Originally Posted by
Daspydyr
Hey Josh-welcome to the forum! You are hitting a true world class place for Mountain Biking. I grew up in the 60's and 70's riding my paperboy special all over that park. Love it.
The trails are marked for different skill levels. Stick to the mild trails until you get your confidence up, Don't be afraid to get off and walk a stretch of trail. If you feel yourself tensing up or getting fatigued, stop and get your legs under you. You want to stay relaxed and loose.
We all have stories of stupid falls. Many happen at slower speeds when you don't think anything is going to happen. Enjoy and post some pictures.
How true this is!
Two years ago my wife and I were riding the C&O Canal and I was lagging about three bikes behind her. I wasn't really paying attention and rode right off the trail, right down into a ditch where I laid it out mid-hill. I fell flat on my face. While that's all well and good, the fall could have been horribly bad as the trail is right above a 30-40 foot high embankment. Leading down the "straight path down" are some trees but below them are the rocks and river. Where I happened to go down was an area with a bit of a "lip," which extended what I'd guess would be about 100 feet...and then there was the drop-off.
My wife didn't even know I went down. I called out, "MAN DOWN," but she didn't hear me. She said she turned around and I just wasn't there!
At this point she was flipping out. She obviously turned around and found me laying flat on my face, in the long grass. She was pretty worried as I was just laying there with the wind knocked out of me and didn't get up for a few minutes.
Well, sure enough, I was okay, but it just goes to show that even the simplest of trails could turn deadly. This is a straight, dirt/gravel path we're talking here, not even mountain biking. I'm an experienced rider (not an expert, but I'm a pretty decent rider, IMO...) but things happen.
Yep, "stupid" falls do happen!
