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03 March 2013

Sunday 24 February 2013 - mtb ride

Sunday 24 February 2013

After a night of watching youtube mountain bike videos of the Belbins Rd (Stringy Bark Gully) area, I headed out to meet Ralph & Sam for some laps around a cross country course there.  It was a warm, sunny day so it was very sweaty work.  There is a maze of tracks here so I had to pay attention.  By the second lap around I knew what to expect ahead.  After 4 or 5 laps Ralph & Sam had to go & I stayed to explore more & found another area a short distance up on the left in a gully.

There were steep switchbacks uphill then down to a dry creek-bed then a series of steep left & right berms which ended over a blind crest down to a rickety wooden bridge then a metal bridge which looked like some roofing tin laid onto some logs.  This then either re-joined the xc track that we had previous ridden on or you could head steeply uphill on steep, dusty switchbacks - along the side of a hill with lots of small fallen trees & roots then steeply down onto the previous (easier) xc track.  On that downhill I had one stack where I used some momentum to get over a small log but landed on a bad angle that caused me to lose the front wheel and I went down - giving me a total dust bath.

After a bit more exploring and some sunburn in the heat of day I headed back to the car hoping it wasn't broken into or torched.  The carpark is littered with smashed glass and the remnants of burnt out cars which is never a good sign.  As soon as I got home I sprayed the dust off my bike and had a shower under the hose.

WARNING:  Sport is a health hazard

Later at home while dragging a heavy sea kayak around the back yard I felt a sharp & sudden painful tweak/tear from under my right arm around to under my right shoulder blade.  After a while it was agony from my right chest, under my right arm & around to my r.shoulder blade.

I still had a painful chest & possible broken ribs on the right side from a fly over the handle bars onto hard lump of ground - winding me for a while.  This was about a week ago at Clarence MTB Park.  I should have had my weight back further when I went down into a deep ditch and the front wheel stopped & I continued & my chest landed on the hump of the other side of the ditch.  I lay there groaning as I waited for the air to slowly come back to my lungs to be able to breathe again.

Now I had a muscle strain or tear in the same part of my chest as the possible broken ribs.  I should be more careful.