9.19.2007

bent

i have been riding bikes since i was a kid. cycling has been a lifestyle for years now.
in all my years of racing and riding i have never broken a bike part or had to send it for repair.
looking at my xray 800s wrong does not count. and my sid lockout not locking out doesn't count either, pure sucks.
i didn't pack my bike to ride after work tonight. i planned on hitting the road with my mtb or road bike. but then beth called and wanted to ride. the plan was bring our lights start at the mesa and then hit the paved loop and call it a night. sweet.
we hit the mesa in style. beth on her white and pink blur and me on my eriksen.
we rode the mesa to the outer loop and then the outer leg of the outer loop. i figured we'd hop back onto the mesa at the short cut and bypass all the more "dangerous" stuff as it was super dark. well since i talk too much i missed the short cut. we were so passed it, it wasn't worth going back. i should've known the ride wasn't going to end well when i hit my chainring on mike's log bridge. i've never done that. my mind wasn't really on riding. i was thinking about where beth was, doing wheelies and trying to aim my light to find deer eyeballs so i could see them glow. like grow up already. i was a bit ahead of beth on the other side of the grand canyon... there's a small little- i guess i would describe it as a super mini double. i usually lift my front wheel and my rear wheel just dips in the jump and my front wheel comes down the backside. i was going faster than i thought i was and when i hit this i think i hit the brakes (there's a slight turn as well) and started to wash out straight into a tree. my I9 wheel and the stupid tree hit head on. i think i bailed at perfect time to not get hurt but not so perfect as it seems i still drove the front wheel into the tree. get up, dust my self off. i knew something gave as it wasn't very harsh. i was hoping that it was my fork. but it wasn't. it was my wheel. as luck would have it this was the one night i didn't have my multi-tool in my back pocket. i always have it with me during a race, a 2 mile ride, a group ride. and i didn't have it. my stem was cocked a bit to the right and i couldn't get it moved over. we were pretty much at the furthest point of getting the heck out of there. i had a knocking up front. since i had discs, the wheel was rideable but i wasn't sure what the knocking was. i was 99% sure my headset was loose but i wasn't certain. so it was a lame ride back.
my back has been super irritated so riding with the stem crooked seemed to irritate my right lower back by my hip area.
i was trying not to be super bummed. i mean i just played chicken with a tree and lost and worse case scenario is i have to send my wheel back to i9 for a new rim.
i am in no way complaining about i9. just bad luck and bad riding.
john said i could borrow his easton wheels if i needed to, so the eriksen will ride on- just not as orange.

4 comments:

MTB Girl said...

What is it about riding in the dark?? I yard sale'ed it lastnight myself. I NEVER do that. I think I need more night riding practice. I suck.

Sorry about your wheel. And your back. :-(

julie said...

I'm so glad you're getting a replacement rim- those wheels are so super hottt. Hey, we all break stuff. You didn't get hurt, it's repairable, and you got out fine. All's well!

Anonymous said...

That is such a bummer, but happy to hear the body came out of it alright. Those trees in the woods can be pretty sneaky, they always seem to jump out at me as well.

Regina said...

Ouch! Sorry about the rim being busted. I've only done one night ride and it's like learning to ride all over again! I felt like I'd never been on a bike before.