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.
