Jake Khuon's Casual Ponderings and Pontifications

I wear my sunglasses at night...

It's a mile to the end of the trail... we've got a half bladder of water in the Camelbak... leftover energy bar wrappers in our back pockets... it's dark... and we're wearing sunglassses... Hit It!

... And so I did... literally... hit the ground that is.

We had gotten a late start and the sun was already setting but there was still a good hour and a half of daylight. I wear Rudy Project Kerosenes with the smoke grey lenses and prescription inserts. I usually have to make a choice before riding around sunset of carrying my regular glasses along or just hoping to get back before it got dark. Oftentimes, it's not a problem as I can see most things through my sunglasses even during the dusk. We were finishing up the ride and heading back to the parking lot at St. Edwards State Park. The trail by this time was course gravel but smooth and we were pushing a good clip.

As I rounded a corner, I noticed a slight bump in the trail but it didn't seem that big. As I got closer, I noticed it was a LARGE PILE OF DIRT. I immediately tried to pick the front up but it was too late. The front tyre hit, the shock compressed and I could feel my rear end starting to pick up. I was definately going over the bars.

I landed pretty much face first. My bike actually flipped over my head and landed in front of me. My helmet visor went flying one way... my Rudys snapped (@#!#^$*!!). The helmet took the brunt of the impact and later on I noticed the crack in the very front. That helmet saved my forehead but it will have to be replaced (#$^%^^$!). I also have a fat bloody lip and numerous cuts and abrasions from the gravel as I rolled out of the fall. I sat there stunned for a bit. My riding buddy checked to make sure I was okay and handed me my water bottle which I used to wash off the cuts and my lip. I guess it could have been worse. The thing is just before my little spill while still on the rocky and rutted part of the singletrack (which I was negotiating pretty well), I was saying to myself, "Gee... I hope we get back before it gets too much darker... I'm having trouble seeing." I also had been contemplating getting clear lenses for the longest time. Oh well... lessons learned.

Here are some images of my cracked helmet...

Posted by khuon on Sun, 13 Oct 2002, 22:47:13 UTC-08:00