Well......Ever feel like you're just living life as an example of what NOT to do?
Had plans to ride yesterday afternoon. Unseasonably warm here in Louisville, and I cleared the time from 3-5pm on my schedule just to go ride. Figure that wouldn't mess with the family time, I can get away from work, it'll be great. Talking with my boss around 10am, he says he's thinking about taking a 1/2 day. He just bought a nice Santa Cruz full suspension bike, so I ask if he's going riding. He is, we proceed to make the decision to ride at 1 at Cherokee. SWEET. Finally have someone to ride with.
We show up, gear up, and take off. Things are going well for the first 3mi or so. Do the really technical parts he hasn't seen before. He's a BMX guy, so he's just getting used to riding off road (not that I'm any level of expert here). In general my years of death machine riding are hiding my lack of physical prowess, where he's in exceptionally good shape, but making lots of mistakes and slowing himself down. It's honestly a pretty good match. Ride is going swell.
Then I lose my mind. I'm not sure what the hell I was doing, or thinking, or otherwise paying attention to, but it wasn't the trail. Nope, I slip the front wheel off the edge of the trail, it hits a large root and STOPS. I manage to NOT go over the bars, but end up falling over to the left. Usually not a big deal except, well, there is no left on this section of trail. I fell a good 6-7ft down. Landed next to a rock. Which I then slid over on my left side, and fell into the creek. Water was ~3ft deep, and cold. VERY cold. Bike, of course, was still attached to my feet (score one for you platform pedal guys). So now, I'm upside down, in the water, with my bike still attached to my feet. I'm somewhat shocked, and have to NOT breathe while I figure out how to get my feet off of my now labeled stupid effing bike. Luckily muscle memory helps me unclip one side, and I can kid of kick off the bike a little, unclip the bottom/trapped side, and right myself in the water. This all happens in like 10 seconds or less I'm guessing. By the time boss rolls up, I'm standing in the water looking up like a 1/2 drowned rat with my bike upside down in the creek beside me. His response "Well, you can't bitch about being hot anymore". Made sure to check I was OK first, then laughed at the whole spectacle of it.
Good news here is that the bike is fine. My Pixel 5 phone that was in my jersey pocket got fully submerged, and is fine. My legs torn up a good bit and my shoulder and arm are scraped and bruised pretty good. I'm pretty sore in general, but I think that's the nature of physical activity at 41 not so much the crash. Worst part for me from all this really......Is the crashing on what is literally an obstacle that all you have to do is ride around it. Like "don't go there and you'll make it". What the dang heck was I thinking? What a stupid place to crash. I'll stop and take a picture the next time I'm out there. It's a really absurd place for an unplanned bike evacuation.