Mountain Biking - back in seattle

Well, I made it back to Seattle last Wed. night and went for a ride on Sat. and at the very end of the ride I was jumping and fell breaking my clavicle. Looks like I wont be able to go riding with any of you in this area untl closer to Christmas time... Hope to see those of you in this area out on the trails soon!

OH dude that sucks! I know your pain--broke mine in May. Where were you jumping? Are you having surgery or wearing a brace?

OH dude that sucks! I know your pain--broke mine in May. Where were you jumping? Are you having surgery or wearing a brace?
Well, so far I'm just wearing a brace,but I have an appointment with an orthapedic Dr. tomorrow so that may change... I was out at South SeaTac jumping an 8-10 foot gravity jump for the third time and I got slightly sideways in the air causing me to fall and come down really hard on my shoulder. I heard a pop when I hit but thought it was just a twig... :(

The most broken bone in the human body. Most people spread their arms when falling and that bone SNAPS like a chicken wing.

One of the best things I learned when racing BMX. When you fall, think "BALL", not "I'm gonna brace myself". Because that's what you'll do, get put into a brace till you heal.

Sorry about the clavicle, heal quickly!

L8R

The most broken bone in the human body. Most people spread their arms when falling and that bone SNAPS like a chicken wing.

One of the best things I learned when racing BMX. When you fall, think "BALL", not "I'm gonna brace myself". Because that's what you'll do, get put into a brace till you heal.

Sorry about the clavicle, heal quickly!

L8R
I learned from martial arts how to roll with a fall, but in this case I smacked down so hard on my shoulder that it compressed my collar bone past its ability to flex so it snapped... The orthapedist told me I'll probably be left with a bump where the two pieces fuse but other than that everything should be fine. :)

I learned from martial arts how to roll with a fall, but in this case I smacked down so hard on my shoulder that it compressed my collar bone past its ability to flex so it snapped... The orthapedist told me I'll probably be left with a bump where the two pieces fuse but other than that everything should be fine. :)

oxy - hope your recovery goes well mate. You described it some detail, and I could clearly picture the pop and the snap like a twig.

My wife tells me this: if she ever breaks a collar bone she wants to be put down there and then. If I so much as touch hers, she almost panics! A broken collar bone to her is the end of life!:)

Take it easy. By the time you are ready, it will be winter, but I don't know whether that is a problem or not in your neck of the woods, so there will be time to ease back into things, maybe 5 foot drops for a while, then 6 foot, and so on.

sorry to hear it Oxy. at least you had a good guide to get you to a hospital. it's a tad ironic though that you went to those trails because they were easier.

you should've meet me at Tolt instead. :D

bokkie, winter around here isn't bad enough to keep us out of the woods. some trails get closed but there are still more then enough to ride. and plenty of people only ride in the summer so the trails aren't usually too crowded.
from what I've been reading, Oxy can handle a little rain and mud. get well soon man!

sorry to hear it Oxy. at least you had a good guide to get you to a hospital. it's a tad ironic though that you went to those trails because they were easier.

you should've meet me at Tolt instead. :D

Yeah, Skookum was a great help in shuttling me to the hospital... Yeah, those trails were fairly easy, although still far superior to anything back in Charleston, SC. If the fall had occurred on the regular trails there I would've started to question my biking abilities, but because it happened after a jump in an out of the way area of SouthSeaTac I'm not so dissapointed. Maybe at Tolt I would've only broken my pride... :D

Thanks for the sympathy everyone!

wow. if south seatac is better then anything from where your from, get ready to ride some damm nice and super fun trails.

you've ridden Tapeworm, right? that's down in renton. what did you think of that place?

wow. if south seatac is better then anything from where your from, get ready to ride some damm nice and super fun trails.

you've ridden Tapeworm, right? that's down in renton. what did you think of that place?
I thought Tapeworm was really fun, but I think it's too much for my wife (at least right now)... The stunts were cool, and there's more to the area than just that one trail, but it lacks some of the cool downhill sections like South SeaTac has. I really enjoyed the little downhill slope at South SeaTac with the lip near the top and the upper lip (for those with more travel in their bikes or larger balls than I presently have). That was the first time I had hucked off something of that dimension and I loved it! I'm so bummed out that my collar bone is broken because it has been a beautiful day today and I would've been out riding all day. I can't wait to check out some of the other trails. They just keep getting better and better!

y'know I have yet to make it down to south seatac, but from what I've heard there isn't much there worth riding unless you're into dirtjumping, which I'm not (I would probably sh*t my pants if I were 10 ft. in the air). Is that correct or should I bother to check it out? I rode tapeworm a couple weeks ago and it was covered in slippery leaves, not so cool.

Well be prepared for weeks of pain, not to get your spirits down, but you're going to pretty much be an invalid until the bones fuse. What kind of drugs did you get? oxycontin+vicodin=good times

y'know I have yet to make it down to south seatac, but from what I've heard there isn't much there worth riding unless you're into dirtjumping, which I'm not (I would probably sh*t my pants if I were 10 ft. in the air). Is that correct or should I bother to check it out? I rode tapeworm a couple weeks ago and it was covered in slippery leaves, not so cool.

Well be prepared for weeks of pain, not to get your spirits down, but you're going to pretty much be an invalid until the bones fuse. What kind of drugs did you get? oxycontin+vicodin=good times
If you've ridden Tapeworm, you should check out South SeaTac (but make sure Skookum from Ridemonkey is your guide)!! He was awesome and knew where all the good parts of the trail were. We only rode about 6 miles of trail, but it was fun and there was enough area on the trail that you could make it a little more difficult or easier to suit your likes.

As for pain in my shoulder, all I feel right now is some muscle soreness from the impact. I was prescribed Vicodin and Naproxin, but I'm not taking it because I'm not feeling any pain... Maybe there's something wrong with my nerve receptors, but seriously I feel so good I could go out riding right now (good thing I know better though).

As for the dirtjumping at South SeaTac, you probably wouldn't even find the area if you didn't have someone show you where it was, so don't think that's all there is.

well come to think of it I guess you're right about the pain. I was mostly hurting post-surgery, but I had a really bad break with a bone fragment pushing my skin up. I remember it hurting like hell whenever I laughed or turned my head. That sucked big time. Hope you're healed by new years. I was out 2 full months.

well come to think of it I guess you're right about the pain. I was mostly hurting post-surgery, but I had a really bad break with a bone fragment pushing my skin up. I remember it hurting like hell whenever I laughed or turned my head. That sucked big time. Hope you're healed by new years. I was out 2 full months.
Wow, you must've really messed up your collar bone because the Dr. I talked to said only about 2% of the collar bone breaks he sees need surgery. Did they end up putting in some metal plates to hold yours together? Hopefully mine will fuse on it's own but I think any modeling carreer will be out of the question because I think it's going to leave my left collar bone with quite a bump on it...

EDIT:

nevermind, I saw the pics of your break in your online photo album... OUCH

Tapeworm is fun :D i use to live in Kent(father owned the AlpineHut)