The art of falling: When does it stop?
I think for the exception of teaching a friend how to bunny hop, I have been free of falls due to lack of skills. Of course that's not to say I haven't fallen, I have. Yet the few occasions I have, it was due to wet wooden boards which i believe have a zero traction.
Yesterday I went with my riding buddy, Gooch, to ride Vereene's park. At the end of the park there is small island connected by a wooden bridge. This bridge is designed for walking and is about 4 feet wide. Gooch stopped to talk on his phone and I took the opportunity to pop a wheelie over the bridge. About halfway i put the wheel down and proceeded to sprint. What followed is still surprising to me because I remember wanting to turn right and all i felt was the bike drifting. My shoes unclipped and I lay down the bike. It didn't hit the floor right away, but as soon as i touched the trail sand I got dragged under the bike. I got bruised knees, and an even more a bruised ego; although no one was around to see me, I was getting annoyed at the fact I just had a stupid fall. I kept thinking, "How do you manage not to fall once in Dupont and Paris Mountain but in this park with no difficulty you fall prey to water on a wooden bridge." When will this stop?
This is not the first time I have fallen because I forget about this simple rule. If it is early in the morning or has rained, more than likely the wooden platforms are places where your bike can skid. Last fall was in Oleta, where I was going over the bridge and basically the bike skidded and once again I hit the side of hip. Of course as I am writing about I just remember I fell down during the 60 mile of Oleta because i was putting my elbows on the handlebar to get an aerodynamic position. The point is that falling never stops when you are riding in new places.
Yesterday I went with my riding buddy, Gooch, to ride Vereene's park. At the end of the park there is small island connected by a wooden bridge. This bridge is designed for walking and is about 4 feet wide. Gooch stopped to talk on his phone and I took the opportunity to pop a wheelie over the bridge. About halfway i put the wheel down and proceeded to sprint. What followed is still surprising to me because I remember wanting to turn right and all i felt was the bike drifting. My shoes unclipped and I lay down the bike. It didn't hit the floor right away, but as soon as i touched the trail sand I got dragged under the bike. I got bruised knees, and an even more a bruised ego; although no one was around to see me, I was getting annoyed at the fact I just had a stupid fall. I kept thinking, "How do you manage not to fall once in Dupont and Paris Mountain but in this park with no difficulty you fall prey to water on a wooden bridge." When will this stop?
This is not the first time I have fallen because I forget about this simple rule. If it is early in the morning or has rained, more than likely the wooden platforms are places where your bike can skid. Last fall was in Oleta, where I was going over the bridge and basically the bike skidded and once again I hit the side of hip. Of course as I am writing about I just remember I fell down during the 60 mile of Oleta because i was putting my elbows on the handlebar to get an aerodynamic position. The point is that falling never stops when you are riding in new places.
You are 100% correct,no matter how many times you have ridden a particular track or how much experience you have,there is always that possibility of you fallen.Just that one moment you don't focus & It just takes that split second for this to happen.
ReplyDeleteNice blog. Ride safe