Down and Out

The family took advantage of some dry single track and milder temperatures up in Smithville today.  We all really like the trails up there and usually have a very fun ride.  I know the trails like the back of my hand and at times I seem to push the pace and ride on the edge because I feel so comfortable out on the trails.  Today I went over that edge.

Things started off a little slow for me today, maybe my age is starting to show.  Christopher on the other hand was out of the gate and attacking Lakeside Speedway like it was a race.  His new Anthem 29er was just floating over the rocky sections of this part of the trail.   He actually had to wait up for me a couple of times.  Once we got through Neal's we took the pavement back up to join into Posson Trot (basically we were running the old Bone Bender course).  By then I was really warmed up and passed Christopher and started to pace us.  I wanted to do a tempo ride anyway.  Once we crossed the paved trail and bombed down to the creek bed Christopher got a stick in his rear wheel and had to stop.  I continued on and actually picked up the pace because I really enjoy this part of Posson Trot.  Well, I guess I got carried away and ended up going down really hard and hitting my head.  I do not remember everything, but I do remember wheeling over the large log and beginning to lift my rear tire over to clear it.  I guess I started pedaling a little too soon and clipped the log which catapulted me into the air and over the bars. I hit the right side of my head really hard.  I have a nice big dent in my Rudy Project helmet to prove it.  Luckily the helmet did its job and protected me from serious injury, but I was unconscious for about 20 to 30 seconds.  I think the last time I broke a helmet  and was knocked out was during the Branch Oak 12 Hour Mountain Bike race up in Nebraska.  You can see the results from that crash below.

Back to today.  Christopher catches up to me after he removed the stick from his wheel set. When he gets to me I am laying flat out on the ground.  He thinks I am playing around and asked if I was "Taking a break"  I am starting  to come to at that point and slowly get up and check to see if I have any serious injuries. I did not, but what if I did.  I asked Christopher what would he have done if I did not get up.  He said he did not know. He would most likely move me to the side of the trail and then go get help.  What if I had a broken neck I said?

What do you do?  Heck, I do not know either.  It has been many, many years since I attended any CPR/First Aid training.  As I started to feel a little better we continued on with the ride.  We met up with Shane and Cliff and stopped for a few minutes.  Cliff asked me if my eyes where dilated.  Cliff is a Trail Patrol member so he knows a thing or two about first aid.   After we left them I decided that I was going to become a Trail Patrol member this year.  With some of the stuff we do I need to be able to handle emergency situations and be able to administer first aid to a fallen rider, especially if that fallen ride happens to be a family member.