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WHOOPS! "this DH stuff seems kind of dangerous"
DUH! It is EXTREMELY RARE for a mountain biker to openly discuss the danger that mountain biking poses to the riders (and others)!
Mike From: Preston and Meg Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2012 20:48:25 -0700 Subject: The Dark Side We know that BBTC er I mean EMBA trails coordinator extraordinaire Mike Westra broke his leg up at Whistler this year. Although I know Mike and have often enjoyed his company at Duthie and on the trail, I can't say we're close. Even though hearing the news was a bit of a gut punch, at the same time there is a certain anodyne distance from the reality. Not always so - The Legend, Janitha, and I were up at Whistler this last weekend. Armando! was supposed to join us but some work scheduling snafu got in the way at the last minute. We had a great weekend, riding Friday night, Saturday, and....Sunday. I've ridden with Janitha lots this summer and knew he'd do just fine. But I was really impressed with Len's progression. Taking a Shaums March clinic and renting a "real" bike for the weekend had him really railing the mountain. I didn't realize he hadn't been there since riding the opening of the park in 1998 ! I even got them to try a few of the mellower double diamond runs. Even though we were a bit burnt, Sunday morning dawned sunny and enthusiastic. We started as per our wont on Garbanzo as soon as it opened, aching muscles but smiling faces. Coming down Freight Train over a rather innocuous jump, we came across an individual writhing in pain and face down. One other person had got there first and we began securing the trail and trying to contact the patrol as well as assessing this guy. Despite the full face helmet he had some impact damage to his mouth but by his moaning and thrashing we knew it was worse. Its haunted me all week, and I only looked at i briefly, but I saw both of his forearm bones sticking several inches out of the top of his arm, meat hanging off them and his hand hanging very unnaturally below. Ugh...I admit I felt a bit nauseous a few minutes later trying to get it out of my mind. The battlefield cries from his shattered body and psyche added to the pain of the scene. The patrol got there reasonably fast, thanks to janitha's cell phone, and we moved on. We figured he didn't get any drugs until after a good assessment and the helicopter took at least another 25 minutes to land by which time we were back to riding. But, you know...our heart wasn't in it. Our bravado had left us and wasn't to be found and we went for an early lunch and headed home. Circling back to Mike, I have a new emotional appreciation for the pain and suffering of him laying on A-line, broken. Combined with the teenage kid with the dislocated shoulders I helped down the course at Port Angeles last spring, I'm beginning to get a bit spooked - this DH stuff seems kind of dangerous. |
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#2
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WHOOPS! "this DH stuff seems kind of dangerous"
On Thursday, August 30, 2012 5:40:11 AM UTC+1, Mike Vandeman wrote:
DUH! It is EXTREMELY RARE for a mountain biker to openly discuss the danger that mountain biking poses to the riders (and others)! Actually, no, it's not rare at all as you were made aware of in this thread ... https://groups.google.com/forum/?fro...ke/bXMPFzyDPoc So, is this premature senility or good old fashioned lying ? |
#3
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WHOOPS! "this DH stuff seems kind of dangerous"
On Monday, September 3, 2012 8:57:38 AM UTC-7, Blackblade wrote:
On Thursday, August 30, 2012 5:40:11 AM UTC+1, Mike Vandeman wrote: DUH! It is EXTREMELY RARE for a mountain biker to openly discuss the danger that mountain biking poses to the riders (and others)! Actually, no, it's not rare at all as you were made aware of in this thread ... https://groups.google.com/forum/?fro...ke/bXMPFzyDPoc So, is this premature senility or good old fashioned lying ? Neither. It's true. I subscribe to mountain biker listservs. They almost NEVER discuss accidents. But expecting you to tell the truth is hopeless. |
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WHOOPS! "this DH stuff seems kind of dangerous"
On Monday, September 3, 2012 5:14:22 PM UTC+1, Mike Vandeman wrote:
On Monday, September 3, 2012 8:57:38 AM UTC-7, Blackblade wrote: On Thursday, August 30, 2012 5:40:11 AM UTC+1, Mike Vandeman wrote: DUH! It is EXTREMELY RARE for a mountain biker to openly discuss the danger that mountain biking poses to the riders (and others)! Actually, no, it's not rare at all as you were made aware of in this thread ... https://groups.google.com/forum/?fro...ke/bXMPFzyDPoc So, is this premature senility or good old fashioned lying ? Neither. It's true. I subscribe to mountain biker listservs. They almost NEVER discuss accidents. But expecting you to tell the truth is hopeless. sarcasmYeah ... and black is white and you are the sole guardian of the truth./sarcasm I pointed out a permanent feature of several MTB websites where they showcase injuries and discuss them quite openly. Quite how that counts as 'almost NEVER' I have no idea unless you're also now redefining the English language. As usual, you don't let the facts get in the way of your prejudices ... |
#5
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WHOOPS! "this DH stuff seems kind of dangerous"
On 9/3/2012 10:57 AM, Blackblade wrote:
On Thursday, August 30, 2012 5:40:11 AM UTC+1, Mike Vandeman wrote: DUH! It is EXTREMELY RARE for a mountain biker to openly discuss the danger that mountain biking poses to the riders (and others)! Actually, no, it's not rare at all as you were made aware of in this thread ... https://groups.google.com/forum/?fro...ke/bXMPFzyDPoc So, is this premature senility or good old fashioned lying ? Michael J. "Handsaw" Vandeman, Piled Higher and Deeper, is a fanatic, and therefore immune to facts that contradict his hatred of off-road bicycling. -- Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731°N, 83.985007°W Post Free or Die! |
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WHOOPS! "this DH stuff seems kind of dangerous"
On Monday, September 3, 2012 12:56:13 PM UTC-7, Tom $herman wrote:
On 9/3/2012 10:57 AM, Blackblade wrote: On Thursday, August 30, 2012 5:40:11 AM UTC+1, Mike Vandeman wrote: DUH! It is EXTREMELY RARE for a mountain biker to openly discuss the danger that mountain biking poses to the riders (and others)! Actually, no, it's not rare at all as you were made aware of in this thread ... https://groups.google.com/forum/?fro...ke/bXMPFzyDPoc So, is this premature senility or good old fashioned lying ? Michael J. "Handsaw" Vandeman, Piled Higher and Deeper, is a fanatic, and therefore immune to facts that contradict his hatred of off-road bicycling. -- Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731°N, 83.985007°W Post Free or Die! I just tell the truth -- something you will never be accused of. |
#7
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WHOOPS! "this DH stuff seems kind of dangerous"
On Friday, September 7, 2012 9:54:08 PM UTC+1, Mike Vandeman wrote:
I just tell the truth -- something you will never be accused of. Objective truth and M J Vandeman are not well acquainted. Your definition of 'the truth' is totally subjective and dependent only on what you would like to be the case ... not what actually exists. |
#8
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WHOOPS! "this DH stuff seems kind of dangerous"
On Monday, September 10, 2012 10:30:29 AM UTC-7, Blackblade wrote:
On Friday, September 7, 2012 9:54:08 PM UTC+1, Mike Vandeman wrote: I just tell the truth -- something you will never be accused of. Objective truth and M J Vandeman are not well acquainted. Your definition of 'the truth' is totally subjective and dependent only on what you would like to be the case ... not what actually exists. Since you weren't there, by definition, you know NOTHING. |
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