Oh Crap….OOOFF, SCRAPE, TUMBLE, THUD!!!!

I’m guessing you can tell what this means, but just in case…..someone went down on our ride last night and two others went down on last Thursday’s mountain bike ride.
It’s interesting the thoughts that go through your head when someone crashes.
The title of this blog pretty much sums up the thoughts going through my head when I crash and I can only imagine they’re similar to the thoughts of others as well.

Last week, on our Thursday night mt. bike ride, at the top of the golf course climb we split into two groups. Our group continued on the regular route and the other group took a different route back to the truck to get the bbq started.
The ride was going pretty well and we were making pretty good time. As we finished the climbing and started on the mostly downhill portion back to the marina I went out front, followed by Dan and Paul. They always seem to let me lead which I’ve assumed is because although I’m slow uphill, I’m actually pretty dang fast on the downhill. I’m sure it has to do with having more mass (fat) but I tell myself it’s the hand-built wheels and my amazing skillz.

Anyway, after heading down one steep section and the next couple of corners, I noticed there weren’t any lights behind me. I turned around and headed back to find Paul standing on the side of the trail and Dan picking blackberry vines out of his helmet.
My first thought was oh man, I hope it’s not serious, getting him outta here is gonna suck. Luckily he and his bike were alright. A little banged up but able to finish the ride.

Then, last night, Roy, Greg, JoAnn and I headed out to the Alameda Creek trail on the road bikes which is a nice flat 20 mile out and back. Technically it’s not a challenging ride, and there is absolutely no climbing….ok, maybe a total of 20 ft of climbing if you figure in the underpasses. But it’s a good workout for speed and intervals. Towards the end, Greg and I cranked it up a notch and Roy and Joanne kept their steady pace. Well Greg and I got back to the truck and waited…..and waited….finally Roy and JoAnn rode up slowly. JoAnn had gone down and had some pretty good road rash on her knee and elbow….
Luckily nothing was broken and we were able to get her bandaged up. We then prescribed two doses of 12oz liquid medicine in the way of Alaskan Winter Ale and things seemed to be ok.

I was thinking about this last night after the ride and it struck me that crashing really sucks. I mean I’ve always known crashing sucked, but it dawned on me that a major crash could really be scary. For instance, what if Dan had been jacked up to the point that he couldn’t get back to the truck? Someone would have had to ride up to where they had cell service and get help, while he would have had to sit there in the dark and wait.
And, although JoAnn crashed about 20 yards from the truck, what if she had broken something or was hurt worse than she was? Would I have been able to assess the situation and deal with it properly?
Sure I have a pretty decent first aid kit in the truck and a smaller one in my camelbak, but do I know what to do with it?

As a result, I’ve signed up for a wilderness first aid course. Afterall, I spend enough time in the mountains fishing and hiking and mt biking that I think I should at least know the basics…..who knows what could happen and believe it or not, the liberal application of beer won't cure everything.