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



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Djarvinen

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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 ****.
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, [email protected] (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 ****.
>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
 
[email protected] (djarvinen) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> 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 ****.
> 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, ****??

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 ****.
>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" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 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 ****.
> 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" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 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" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> 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 ****.
> 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 ****.
> 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 **** 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)
 
Do any of you get so tired while riding, that when you hit some sand or start to go down, you just
sorta flop down with the bike? It's so much nicer when you're on the ground, even if the bike IS on
top of you.

BTW, this probably applies more during a race.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
[email protected] (Paladin) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] (djarvinen) wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > 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 ****.
> > 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, ****??
>
> 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

It was on the Old Oregon trail route. I started from the now defunct Oregon Trail parking
lot/meditation center/whatever (just a parking lot now) right above the Highway 55 bridge. It really
is a beginner/intermediate trail except for that one downhill into the valley. Normally it doesn't
bug me too much but for some reason, today I was just 'nervous' about it. Damn death cookies
everywhere.

And to add insult to injury, I just found out I picked up some poison oak along the way; no
idea where. And the bang on the shin turned out to be minor but I now have a shiny new shoulder
where I hit. :)

6:45am? Uh... uh... that's about two hours two early for me :) but at least you catch the nice cool
morning weather. And I'm not sure I'm in any shape to make anyone look good. I spend a lot of time
pushing my bike up the steeper hills. I really need to carry an oxygen tank. They couldn't weigh
that much. :)

DJ
 
"Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Do any of you get so tired while riding, that when you hit some sand or start to go down, you just
> sorta flop down with the bike? It's so much nicer when you're on the ground, even if the bike IS
> on top of you.
>
> BTW, this probably applies more during a race.
>
> --
> Phil, Squid-in-Training
>

Never on a mountain bike, but that pretty much sums up my telemarking last week.

Rob
 
"Rob" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Phil, Squid-in-Training" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > Do any of you get so tired while riding, that when you hit some sand or start to go down, you
> > just sorta flop down with the bike? It's so much nicer when you're on the ground, even if the
> > bike IS on top of you.
> >
> > BTW, this probably applies more during a race.
> >
> > --
> > Phil, Squid-in-Training
> >
>
> Never on a mountain bike, but that pretty much sums up my telemarking last
week.
>
> Rob
>
>

Man I'm so sick of telemarkers calling all the time!

Mike
 
[email protected] (djarvinen) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> [email protected] (Paladin) wrote in message
> news:<[email protected]>...
> > [email protected] (djarvinen) wrote in message
> > news:<[email protected]>...
> > > 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)
> > >
> > > DJ
> >
> > So where'd ya biff it, ****??
> >
> > 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
>
> It was on the Old Oregon trail route. I started from the now defunct Oregon Trail parking
> lot/meditation center/whatever (just a parking lot now) right above the Highway 55 bridge. It
> really is a beginner/intermediate trail except for that one downhill into the valley. Normally it
> doesn't bug me too much but for some reason, today I was just 'nervous' about it. Damn death
> cookies everywhere.
>
> And to add insult to injury, I just found out I picked up some poison oak along the way; no idea
> where. And the bang on the shin turned out to be minor but I now have a shiny new shoulder where
> I hit. :)
>
> 6:45am? Uh... uh... that's about two hours two early for me :) but at least you catch the nice
> cool morning weather. And I'm not sure I'm in any shape to make anyone look good. I spend a lot
> of time pushing my bike up the steeper hills. I really need to carry an oxygen tank. They
> couldn't weigh that much. :)
>
> DJ

Hope ya heal up, quick. I might bring our group over your way, as we've exhausted most of the
close-in stuff, and I try to go somewhere different every week.

You'd love a guy in our group I'll call dhg, for downhill geek. He walks a lot of the hills up, but
blasts down them. He has every excuse in the book for why he has to stop on hills. It's really
pretty funny. Then we have a brand new rider named Patrick, who's borrowing (and beating up a
little), my geared bike, who tries hard, but just doesn't have the fitness base down yet. Add to
that mix an intermediate rider girl, 2 expert class racers (good friends, but I'm a little surprised
they want to ride this easy stuff with the group) and me on the singlespeed, and you've got a neat
mix. I normally set it up for the top riders to keep going up if they want, when we turn down.

Anyway, glad to see you're out riding, and hope you get better quick.

Paladin
 
who's idea was this anyway? Ok, I can do this don't think, just go ohohohohohcrapcrapcrapshit...wow,
did it! do not grab brakes
 
> 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 ****.
> 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!

For me it's not a multiple choice option. It's TRUE or FALSE. If I'm "feeling it" I'll take a risk,
if I'm not, I'll walk it... but vow to ride it another day.

-John Morgan
 
"djarvinen" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> 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 ****.
> 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 turned 55 this year and I haven't really subscribed to (B) as off yet although I practice (D) more
and more when going down gnarly steep downhills. Overall it's still a lot of (E).

Take care

Rob
 
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