I Decided to Fall again…
… this time sans pads and while I was at it, sans shoes and socks as well. Let me explain.
It all started with a quest to find a seatpost clamp with a quick release. I had been looking for one for the Redline Mono 9 for a while now. Since I was going to buy one I decided to buy one in the color I wanted, red. I originally guessed at the diameter and purchased one from Hope. Oops, wrong size. Stupid of me not to measure it so I took the bike to my LBS and had it measured. 30.6mm. Hope doesn’t make a 30.6mm seatpost clamp so I purchased a Salsa version instead.
I received the gorgeous seatpost clamp yesterday and tried putting it on… but it was too big. Sweaty and frustrated, I put on the old non quick release seatpost clamp. I torqued it down quite a bit (I’m a big rider, k?) and SNAP! The bolt broke inside the clamp. Ugh. I wasn’t able to pull out the bolt and I didn’t have another seatpost clamp so I had to go with a different bike.
Really frustrated now, late to the ride and at my whits end as to what to do about getting the right sized seatpost clamp, I grabbed another bike, threw it on the rack and raced out to the trailhead. I got there, pulled the bike off the rack and realized that I forgotten my socks. OK, not bad. I can still ride. Then I realized I forgot my shoes too. Double Ugh. I guess I’ll just have to wear my sandals.
Off we went. We turned on our lights just before we arrived at the first downhill. On that first downhill I decided to fall… hard. I rolled around, scraped up my left arm, knee, leg and foot. The foot got the worst of it (if I had only brought my shoes!). After a quick check I noticed that one gash on my foot was relatively deep and wide. I decided that I should probably have it seen by the doctor.
RL, Priscilla & I rode back to the trailhead. I then proceeded to drive to the hospital. When I got there the doctor told me that the hole in my foot was too wide to stitch up. Yuck. All the rest were of my wounds were superficial skin scrapes which I suspected. Here is what I look like after being bandaged:
Pretty huh?
RL has a picture of that hole on my foot on his camera somewhere. I’m sure he’ll be more then happy to post it in the comments section later on.
Moral of the story: buy the right sized seatpost clamp the first time.
Well there’s a few morals to this story. First one, always keep your gear in one place. A gym back would help. As for me, I always keep them in my trunk. But since you have your rack on the wife’s car, the bag would be great. Second moral was…you should have listened to RL…Yup..
Remember after doing that long climb on Bridle Park, where we decide to either do the Jeremy Yang way or the regular way? I had ask you,”Should we do the Jeremy Yang Way or the regular way? Since you have your shoe condition, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to keep going?”
So then you said, let’s keep going…
You know Jeremy, God always gives a person a way out of temptation…he usually will use people, animals or, situations, and surroundings to let you now that it may not be a good idea to continue.
In this case, God was using me! That’s right Mr! God was talking through me! His anointed mountain biker…Since you didn’t listen to me, you didn’t listen to God…oooh
Any how I’m glad you’re ok. It was really tough to watch you eat it and roll around and come to a sliding stop. I’m glad you didn’t hit your head or have any major injuries.
I swear, that Fullerton Loop is as seductive as a siren, makes you think that its harmless, but next thing you know it will eat you alive!
So one more thing…was the bike ok?
hehe
I forgot to say…
oooooh sexy!
SWEET 99 RANCH TRASH BAG!! I don’t like falling or crashing!
Hey way to recycle Jeremy! Glad you are ok! That was one heck of a fall from where I was at! Dirt, dust and lights all over the place! Glad it was nothin too serious. I’ve heard of lots of boo boos out at that ole fullly loop…
How did the wife take the news?
SWEET! Ikea stools! I have one of those in my garage! I’m allergic to falling. I usually a get a road rash…get it…falling, road rash…allergic…aye nevermind..
that bandage over his left chi chi was from Michelle giving him titi twister…that was his punishment…or was it his reward…?
GO LAKERS!!!!!!!
Thanks RL. Yes, I should have listened to you. But then again your wife was saying her friend had ridden the trail with sandals without problems. Who was talking through her? hehe
Yes, GO LAKERS! It’s time to send the Jazz into the offseason.
Since we’re dissecting my home office: the box underneath the desk is for recyclables. I am happy to say that it gets more use than the trash can. Also, if we don’t re-use plastic bags (99 in this case) for trash then we gather them together and recycle them at the grocery store.
Any other observations? I too find it fun to get a glimpse into someone’s home. 🙂
Hey, hey, hey watch it mister! My friend did rock that trail in flip flops! No boo boos for her – must be a girl thing?! hehehe. ;P
Dude it wasn’t that bad…see
Here he is showing off his size 13s…
Pictures don’t do the wounds justice. The gash behind the pinky toe is all swollen and very tender. I can’t walk on it. I walk on my left heel.
My tan shorts were all bloodied by the time I got home, too.
You went to the hospital for THAT?!? Next time, just drip a little Superglue into the cut and you won’t need stitches. Seriously!
Wounds heal, chicks dig scars…but glory lasts forever?
looks like the trail got the best of him…
I guess when you “decide” to do something, you put your “all” into it, that is some serious dedication.
Q. So are you going to start wearing pads at the Fully Loop ?
“Dedication” or as as known by my wife “stubbornness” is a trait of mine. Negative on the loop. I’m just going to decide to stop falling on the loop.
Have you decided to start wearing shoes as well?
I highly recommend some dedicated mtb shoes, just my take for what it’s worth.
T, he wanted to ride without a shirt…but I put a stop to that!
DON’T FALL IT HURTS!!!
Dude GEAR UP!!! Did you get a nice “lecture” from Michelle or just some stern looks?
Both!
…and he was grounded for 2 weeks!
I have a motorcycle jacket and helmet you can borrow for your next ride =D
seriously, be safe out there man! You got two kids!
Man…I really should take the picture of your sweaty, bloody paw…its gross and you have to see it when leaving a comment!