Fifty Plus (50+) - Too old for this

Went for a long mountain bike ride yesterday and had my first bad crash in 20 years. Stuck the front wheel, went over the bars, and tumbled down a 40 foot drop. Feeling pretty beat up today, but I'm thankful to be here to write this.
I wanted to tell Big Paulie about my friend who has both an Atlantis amd a Rambouilet. He put knobbies on the Atlantis and rode it with us up there. He said the Atlantis is indeed more stable than the Rambouilet, but it's not a huge difference. There are a few pics in the thread, including one of Pete and his Atlantis.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=355110

Thats the problem with mountain biking- Get the adrenalyn and the Blood flowing. Hope you recover fast enough to get out next week- but Have a good stiff Scotch on us and forget about the Aches and pain.

Perhaps too old for the falls but that looked a good trail to ride.




If the Scotch doesn't work- try Brandy.

Thats the problem with mountain biking- Get the adrenalyn and the Blood flowing. Hope you recover fast enough to get out next week- but Have a good stiff Scotch on us and forget about the Aches and pain.

Perhaps too old for the falls but that looked a good trail to ride.




If the Scotch doesn't work- try Brandy.
Thanks, but, being an alcoholic, I'll have to stick with Ibuprofen.
That ride is quite an adventure, starting with a 3 hour climb on pavement turning to fire road up to about 5000 feet. From there it's 15 miles of singletrack with high speed turns, dark shaded climbs, cliffs, creek crossings, and walk sections. Truly a bit of everything. 7 hours for the whole thing.

Thanks, but, being an alcoholic, I'll have to stick with Ibuprofen.

Me too. I've got 19 years, 5 months and 21 days.

Mountain bikers, simply put, are loons. Out and out crazy. Nut cases. Whack jobs. Falling down is bad, it hurts, and bad things can happen that are not easily repaired. Trails are for hiking, not biking. Roads are for bikes. Knobby tires are for children. That said, get well soon and congrats on the sobriety.

Mountain bikers, simply put, are loons. Out and out crazy. Nut cases. Whack jobs. Falling down is bad, it hurts, and bad things can happen that are not easily repaired. Trails are for hiking, not biking. Roads are for bikes. Knobby tires are for children. That said, get well soon and congrats on the sobriety.

Said with Gusto- but these MTB's when used for their original purpose are the best fun you will ever have with your shorts on- even with the Bandaids and the Bandages.

Mountain bikers, simply put, are loons. Out and out crazy. Nut cases. Whack jobs. Falling down is bad, it hurts, and bad things can happen that are not easily repaired. Trails are for hiking, not biking. Roads are for bikes. Knobby tires are for children. That said, get well soon and congrats on the sobriety.

You're funny.

Having done headers over the bars on mountainbikes before, I am glad to hear you came out of it with no more damage than feeling beat up. A 40 foot tumble! Yikes! Never-the-less, that seems like a great place to ride if you keep the adrenaline under control. Doing seven hours offroad sounds like a marvelous way to spend the day.

I loved Mtn biking. But I simply got too old. A guy I know, our age, had his frame
fail last year on his Mtn bike. Died a couple days later from complications. He was a good man.

I still love off-road biking, but this has given me someting to think about. This lapse of concentration thing isn't sometihng I have a history of. I've ridden off-road motorcycles and road and off-road bicycles for 30 years, and the worst crash I ever had was on the road bike on the bike path. I hope to be able to go riding by Wednesday.
Thank for your well wishes.

I'm glad your ok. If your like me your going riding anyway, just sometimes I go a little slower and more carefully upon reflection on how long it will take to heal.

Whoa, that sounds like a nasty fall. I'm glad you're ok.

The one reason I now only ride on the road.....or on Rails to Trails types of trails.

Glad you are ok...

I must be doing something wrong....
I go fast down hills on rough tracks...
I push it when maybe I shouldn't...
I'm 62 and should have more brains...
But I've never fallen off...
I'll keep trying.

I know.... my day will come

i donot think you are too old. I saw an 80+ MB in a race last year.

What I meant was too old to fall down a cliff. I think I'll avoid that trail from now on. Part of it is cut into the steep walls of the gorge, so if you fall off the bike, you could fall for a while. Certainly many of the trails I ride are safer than the highway, but I spend most of my bike time on the road. Plenty of time on Bike Forums today, however.

Mountain bikers, simply put, are loons. Out and out crazy. Nut cases. Whack jobs. Falling down is bad, it hurts, and bad things can happen that are not easily repaired. Trails are for hiking, not biking. Roads are for bikes. Knobby tires are for children. That said, get well soon and congrats on the sobriety.

:lol::roflmao::lol::roflmao::lol::roflmao::lol: Good one!

Sorry to hear about your crash, Big John. Glad you weren't hurt worse and hope you'll heal quickly.

I had a good MTB ride today. A couple of friends and I took a drive to the area's best trials, Dauset Trails near Jackson, GA. We rode singletrack for over 3 hours (with a few stops to catch our breath).

Thanks BD. Feeling a lot of new soreness this morning, but getting ready for work in a few minutes. I live in the foothills and the Agua Dulce fire is over a couple ridges, maybe 20 miles from here. Fires all over Southern California.

Thanks BD. Feeling a lot of new soreness this morning, but getting ready for work in a few minutes. I live in the foothills and the Agua Dulce fire is over a couple ridges, maybe 20 miles from here. Fires all over Southern California.

Glad you're feeling okay this morning.

I've been watching the fires on the news....terrible. Hope they stay out of your neighborhood.

Hi bigjohn,

Hope to see you up at Angeles Crest again when the fires are all out! Good to hear you survived the 40' drop. Not really far enough to use a parachute, huh?

Hope you did a "tuck and roll" kind of thing . . . still . . . 40' is a long way to fall!

After 6 crashes in '06 I've been keeping the rubber side down for all of '07 (so far). Got hit by a very strong cross-wind Sat. on the Solvang Fall Double; almost ruined my record! Moved me out about 2' into the traffic lane, but thankfully no motor vehicles were close! And somehow I kept the bike upright!

Rick / OCRR

No Rick, no tuck-and -roll. I actually didn't know I was falling down the gorge. I knew i was going over the bars when I slammed into the trail, then I couldn't figure out why I kept getting hit. It knocked the wind out of me, and I got up once I realized I could stand, and my Camelbak was on my left wrist and I couldn't find my bike. It was still on the trail above me.
How was the double? Sounds like you had some serious wind. Did you see anybody we know ?

Yes big john,

I saw whitecarbondude (Jon) a few times during the day (he was always faster than me!) and Lee (scvroadie) working the 2nd and 5th Checkpoints.

Yes, the wind was usually horrible, but occasionally (like coming out of Guadalupe) it was a wonderful tail-wind!

Side winds are very dangerous, as detailed above, but headwinds are just a challenge. We did have a good tail-wind on Santa Rosa road, for the last 25 miles to Buellton / Solvang. Daylight lasted just until the final checkpoint, but the Nite-Rider brought me home. The bike worked perfectly, no mechanicals or flats, so that always makes the whole ride more enjoyable.

Rick / OCRR

So I bought a new helmet today and went for a short ride, (the old one was broken and dented in the crash). I felt O.K. and want to do a longer ride Saturday. I need to talk to the doc about the report I got from the radiologist. It said I had a "faint calcification of the aortic arch". It also said I have 20% compression of 2 mid-thoracic vertebrae but that might be an old motorcycle injury.
Right now it feels like I got punched in the kidney and hit on the shoulder with a bat.

Yes big john,

You may just want to rest and take a few days off the bike. Yeah, yeah, easier said than done and who am I to be telling you to do something that I would find very difficult . . .

Still, a few days off the bike to let your body recover would be the smart move (not that I'd do it myself!).

Rick / OCRR

Yes big john,

You may just want to rest and take a few days off the bike. Yeah, yeah, easier said than done and who am I to be telling you to do something that I would find very difficult . . .

Still, a few days off the bike to let your body recover would be the smart move (not that I'd do it myself!).

Rick / OCRRThat's why I am considering your GMR ride, if I start hurting, I can turn around and cruise back down. Plus, Maria is a sweetheart.

True John,

Maria is a true sweetheart, and since she's friends with my wife I won't get in trouble riding with her!

On the other hand, Herb is a big Maria fan so we may just be ignored . . .

Even M.E. agrees that Maria is a sweetheart! But since M.E. won't be there, Maria will likely get all the attention. Unless Happytime shows up (not likely). Ah well, I guess we'll just have to tough it out!

But wait . . . I just remembered that Herb likes riding with Jackie (my wife), so this may work out regarding who rides with whom as we mosey our way up the mountain! If it gets too confusing we'll just call a re-group and start out again.

Good to hear you're feeling well enough to at least give it a try!

Rick / OCRR

So I bought a new helmet today and went for a short ride, (the old one was broken and dented in the crash). I felt O.K. and want to do a longer ride Saturday. I need to talk to the doc about the report I got from the radiologist. It said I had a "faint calcification of the aortic arch". It also said I have 20% compression of 2 mid-thoracic vertebrae but that might be an old motorcycle injury.
Right now it feels like I got punched in the kidney and hit on the shoulder with a bat.

Yikes, I heard from Mel you took a fall last week but he downplayed it. Sorry to hear you
got mashed, heal up and I'll see you soon.

Steve

True John,

Maria is a true sweetheart, and since she's friends with my wife I won't get in trouble riding with her!

On the other hand, Herb is a big Maria fan so we may just be ignored . . .

Even M.E. agrees that Maria is a sweetheart! But since M.E. won't be there, Maria will likely get all the attention. Unless Happytime shows up (not likely). Ah well, I guess we'll just have to tough it out!

But wait . . . I just remembered that Herb likes riding with Jackie (my wife), so this may work out regarding who rides with whom as we mosey our way up the mountain! If it gets too confusing we'll just call a re-group and start out again.

Good to hear you're feeling well enough to at least give it a try!

Rick / OCRR

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d195/GonzoDawg/worthless_thread_wo_pics.gif

If you guys are going to have this private chat, at least you could share a little insight into what you're talking about. :rolleyes:

We're talking about a ride this Sat. and you're invited. See details on the Rebel website here:

http://www.ocrebels.com/special.htm

There are a couple of photos of Maria here, if you look quick:

http://www.ocrebels.com/images/JavaCityNBOctober2007/pic14.htm

http://www.ocrebels.com/images/JavaCityNBPaulOctober2007/pic15.htm

Hope that helps!

Rick / OCRR

Sorry BluesDawg and bigjohn,

Due to fire danger, this ride has been called off. At least for now. Here is the report from Fred Delgado (Mr. Beanz).

"I just drove up to GMR (Glendora Lone Hill start area). BIG BOLD letters on the lighted sign saying 'FOREST CLOSED/EXTREME FIRE DANGER'!!!!!!!.

I drove up to the big steel gate. Another sign (billboard type) right behind the gate saying 'No Tresspassing Private property/Keep Out!!!!!!!!! Extreme Fire Danger!

When I was backing up to turn around a ranger pulled on us with a spotlight. He said the road was closed to all, didn't know how long but nobody was allowed up the road. I didn't ask as the sign said 'forest closed' but I assumed it was the entire road. "

. . . so that's all for this time. Hope to reschedule in the future!

Rick / OCRR

We're talking about a ride this Sat. and you're invited. See details on the Rebel website here:

http://www.ocrebels.com/special.htm

There are a couple of photos of Maria here, if you look quick:

http://www.ocrebels.com/images/JavaCityNBOctober2007/pic14.htm

http://www.ocrebels.com/images/JavaCityNBPaulOctober2007/pic15.htm

Hope that helps!

Rick / OCRR

Yep. She's a sweetheart alright. :)

Y'all come on over to Georgia to ride this weekend. We're expecting beautiful weather. (But alas, no rain in N. GA where they need it so badly)

Yes BluesDawg,

You are correct. Maria escaped communist Poland back before Gorbi set them free and still speaks with an Eastern Euro accent, . . . which makes her all that much more charming. Great bike rider too (carbon TREK).

Rick / OCRR

She's also smart, a geologist with a degree she obtained on her own, and she's witty. Too bad I'm so old.
Who am I kidding? She wouldn't want a guy like me, even if I was her age.
Too bad about the ride being canceled, now I'll have to go ride with the fast people and get dropped.

Don't give up so easy big john!

I'm 11 years older than Jackie and I almost didn't ask her out 'cause I thought I was too old for her.

Turns out it's no problem . . . in fact it's all good! Of course it would have been ugly back when I was 21 and she was 10! But it's okay now that I'm 57 and she's 46!

Don't know how old Maria is though.

Rick / OCRR

Loons... gotta love em.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsDjh7oAAP0&NR=1