I Fell

Yesterday Jason and I went riding after work. I changed my work schedule around so that I work 7 hours M, Tu, & Thur. and 9.5 hours on W & F. I wasn't sure what I thought about it at first, but I am loving it! I get off at 3pm on those days. Wahoo! So, we went up Madonna Mtn. It was a good ride for sure...Jason was tired though from work. ANYWAYS...there is a trail going down Madonna called "Rock Garden" (I will try to find some pics of it). I have never rode it until yesterday. This trail is known for it's technicality. It's probably one of SLO counties most technical downhills and having a lot of suspension on your bike is definitely helpful (and my bike has almost zero suspension). As we were riding up Madonna I looked over at Jason and said, "Can we go down "Rock Garden"?" He looked surprised because I made the decision a while ago that it was probably too much for my little bike. He said, "Really? Are you sure?" I replied with a confident "YEAH!". (I had a weird adventurous moment there...I love those moments and yet they seem to get you in trouble).

So, we got to the top of the trail. He coached me on what would be coming up and said that he would wait after the harder spots to make sure I was ok. Off we went! And when did I go over my handle bars? At the very beginning of it...which was pretty much the easiest part. DUH! Despite everything I know in my head I stuck my right arm straight out to catch myself. I caught the weight of my whole body with one point of my palm...ouch. It certainly hurts and is still swollen. Oh well. I made it down...it was REALLY fun and definitely the hardest trail I've ever done. Jason was quite proud too. I like making him proud :-). Oh, I found some pics. I have no idea who that guy is. I think these are pictures from the "King of the Mtn." race that happens every year on Madonna Mtn.

This is at the beginning I think...not too bad...those rocks will bite though :-)

Definitely a technical part

Oh yeah...I did that same move! Ha! Yeah right!

Wanna know something odd...and I'm totally jinxing myself by saying this. I have probably gone over my handle bars...oh 15 times, and have fallen I don't even know how many times. At the Sea Otter mountain bike race that I competed in last year I ate it really hard. I caught my front tire in a water rut on this steep down hill that basically had a 90 degree right turn at the end of it. I lost control, flipped the bike, and slid down the trail for about 10 ft...with the stupid bike still attached because my shoe clips were too tight and they didn't disengage. I tweaked my bike and another nice racer actually stopped to fix it and got me going again. BUT I didn't bleed. I have NEVER skinned my knee, elbow, or anything. Once I fell into a thorn bush and got some scratches but that's about it. Lots of bruises but no blood. Weird huh? We ride with a guy named Ben and he bleeds almost every ride. Jason and I can not figure out why I haven't bled yet. The strange thing is that it kind of sounds cool to have a "battle wound". I don't want the pain but...you know, maybe a little scar! :-) hehe.