It's amazing how many thoughts can go through your head in 1/4 of a second...

I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
ride.

After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.

I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
(nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"

(begin 1/4 second RR)
"Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop

"Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"

"Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
with me"

Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.

"Damn that's gonna hurt later!"

((end 1/4 second RR))

I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
pavement, but not bad.

So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.

Which brings me to our pop quiz:

Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
'challenge':

A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
E. Hey, this looks like fun!

Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
promising.

DJ

On 4 Aug 2003 12:02:39 -0700, (djarvinen) wrote:

I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
ride.

After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.

I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
(nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"

(begin 1/4 second RR)
"Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop

"Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"

"Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
with me"

Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.

"Damn that's gonna hurt later!"

((end 1/4 second RR))

I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
pavement, but not bad.

So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.

Which brings me to our pop quiz:

Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
'challenge':

A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
E. Hey, this looks like fun!

Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
promising.

DJ

Nice RR....been there many times.

Heal fast,
Bill


The mind serves properly as a window glass rather
than as a reflector, that is, the mind should give
an immediate view instead of an interpretation of the world.
:-]

djarvinen wrote:

snip 1/4 second RR

You know, I had a very similarly rememberable 1/4 second only yesterday.
Whilst downhilling a singletrack of loose rocks (sorta the size of two
fists and upwards), I got a little target fixation on this one
particular lump of mother nature's finest. For some reason when the
front wheel hit it, the whole bike stopped dead. That's when the 1/4
second started, my line of downhill attack then instantly switched to a
line of trajectory.

The 1/4 second ended with me in a heap in the flora and fauna to the
left hand side of the trail. So many things went through my head in that
time frame. You know the standard stuff:

How's the bike?;
I'm glad I'm not going to land on the track;
I hope I don't land on that tree;
I hope I can keep my wrists away from the impact;
I hope this is going to be soft;
Maybe this helmet wasn't such a bad idea;

Fortunately I got away with it to try again another day!


--
Dnc

(djarvinen) wrote in message . com...
I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
ride.

After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.

I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
(nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"

(begin 1/4 second RR)
"Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop

"Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"

"Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
with me"

snippage

A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
E. Hey, this looks like fun!

Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
promising.

DJ

So where'd ya biff it, Dick??

If yer an early riser, you can join my easy group ride at 645am Weds
at Camelsback Park. Got a couple riders that are guaranteed to make
you look good.

Paladin

jarvinen says:

Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
'challenge':

A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
E. Hey, this looks like fun!


I'll start with "E", but then usually finish up with "B" or "D".

"E" is more accurate, though. ;-)

Steve

nope, it's

don't crach....don't crash...don't crash .........

over and over and over again

--

"djarvinen" wrote in message
om...
I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
ride.

After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.

I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
(nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"

(begin 1/4 second RR)
"Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop

"Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"

"Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
with me"

Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.

"Damn that's gonna hurt later!"

((end 1/4 second RR))

I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
pavement, but not bad.

So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.

Which brings me to our pop quiz:

Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
'challenge':

A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
E. Hey, this looks like fun!

Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
promising.

DJ

"djarvinen" wrote in message
om...
I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
ride.
snip 1/4 sec crunch report

LOL! Yep. That's what it's like.
My last major 1/4 second was about 8 months (that's a bit over 85 million
1/4 seconds ) ago. And my good ol' Doc tells me this week to have an
operation to fix the on-going problems - again.

BTW, I choose 'B'. :-)
--
Westie

My last experience at over the handlebars...one moment I was on the bike the
next I was lying along side the trail with the wind knocked out of me. Did
not remembering what I did wrong or anything about the accident. My riding
buddies told me that I flipped nicely after about ten feet in the air..got
my head down and landed on the back of my helmet and left shoulder then
rolled three times. I stay in "B" mode allot and live to ride another day.

"djarvinen" wrote in message
om...
I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
ride.

After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.

I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
(nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"

(begin 1/4 second RR)
"Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop

"Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"

"Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
with me"

Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.

"Damn that's gonna hurt later!"

((end 1/4 second RR))

I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
pavement, but not bad.

So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.

Which brings me to our pop quiz:

Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
'challenge':

A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
E. Hey, this looks like fun!

Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
promising.

DJ

djarvinen wrote:
I guess this is a 'mini'-RR, covering only about 10 feet of my latest
ride.

After I recovered, I was quite astonished to remember how many
thoughts had gone through my head in a mere split second.

I was heading down this rather nasty, rocky and steep downhill today
(nice day, clear sky, only about 80 degrees, and only a wisp of a
breeze) when all of a sudden, I thought "Why am I taking this line?!"

(begin 1/4 second RR)
"Oh damn, deep rut, damn, bad rock" *crunch* followed by quick stop

"Oh-oh, going over... but at least to the right and not over bars"

"Impact! Hands out! Oh-no, right foot didn't unclip, here comes bike
with me"

Both hands hit ground simultaneously followed by hip and shoulder.
Pain shoots through both wrists and thigh.

"Damn that's gonna hurt later!"

((end 1/4 second RR))

I lay there a few moments, catching my breath, and slowly checking for
good motor control in all my limbs. Didn't bother looking for blood;
I knew there would be some. Not too bad; crunched wrists, large
bruise-to-be in upper right thigh, ugly rock bang on left shin. Bike
seemed OK but later I noticed a little wheel wobble when I got on
pavement, but not bad.

So I got up, drank some PowerAde, and pushed my bike until I got some
confidence back. Well, at least until I stopped shaking, anyway.

Which brings me to our pop quiz:

Which of the following statements should be the mind set when facing a
'challenge':

A. Damn, I don't remember that hill being so steep before.
B. Oh man, I'm too old for this crap.
C. I hope the recent rain hasn't made this downhill too slick.
D. Maybe if I go 'real' slow, I'll be OK.
E. Hey, this looks like fun!

Trust me, I didn't pick 'E.' today. It was more like A and B.
Arghh... guess some days are just 'bad'. Oh well, tomorrow looks
promising.

DJ

You forgot
F. O F%ck I'm Gonna Die! Followed by E. :-)
Actually sometimes I try to invoke B. (40 next month, yikes!), but my
mind tends to reject that pretty quickly.
Another thing about crashing that amazes me is how well I remember that
1/4 second years later. Point to a scar, and hear the extended story.
I suppose to be serious G. would be something like "I know this can be
done and I can do it, and here's how" Then I visualize how I'm going to
do it. Or some motivational crap like that. Sometimes the visualizing
part ends in stitches (not from laughing) and that's when I whimp out :-)

Cheers,
Shawn

On Mon, 4 Aug 2003 17:38:19 -0700, Dean A. Stepper wrote:
My last experience at over the handlebars...one moment I was on the bike the
next I was lying along side the trail with the wind knocked out of me. Did
not remembering what I did wrong or anything about the accident.

That seems to be how mine go, too. One moment I'm riding along at a good
clip, the next I'm lying on the ground in various amounts of pain!

--
-BB-
To reply to me, drop the attitude (from my e-mail address, at least)