the day i can ride without massive bruises, cuts or injuries at the end of a ride. today's ride was frustrating as all hell.
my buddies wanted to take me on the harder loops of the local trail. they said they were fine with me walking a large part of it. so off we went...a group of 6 of us. everyone was pretty much of the same skill level except for myself and one other guy.
this particular loop of trail was a b*tch to say the least. though i was told i rode 85% of the trail...it FELT like i rode 2%. there were a ton of steep dips, 2 kick *ss creek crossings and areas where even the slightest failure meant you were falling off into the gorge.
i rode what i could. walked what i needed to. got to a dip that was steep, at the bottom was a land bridge and then a steep incline back up the other side. one by one each rider swooped down, over and up making it look easy. without really looking at it i gave it my best effort. got down and over the bridge but because i continue to ride my brakes, i had little momentum to carry me up the steep incline on the other side. i found myself at a stand still half way up the incline right next to a tree. the tree was causing it difficulty to get off the bike and because of the incline, i lost control over the bike. the bike and gravity pushed me on my back and down the incline off into the brush. i landed on my back off the side of the trail tangled up in brush and bike. i was pinned without being able to get up. the angle of my fall had me with my head lower than my body and unable to pull myself up. my buddies came rushing to my rescue. once the bike was off me and i was helped up...i took a moment to regain my composure. my ankle was sore as hell...having twisted it when the bike fell on top of me. but i shook it off and continued to ride. about 15 more minutes of riding we had to stop for one of the riders who broke his chain while crossing the creek. while everyone was stopped to see what had happened, i looked down and realized that my ankle was black and blue and swollen beyond the point of recognition.
rode back to my buddie's house with his son who broke the chain and there my ride ended. i was only on the bike for maybe 45 minutes...had only done 2 loops and now my ride was over.
it sucked. clearly i was over my head and i've learned that i have to just say no to riding sh*t that i'm not ready for. this ride did NOTHING to boost my confidence in riding these trails.
now i'm home with a severly swollen ankle...my guess is it's between a 1st degree or 2nd degree sprain. and it looks like i won't be riding anytime this week. all day i've been icing and elevating but the swelling still hasn't gone down.
i feel very defeated today.
my buddies wanted to take me on the harder loops of the local trail. they said they were fine with me walking a large part of it. so off we went...a group of 6 of us. everyone was pretty much of the same skill level except for myself and one other guy.
this particular loop of trail was a b*tch to say the least. though i was told i rode 85% of the trail...it FELT like i rode 2%. there were a ton of steep dips, 2 kick *ss creek crossings and areas where even the slightest failure meant you were falling off into the gorge.
i rode what i could. walked what i needed to. got to a dip that was steep, at the bottom was a land bridge and then a steep incline back up the other side. one by one each rider swooped down, over and up making it look easy. without really looking at it i gave it my best effort. got down and over the bridge but because i continue to ride my brakes, i had little momentum to carry me up the steep incline on the other side. i found myself at a stand still half way up the incline right next to a tree. the tree was causing it difficulty to get off the bike and because of the incline, i lost control over the bike. the bike and gravity pushed me on my back and down the incline off into the brush. i landed on my back off the side of the trail tangled up in brush and bike. i was pinned without being able to get up. the angle of my fall had me with my head lower than my body and unable to pull myself up. my buddies came rushing to my rescue. once the bike was off me and i was helped up...i took a moment to regain my composure. my ankle was sore as hell...having twisted it when the bike fell on top of me. but i shook it off and continued to ride. about 15 more minutes of riding we had to stop for one of the riders who broke his chain while crossing the creek. while everyone was stopped to see what had happened, i looked down and realized that my ankle was black and blue and swollen beyond the point of recognition.
rode back to my buddie's house with his son who broke the chain and there my ride ended. i was only on the bike for maybe 45 minutes...had only done 2 loops and now my ride was over.
it sucked. clearly i was over my head and i've learned that i have to just say no to riding sh*t that i'm not ready for. this ride did NOTHING to boost my confidence in riding these trails.
now i'm home with a severly swollen ankle...my guess is it's between a 1st degree or 2nd degree sprain. and it looks like i won't be riding anytime this week. all day i've been icing and elevating but the swelling still hasn't gone down.
i feel very defeated today.
