For those who don’t want to/can’t read to the end; I’m injured but bike is A-OK.
I’ve been riding a dirt bike for the past 5 years or so. I have about 120 hours into the sport. My speedo tells me so.
Went riding with 4 other buds last Saturday. On a trail I have ridden a dozen times or more we were heading up an easy double track climb at about 50KMS (32 MPH for you yanks). The trail has a narrow ditch in the middle of it cut out by rain water. With a little throttle you can jump over from side to side without dropping a wheel in. Lotsa fun and not hard to do. As the trail steepens the ditch gets deeper and is not kind to a front wheel that drops in. I had jumped back and forth a few times but on this particular attempt the rear dropped in and my front wheel washed out.
As I was going down I thought, “no biggie,” been here before. I was already thinking of getting back up, jumping on the bike and roaring away. I don’t like to hold up other riders or get passed
. I wear full armour all the time which gives me peace of mind when hurtling up trails. I have a full chest/back protector jacket that includes shoulder and elbow protection. There is however, a narrow 2 inch strip underneath my armpit that extends to my waist that is unprotected. Murphy’s law was in full effect as that exposed part of my side landed on the only stump sticking out of the ground for 50 feet in either direction.
I think the Viet Cong did the trail maintenance. The stump was covered with foliage and was cut about a foot tall with a 4 inch diameter and with a 45 degree angle leaving a nice sharp point. Who the hell clears trails like that?
The stump pierced my jersey and chest protector webbing, broke three of ribs and punctured my left lung.
I’ve always heard that busted ribs are painful. NO chit. It’s been a week and I still can’t get a good night’s sleep. A small cough is agony and a sneeze has me in tears. 50% lung capacity means a flight of stairs winds me.
When I was 20 I just seemed to heal a lot quicker. Forgive me for stating the obvious, but I’m starting to feel my age. I’ll be 50 this summer. Youth is wasted on the young.
Pic of my rig during happier times.
