lacked alittle aforethought. He is not a retard, so if you or Chris took it as a personal, overall assessment of his general being, I'm sorry.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,191
media blackout
so gooning = riding conservatively = endo on a jump after a pretty horrific crash....got it.

you're right, i don't know Chris. He's likely a faster rider/racer than me and all around nice guy. But this specific instance of riding and decision making lacked alittle aforethought. He is not a retard, so if you or Chris took it as a personal, overall assessment of his general being, I'm sorry.
google "tuck and roll"
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,191
media blackout
so gooning = riding conservatively = endo on a jump after a pretty horrific crash....got it.

you're right, i don't know Chris. He's likely a faster rider/racer than me and all around nice guy. But this specific instance of riding and decision making lacked alittle aforethought. He is not a retard, so if you or Chris took it as a personal, overall assessment of his general being, I'm sorry.
sorry if i came off harsh this morning. was stressed about some work related stuff and it carried through.
 

be350ka

Chimp
Jul 5, 2007
61
0
How do you explain this one then?



I'm the guy with the flying red Sinister. The guy piled up in the rocks was the racer to leave the gate 32, yes, 32 seconds before me. I caught him just before the rock garden and tried to take the right line as he was in the left line and he binned it just as I got to this section. He was covering the entire area. I tried to launch over his bike and after talking to another spectator the downed rider tried to get up while I was trying to salvage what I could out of this crappy situation. He hit my bike and sent me flying into the rocks. Broken ribs, torn muscles in my shoulder, bruised hip, etc.

Wrong class for that guy.
 
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manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,644
1,214
Nilbog
I'm the guy with the flying red Sinister. The guy piled up in the rocks was the racer to leave the gate 32, yes, 32 seconds before me. I caught him just before the rock garden and tried to take the right line as he was in the left line and he binned it just as I got to this section. He was covering the entire area. I tried to launch over his bike and after talking to another spectator the downed rider tried to get up while I was trying to salvage what I could out of this crappy situation. He hit my bike and sent me flying into the rocks. Broken ribs, torn muscles in my shoulder, bruised hip, etc.

Wrong class for that guy.
yo man sorry to hear that, i was standing right there saying how pissed i would have been if i was you...
 

be350ka

Chimp
Jul 5, 2007
61
0
yo man sorry to hear that, i was standing right there saying how pissed i would have been if i was you...
I am pretty jacked about the whole thing. I have been exchanging emails with GES staff and USAC about this type of incident. If there isn't a better way to prevent something like this in future someone could really get hurt.

I remember you asking if I was okay and I appreciate that! Not being able to breathe is probably one of the scariest things to me. Thanks again.
 

be350ka

Chimp
Jul 5, 2007
61
0
There seems to be a lot of that in USA racing. I'm not sure a voluntary 3 cat system is the way to go. But sorting riders start times based on past results (or a quali run) would be smart.
I agree! Something should be done especially when you have such a wide swing in times.
 

PArider29

Monkey
Jan 20, 2010
131
0
back to NC
Well there certainly should have been a corner Marshall there to warn that there was a rider down ..... that way at least you could have stopped before you were on top of the guy and then the only thing you would have to worry about would be a taking rerun instead of broken ribs.

Heal up man!
 

pghjon

Chimp
Feb 10, 2009
12
0
Well there certainly should have been a corner Marshall there to warn that there was a rider down ..... that way at least you could have stopped before you were on top of the guy and then the only thing you would have to worry about would be a taking rerun instead of broken ribs.

Heal up man!
way too close for a marshal to stop him, he was less than 10 feet behind the crash when it happened. My camera shoots at 5 frames a second...these are spaced over 6 shots, 1.2 seconds.

Sorry to hear you got busted up, but I'd say it's pretty clear he had no idea you were behind him.







 
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pghjon

Chimp
Feb 10, 2009
12
0
not to say this shouldn't be looked at to see if the racing can be safer, but it's possible that the rider had a problem higher up in the run and that's why you were so close to him in the rock garden. I know I've had runs where I've had more than one issue that caused me to be slower than normal.

Not trying to shift blame anywhere, but I don't think any of us can know why you two were so close to each other without talking to him.

...just offering a possible different take on the situation.

get better soon man.
 

be350ka

Chimp
Jul 5, 2007
61
0
not to say this shouldn't be looked at to see if the racing can be safer, but it's possible that the rider had a problem higher up in the run and that's why you were so close to him in the rock garden. I know I've had runs where I've had more than one issue that caused me to be slower than normal.

Not trying to shift blame anywhere, but I don't think any of us can know why you two were so close to each other without talking to him.

...just offering a possible different take on the situation.

get better soon man.
Very possible, indeed! He did tell me prior to his start that this was his first DH race and that if I needed by to yell to him. I yelled two times before the rock roller under the lift before the rock garden. He probably didn't hear me because he was in the zone.

No hard feelings here. It was an accident and he didn't mean to do this. I did talk with him after the race and gave my appologies for hammering him and he offered his as well. We will both race another day!
 
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ChrisKring

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
2,399
6
Grand Haven, MI
What class was this? If this was the other guys first race, then it must be either cat 2 or cat 3. If it's sport class, the guy probably should have been in cat 3. That said, I have seen guys show up for their first race that would have been competitive in Cat 1 or pro. The promoter nor USAC can do a background check of race results on every cat 2 rider. They need to take the riders word that they are a Cat 2 rider.

The only solutions I can see are:

1) the USAC official watching practice and "pulling riders" that are in the wrong class. That will only cause issues.
2) USAC mandating annual licenses for Cat 2. That will piss off the daily license holders.
3) run minute intervals. You will lose practice time with this.
4) reroute around this section like last year for all cat 2 and 3.

Option 4 is what the promoter will do if people complain about overtaking riders in the technical sections. Think about it before going overboard on it.

Not sure on how long you have been racing. However, this used to be a regular deal at Nationals with long courses such as Snowshoe and Mount Snow. While it may be frustrating, you need to sometimes wait to pass or get too close rather than what happened to you.

Heck, I had a guy try to out sprint me on a ski slope after I caught him on a ski slope with a minute gap (ghost rider in between), Fortunatly, most of those type of guys will crash within 10 seconds and you will get by.
 

Pslide

Turbo Monkey
What class was this? If this was the other guys first race, then it must be either cat 2 or cat 3. If it's sport class, the guy probably should have been in cat 3. That said, I have seen guys show up for their first race that would have been competitive in Cat 1 or pro. The promoter nor USAC can do a background check of race results on every cat 2 rider. They need to take the riders word that they are a Cat 2 rider.

The only solutions I can see are:

1) the USAC official watching practice and "pulling riders" that are in the wrong class. That will only cause issues.
2) USAC mandating annual licenses for Cat 2. That will piss off the daily license holders.
3) run minute intervals. You will lose practice time with this.
4) reroute around this section like last year for all cat 2 and 3.

Option 4 is what the promoter will do if people complain about overtaking riders in the technical sections. Think about it before going overboard on it.

Not sure on how long you have been racing. However, this used to be a regular deal at Nationals with long courses such as Snowshoe and Mount Snow. While it may be frustrating, you need to sometimes wait to pass or get too close rather than what happened to you.

Heck, I had a guy try to out sprint me on a ski slope after I caught him on a ski slope with a minute gap (ghost rider in between), Fortunatly, most of those type of guys will crash within 10 seconds and you will get by.
The solution I see is simpler - and in the USAC rulebook.

The rulebook states that if a rider encounters an unavoidable delay on their run, they should report to the chief official immediately and he will assess if a rerun is given.

If the rider explains that passing in this particular situation would endanger either himself or the other rider, than I cannot see how the official would not allow a rerun - otherwise the official is encouraging dangerous riding.
 

blackohio

Generous jaywalker
Mar 12, 2009
2,773
122
Hellafornia. Formerly stumptown.
I was racing my first race but been riding for a couple of years so I knew Cat3 was where I needed to be. I was the guy on the white Revolt that slid out (somehow) directly above the rockgarden. Dented my downtube and the inside of my ankle right now looks like a old mans swollen leg. Im not sure what the hell happened. I think the front washed right as I was entering the rockgarden. Then all stresses I went otb in the root section exiting the rock garden. PRetty bummed as I felt I was on a good time for my first fat guy race. Walked away with 10th place out of 14 riders with 2 stacks. Both were completely off the bike.

When I exited the rockgarden and crossed the fire road I couldnt even stand to pedal. One of the dudes in the corner there was screaming at me to pedal! I guess im most bummed about denting the frame. Crashing during a race is what happens sometimes.
 

skatetokil

Turbo Monkey
Jan 2, 2005
2,383
-1
DC/Bluemont VA
I was racing my first race but been riding for a couple of years so I knew Cat3 was where I needed to be. I was the guy on the white Revolt that slid out (somehow) directly above the rockgarden. Dented my downtube and the inside of my ankle right now looks like a old mans swollen leg. Im not sure what the hell happened. I think the front washed right as I was entering the rockgarden. Then all stresses I went otb in the root section exiting the rock garden. PRetty bummed as I felt I was on a good time for my first fat guy race. Walked away with 10th place out of 14 riders with 2 stacks. Both were completely off the bike.

When I exited the rockgarden and crossed the fire road I couldnt even stand to pedal. One of the dudes in the corner there was screaming at me to pedal! I guess im most bummed about denting the frame. Crashing during a race is what happens sometimes.
Yeah, I break something at pretty much every race...

Cracked my frame at massanutten. This time it was only a spoke.