Anatomy of a Crash
The title of the post pretty much says it all. Saturday I went out to do San Juan to Blue Jay and I crashed after Cocktail Rock. Quick ride report:
I met Andrew, Matt, Mark, Mark, Scott and Fabian (is this his name?!) at the San Juan parking lot at 7AM. We were all on time and we actually got going pretty fast. Usually it takes us around 30 minutes to get unpacked and get our bikes ready etc.
Me getting ready:
We started up the switchbacks and for some reason I was in front. I didn't want to lead the group, but I was the first one to go up, so whatever. I didn't make many of the lower switchbacks, but I made a few. I ended up stepping off the bike for one and Matt passed me. I saw Andrew right behind him and cut in front of Andrew before he could get in front. Hahaha. Andrew wasn't too happy about that because he didn't even get a chance to try to make the switchback. He had to come off and walk it. I only mention this because it makes for a funny story later.
The ride from the switchbacks to Cocktail Rock wasn't that eventful. It was cold and a bit windy, but I felt great on the climb up. I took one or two bad lines in some of the rutted out sections which forced me to walk a bit, but overall I did ok.
Coming in to Cocktail:
When we finally got to Cocktail Mark told us that he actually fell into one of the little gullies on the side of the trail. That's always been my biggest fear on trails like San Juan. There are tons of sections where you have to really commit to riding it, or you will tip over and fall down the hill a bit. I guess he didn't make one, but he looked ok and felt ok.
We all hung out for quite a while at Cocktail, which kind of sucked because it allowed my body to cool off, which makes climbing that much harder. I prefer to stop for 5 minutes or so and then get going again. That keeps the blood flowing and the riding good.
(Quick Note: Coming up to Cocktail I told Andrew he was "discouraging me" by riding in front of me and missing some technical climbing. Hahaha. I was giving him a hard time because I got in front of him on the earlier switchbacks. As soon as I said that he took off. I came up to Matt later and Matt asked me, "What did you say to him?!" ... Hahaha. Good times)
I had never been past Cocktail Rock, so I had no idea we were going to do a downhill section. Even worse it was a technical downhill section. Surprise! We decided to ride up "Old San Juan" and then to take the regular San Juan trail back from Blue Jay.
We came across this section on the way down with a ton of roots on the trail and I remember passing Matt standing next to his bike. He said he had a "mini endo", but was ok. I rode past and maybe 5 minutes later had an endo of my own.
It's so nuts when you crash. I don't remember why I fell at all. I was feeling great going over the roots. I felt strong, in control and pretty happy because it was a fun section. Next thing I know I'm rolling on the ground with my bike behind me. My very first thought was how embarrassed I was that I had crashed. My second thought was "Oh crap. That was a hard fall. My bike better be ok!" It would have been a long hike down the mountain if I had taco'ed my front rim.
Andrew even wrote a small Haiku for my crash since he witnessed it:
Deftly Dodges Roots
Ryan Becomes Superman
Tire Is Modern Art
He said of the crash, "You're cruising along, then next thing I know, your tire twists & you are airborn in some sort of odd combination of flesh & bike." Sweet.
What the heck?!?! ...
Another view:
I'll write more about the crash at the end of this post, but thank God I was ok and my bike was fine. I can't believe my tube just popped out and my front tire came off. We ended up just deflating the tube, stuffing it back in and then pumping it up. Hahaha. It was fine for the rest of the ride!
After the fall, we didn't make it very far before Fabian said he had some bike trouble. Turns out his frame had bent and his rear derailleur was just thrashed. It took us a _really long time_ to fix his bike, but we eventually turned it into a single speed and removed the entire rear derailleur. When I say "we", I mean everyone but me. Hahaha.
At this point a lot of time had been spent fixing bikes, recoving from falls, etc. so our group split up. Mark, Mark, Fabian and Scott all headed back while Matt, Andrew and I kept going. Kind of sucked to have a bunch of people have to turn around, but there was a time constraint on a few of them.
The remainder of the ride to Blue Jay was pretty cool. I didn't realize how many options there were for riding in this area. It seems like we could have turned left or right in 3-4 different areas. Easy to get lost if you don't know where you're going.
We stopped at Blue Jay for just a bit to eat and "relieve ourselves" before heading back. I was a little gunshy after my fall, but whatever. I just rode pretty conservatively and took my time.
The last section before hitting Cocktail again was pretty lame. I can't remember the last trail I've been on (if any trail at all) where my cranks and pedals kept hitting stuff. It felt like every down stroke would hit a rock or the side of a rut. It got really frustrating by the time we hit Cocktail.
I also ended up falling over a few times because I couldn't get unclipped on a few technical sections. Andrew also got a flat, which just added to our already long day.
Back to the crash ...
I got a little freaked out after the crash. I thought about it and it didn't make sense because one week prior I had fallen and it didn't phase me that much. I finally realized what the big deal was.
The crash in Malibu was the result of a bad decision. I picked a bad line and got stuck in a rut. My fault. The crash at San Juan just happened. It was a total accident. I understood that on some level and it made me lose trust in my bike. If I could suddenly lose control when I thought I had it and crash once, then it could surely happen again.
I guess I just need to trust my bike more and put those bad thoughts out of my head. I'm hoping the ramp up back to full downhill confidence won't take long.
My right shoulder and right knee are pretty sore and kind of stiff, but I'll be ok. It's funny that this would be the first ride in a while where my legs felt great, no cramping before, after or during, and yet I eat it and get banged up anyways.
My shoulder (the picture doesn't do it justice):
I'm not in this picture, but I like it because it shows how much fun we were all having:
I met Andrew, Matt, Mark, Mark, Scott and Fabian (is this his name?!) at the San Juan parking lot at 7AM. We were all on time and we actually got going pretty fast. Usually it takes us around 30 minutes to get unpacked and get our bikes ready etc.
Me getting ready:
We started up the switchbacks and for some reason I was in front. I didn't want to lead the group, but I was the first one to go up, so whatever. I didn't make many of the lower switchbacks, but I made a few. I ended up stepping off the bike for one and Matt passed me. I saw Andrew right behind him and cut in front of Andrew before he could get in front. Hahaha. Andrew wasn't too happy about that because he didn't even get a chance to try to make the switchback. He had to come off and walk it. I only mention this because it makes for a funny story later.
The ride from the switchbacks to Cocktail Rock wasn't that eventful. It was cold and a bit windy, but I felt great on the climb up. I took one or two bad lines in some of the rutted out sections which forced me to walk a bit, but overall I did ok.
Coming in to Cocktail:
When we finally got to Cocktail Mark told us that he actually fell into one of the little gullies on the side of the trail. That's always been my biggest fear on trails like San Juan. There are tons of sections where you have to really commit to riding it, or you will tip over and fall down the hill a bit. I guess he didn't make one, but he looked ok and felt ok.
We all hung out for quite a while at Cocktail, which kind of sucked because it allowed my body to cool off, which makes climbing that much harder. I prefer to stop for 5 minutes or so and then get going again. That keeps the blood flowing and the riding good.
(Quick Note: Coming up to Cocktail I told Andrew he was "discouraging me" by riding in front of me and missing some technical climbing. Hahaha. I was giving him a hard time because I got in front of him on the earlier switchbacks. As soon as I said that he took off. I came up to Matt later and Matt asked me, "What did you say to him?!" ... Hahaha. Good times)
I had never been past Cocktail Rock, so I had no idea we were going to do a downhill section. Even worse it was a technical downhill section. Surprise! We decided to ride up "Old San Juan" and then to take the regular San Juan trail back from Blue Jay.
We came across this section on the way down with a ton of roots on the trail and I remember passing Matt standing next to his bike. He said he had a "mini endo", but was ok. I rode past and maybe 5 minutes later had an endo of my own.
It's so nuts when you crash. I don't remember why I fell at all. I was feeling great going over the roots. I felt strong, in control and pretty happy because it was a fun section. Next thing I know I'm rolling on the ground with my bike behind me. My very first thought was how embarrassed I was that I had crashed. My second thought was "Oh crap. That was a hard fall. My bike better be ok!" It would have been a long hike down the mountain if I had taco'ed my front rim.
Andrew even wrote a small Haiku for my crash since he witnessed it:
Deftly Dodges Roots
Ryan Becomes Superman
Tire Is Modern Art
He said of the crash, "You're cruising along, then next thing I know, your tire twists & you are airborn in some sort of odd combination of flesh & bike." Sweet.
What the heck?!?! ...
Another view:
I'll write more about the crash at the end of this post, but thank God I was ok and my bike was fine. I can't believe my tube just popped out and my front tire came off. We ended up just deflating the tube, stuffing it back in and then pumping it up. Hahaha. It was fine for the rest of the ride!
After the fall, we didn't make it very far before Fabian said he had some bike trouble. Turns out his frame had bent and his rear derailleur was just thrashed. It took us a _really long time_ to fix his bike, but we eventually turned it into a single speed and removed the entire rear derailleur. When I say "we", I mean everyone but me. Hahaha.
At this point a lot of time had been spent fixing bikes, recoving from falls, etc. so our group split up. Mark, Mark, Fabian and Scott all headed back while Matt, Andrew and I kept going. Kind of sucked to have a bunch of people have to turn around, but there was a time constraint on a few of them.
The remainder of the ride to Blue Jay was pretty cool. I didn't realize how many options there were for riding in this area. It seems like we could have turned left or right in 3-4 different areas. Easy to get lost if you don't know where you're going.
We stopped at Blue Jay for just a bit to eat and "relieve ourselves" before heading back. I was a little gunshy after my fall, but whatever. I just rode pretty conservatively and took my time.
The last section before hitting Cocktail again was pretty lame. I can't remember the last trail I've been on (if any trail at all) where my cranks and pedals kept hitting stuff. It felt like every down stroke would hit a rock or the side of a rut. It got really frustrating by the time we hit Cocktail.
I also ended up falling over a few times because I couldn't get unclipped on a few technical sections. Andrew also got a flat, which just added to our already long day.
Back to the crash ...
I got a little freaked out after the crash. I thought about it and it didn't make sense because one week prior I had fallen and it didn't phase me that much. I finally realized what the big deal was.
The crash in Malibu was the result of a bad decision. I picked a bad line and got stuck in a rut. My fault. The crash at San Juan just happened. It was a total accident. I understood that on some level and it made me lose trust in my bike. If I could suddenly lose control when I thought I had it and crash once, then it could surely happen again.
I guess I just need to trust my bike more and put those bad thoughts out of my head. I'm hoping the ramp up back to full downhill confidence won't take long.
My right shoulder and right knee are pretty sore and kind of stiff, but I'll be ok. It's funny that this would be the first ride in a while where my legs felt great, no cramping before, after or during, and yet I eat it and get banged up anyways.
My shoulder (the picture doesn't do it justice):
I'm not in this picture, but I like it because it shows how much fun we were all having:
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5:20 PM
2 Comments:
I'm glad you're OK. My favorite part was fixing your tire without taking it off the bike.
C0rby w1LL Pwn y0u.
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