- Location
- Grand Junction, CO
Not a big crash and I'm not injured, but I had a pretty good wreck this afternoon and really got to test out my riding gear.
I went riding out at Rabbit Valley after being stuck in a meeting all day... I had seen NOBODY out there over 2 hours of riding. I rode the Rim Trail which is fairly technical, both ways, then some other fun single track in the area. I was getting pretty cocky on the WR450, riding fast, jumping and bringing the front tire off the ground often.
On the way out, on the rocky, gravely road, I was really cracking the throttle. Mind you, I hadn't seen anyone out there for a couple hours and felt like i had the place all to myself. I came to a sharp corner with quite a bit of brush on the inside and was getting ready to rip open the throttle and steer with the rear, if you know what I mean. Right at the middle of the corner as I was about to lay into the throttle, I saw another riding coming my way.... not that we were going to collide, but he simply caught me off guard. Surprised and in the middle of a turn, leaning... I grabbed a handful of brake and down I went, fast.
I was wearing my Fox riding boots, knee pads, SixSixOne pressure suit, Aria helmet and some light MX style gloves. I used them all... the buckles on my boots were pretty well ground down, my right knee has a raspberry on it where the knee pad took the knee hit, my right shoulder took the brunt of the impact, right on the plastic protector that's part of the pressure suit. My helmet took a light hit, not too bad, but enough to notice when my head hit the ground. Both of my hands hurt and are swollen at the pinkie knuckle. I have a few other bumps and bruises, but I'm really not any worse for wear.
My boots were really scraped up pretty good, I think my right boot went under the bike as it hit the ground and the bike skidded to a stop. Surprisingly my legs/feet don't hurt at all... I love good riding boots!
Like I said, I'm not really hurt, but I know I'll be pretty sore the next few days. Riding with all the right gear pays off in spades, if I were wearing hiking boots, no knee pads, no pressure suit and god forbid, no helmet... well, I'd probably be laying in the hospital right now. It was all my fault for riding too fast without enough sight and I panicked when I saw the oncoming rider and paid for that, by laying the bike down.
Just thought I'd share that experience, if anyone is thinking that riding without the right gear is a good choice.
I went riding out at Rabbit Valley after being stuck in a meeting all day... I had seen NOBODY out there over 2 hours of riding. I rode the Rim Trail which is fairly technical, both ways, then some other fun single track in the area. I was getting pretty cocky on the WR450, riding fast, jumping and bringing the front tire off the ground often.
On the way out, on the rocky, gravely road, I was really cracking the throttle. Mind you, I hadn't seen anyone out there for a couple hours and felt like i had the place all to myself. I came to a sharp corner with quite a bit of brush on the inside and was getting ready to rip open the throttle and steer with the rear, if you know what I mean. Right at the middle of the corner as I was about to lay into the throttle, I saw another riding coming my way.... not that we were going to collide, but he simply caught me off guard. Surprised and in the middle of a turn, leaning... I grabbed a handful of brake and down I went, fast.
I was wearing my Fox riding boots, knee pads, SixSixOne pressure suit, Aria helmet and some light MX style gloves. I used them all... the buckles on my boots were pretty well ground down, my right knee has a raspberry on it where the knee pad took the knee hit, my right shoulder took the brunt of the impact, right on the plastic protector that's part of the pressure suit. My helmet took a light hit, not too bad, but enough to notice when my head hit the ground. Both of my hands hurt and are swollen at the pinkie knuckle. I have a few other bumps and bruises, but I'm really not any worse for wear.
My boots were really scraped up pretty good, I think my right boot went under the bike as it hit the ground and the bike skidded to a stop. Surprisingly my legs/feet don't hurt at all... I love good riding boots!
Like I said, I'm not really hurt, but I know I'll be pretty sore the next few days. Riding with all the right gear pays off in spades, if I were wearing hiking boots, no knee pads, no pressure suit and god forbid, no helmet... well, I'd probably be laying in the hospital right now. It was all my fault for riding too fast without enough sight and I panicked when I saw the oncoming rider and paid for that, by laying the bike down.
Just thought I'd share that experience, if anyone is thinking that riding without the right gear is a good choice.
