Ride Report - Sunday, September 18th, 2005

I haven't done a ride report for awhile. Last weekend I didn't ride cuz I was sick with a kidney infection. Feeling better now. The weekend before that was uneventful (thank goodness!)

This week - NOT uneventful. NOT painless. Damn.

Ok, so this was ride 16 of the 18 necessary to be allowed (by Kent) to get a full suspension (ie. front and back) bike. The deal was that I had to ride 18 times on a hard tail (suspension only in the front, not in the back) to get my skills up and prove my committment to downhilling before I was allowed to get a full squish. So, only 2 more to go. Since we'll be away Thanksgiving and I'll be away the weeknd before, I will probably JUST make exactly 18 rides this season before the lifts close. If I don't get them in, I know Caitlin and Sheila will HIKE up the hill with me to finish the required #. (love them girls...)

OK so. Today Kent and most everyone else was in Montreal for the bike show, so Sheila and I went together, and ShaneMac and Geordie rode with us too! Yay. They're fun.

Pain Factor - 9
Pains:
- Stomach/pelvis/ovaries - swollen, giant lump, scrapes, and incredibly sore to touch, or move. Similar to 3 weeks ago injury, only worse. Really.
- Goose egg on left forearm and armour tattooed into skin. and bruise and small scrape.
- HUGEMONGOUS scrape/cuts on right quadricep where either the death pedal or a death rock got me. The whole area (size of a dollar bill) is raised and puffy and swollen and is already starting to form a doozy of a bruise. Sexy. I'm told my Miss America career is over, cuz I can't win the swimsuit contest. Damn - I've been preparing my whole life for that!!!!!
- Lump and bruise on right shin.
- Miscellaneous bruises still popping up randomly

GOOD NEWS: I did Rock and/or Roll (formerly known as Joe Job)!!!!!! for the first time ever! I did it on Caitlin's Balfa. So happy!!!!!

(it is a steepish rock run/chute on the race course.)

The good news is that I did it the first time I tried it. The bad news is that on the second time I crashed. Spectacularly. But allahumdill'allah, I didn't get hurt. I just ended up upside down, head pointing down the run, with my pants snagged on a tree, effectively hanging me there stuck upside down. It was funny. Until the velcro started coming undone on my shorts and I almost lost them. Still funny. So, since I knew I could do it, I did it again. And I crashed again. Even more spectacularly. Sheila said it was the worst one she's ever seen. I think I freaked them out. I was in great pain. I called down weakly that I was ok so they wouldn't be freaked out. (Just to reduce the suspense for my mother who is surely having a fit, I am fine. but oooowwwwwwww.) Sheila, Shane and Geordie ran up and staked the run to warn people that there was a rider down and pulled my bike off. I barely dragged my sorry self off to the side and curled up, couldn't move from the pain. I couldn't even open my eyes. Sooooo painful. Finally when the pain allowed me to breathe I said some very bad words and then I think they felt better. I know I did. It still hurt so much I couldn't even open my eyes, just kept them clenched closed and tried to breathe. Sheila took my helmet off me and gave me her glove to put my head on. She is SOOO sweet, I love her. Anyways, eventually I sat up, and they brought down my bike, helmet and other random bits and pieces. After a bit of testing, I was able to walk down and then roll the bike down the fire road. (Don't worry Caity, the bikes fine!!!) So I think what happened is that it was a bit slippery (wet) and I locked my brakes up from nerves. That didn't allow me to steer, and so it took the bike down a bad line, which made me panic and slam on the brakes even more, which drove my pelvis into my seat (I was way behind the seat to manage the steep - good technique) and sent me over the bars (bad technique). I was very lucky again - Sheila thought I landed on my head, but I didn't. I hit a tree that was wrapped in a huge foam mat and Shane and Sheila said the noise was sickening. So, I will not complain, becuase I'm just so grateful that I walked away.

I now have a huge lump about even with my hip bone. It's not really my stomach - more my ovaries. Yeah. Ow. Kind of a pelvis/ovaries smash. All the bones and the soft tissue. Oh well, good thing i have two ovaries... hope I didn't gross you out.

Don't worry though, I'm SO tough.

The other runs of the day (before that) were lots of fun. I did the obstacles on National (the roll-down, A-Frame, and rollercoaster)on Sheila's Pitbull (my bike's in the shop). Oh yeah!!! And I did my first "Stripper Dismount" today!! I was falling off a rock (the first one on Q-Cup), so I grabbed a tree and hung on while my bike fell down the cliff (again Caity, the bikes fine!) (called a stripper dismount because you grab the "pole" and slide down - though with much less finesse than a lady of the night )

Oh yeah!!! There was more eventfulness. The leafers are out now (people who ride the chairlift to look at the fall colors). A lady fell off the chairlift today and had to be back-boarded off the hill and taken away by ambulance! Very sad. I hope she's OK. SOOOOO, you never know - if you're thinking that it's crazy for me to be riding, think about that. Injuries can happen anywhere anytime. And that lady, doing something seemingly benign, is in much worse shape than me tonight. Might as well live my life and do what I love. And count my blessings every single day.

Bruise - well deserved