Crash and Burn

[mtbdarby]

I crashed twice this weekend. Sat a friend took me on a technical ride (no one remembers I've only been mtb'ing for less than 2 months!). My front week dropped down a ravine off the track and I flew over the handlebars. Nothing more than new bruises. Sun I ran last years race course with one of my team mates and her husband. These guys were flying! It's a 12 mile course and we did it in an hour and a half even with my crash. I made it through the technical stuff and toward the end I must have been tired when I hits the rocks. I think I was sitting too forward on my seat when I hit the first rock because all I know is I flew off to the left. I hit a boulder with my chest and left shoulder knocking the wind out of me, and my left knee hit the boulder too. I put two gashes in it and bruised it but good. I finally went in last night and got it checked out - they would have stitched it if I would have gone in on Sunday but it's starting to heal. Nothing broke but swollen to beat the band. If the swelling doesn't go down in a day or two I need to get rechecked.

UGGHHH. I'm 3 weeks out to race day (12 hour race, 4 person team). I won't get into why this race is so important to me to finish but it is. Now all I want to do is finish a lap and have the team complete the race. I was told to stay off my bike for a week. How much of my legs will I lose in that time? Is there something I can do without my legs to try and stay in shape?? I can't ride until the swelling goes down so I can bend it and the pains gone. Maybe I just need a mental boost. I will be all over that section, back and forth until I lose my fear of the rocks once I'm up and running again. It's so frustrating for me not to be good at something which I'm sure you guys can relate to. A guy in the parking lot noticed I was frustrated after the ride (my riders went back out and I was able to ride out). He couldn't believe that after less than 2 months biking I was entering this race so he told me that's an accomplishment in itself. Which made me feel better until I learned I needed to stay off my bike for a week.

Thanks for letting me vent. I must have gotten the bug bad because all I want to do is get back on my bike I think I'll start on the road first then back to the trails. I'm sure I'll be a little aprehensive in the woods. Heck, I'll probably be wearing a knee pad on that knee, lol. I seem to always fall to the left. Any idea why that might be? I'd like to think it's something with the way they fit my new bike but I can't rule out operator error either!

Thanks for listening. I may need to order that Go Girl jersey to make me feel better, lol.

[Irulan]

I crashed twice this weekend. Sat a friend took me on a technical ride (no one remembers I've only been mtb'ing for less than 2 months!). My front week dropped down a ravine off the track and I flew over the handlebars. Nothing more than new bruises. Sun I ran last years race course with one of my team mates and her husband. These guys were flying! It's a 12 mile course and we did it in an hour and a half even with my crash. I made it through the technical stuff and toward the end I must have been tired when I hits the rocks. I think I was sitting too forward on my seat when I hit the first rock because all I know is I flew off to the left. I hit a boulder with my chest and left shoulder knocking the wind out of me, and my left knee hit the boulder too. I put two gashes in it and bruised it but good. I finally went in last night and got it checked out - they would have stitched it if I would have gone in on Sunday but it's starting to heal. Nothing broke but swollen to beat the band. If the swelling doesn't go down in a day or two I need to get rechecked.

UGGHHH. I'm 3 weeks out to race day (12 hour race, 4 person team). I won't get into why this race is so important to me to finish but it is. Now all I want to do is finish a lap and have the team complete the race. I was told to stay off my bike for a week. How much of my legs will I lose in that time? Is there something I can do without my legs to try and stay in shape?? I can't ride until the swelling goes down so I can bend it and the pains gone. Maybe I just need a mental boost. I will be all over that section, back and forth until I lose my fear of the rocks once I'm up and running again. It's so frustrating for me not to be good at something which I'm sure you guys can relate to. A guy in the parking lot noticed I was frustrated after the ride (my riders went back out and I was able to ride out). He couldn't believe that after less than 2 months biking I was entering this race so he told me that's an accomplishment in itself. Which made me feel better until I learned I needed to stay off my bike for a week.

Thanks for letting me vent. I must have gotten the bug bad because all I want to do is get back on my bike I think I'll start on the road first then back to the trails. I'm sure I'll be a little aprehensive in the woods. Heck, I'll probably be wearing a knee pad on that knee, lol. I seem to always fall to the left. Any idea why that might be? I'd like to think it's something with the way they fit my new bike but I can't rule out operator error either!

Thanks for listening. I may need to order that Go Girl jersey to make me feel better, lol.

get back on the trail girl! Just take it easy and slow, work your way back into it.

As for the same fall over and over again... BTDT. Have someone who is a much better rider than you go out with you and analyze your riding postion. My guess is that as a beginner you are not out of the saddle, and properly balanced for technical riding.

make sure you are out of your saddle a lot - espeically on the technical stuff.
This means feet at 3/9, cranks level, arms and legs extended, looking forward. this gives you the ability to move around on the bike, to be "dynamic". This means moving your CG forward or back or even side to side as the trail dictates.

Are you just letting the bike take the hits for you? That can be a major wreck causer.

anyway, check my tips page that is linked from my sig.

have fun

irulan

[mtbdarby]

Irulan,
What do you mean by letting the bike take the hits for me? And what is CG?

I will check out your tips - thanks.

[Irulan]

CG is center of gravity. You need to be able to move your center of gravity in relation to what your bike is doing - going up hill you move it forward, going down you move it back. Getting out of the saddle is the only way you can change your CG.

Chances if you endo'd in a ravine, you were too far forward, static and on your saddle, you grabbed the brakes, or any combo of the above.

In a ravine situaition.. you would be out of the saddle and moved back for the descent and as the front of the bike hits the apex at the bottom and then you have to shift back in order to prevent the endo and to prepare for the climb out of the ravine. See the end of the quoted post.

bike take the hits.... this refers to getting out of the saddle and letting the bike suspension AND your body work for you. If you just pedal along with your butt parked on the saddle and run over things , you are more likely to crash. Plus **you** are taking the hits, just getting bounced along the trail. It doesn not require any skill at all to just sit there and pedal. When you get out the saddle, and relax - it's much easier to let the bike do the hard work.

Think of it this way - if you sit on your butt you are balanced only on one point, your butt. If you get out of the sadddle, you are balanced on 4 points and you are much more stable.

the sum of this lesson is: get out of the saddle. the saddle is not a butt rest.

Here's a really good post from a mountain biking forum, credit goes to "sanjuro"

The most important tip he gave me was riding out of the saddle. XC you tend to ride in the saddle on descents, because you keep the saddle high for good pedalling position for the climbs. On the next technical descent you face, lower your saddle all the way (bring an allen key if you don't have a QR), then ride the entire section off the saddle.

The lesson here is that you use your legs for suspension. Even when I am riding an 8 inch travel bike, I still depend on my legs to smooth the ride and control my bike.

First practice riding out of the saddle on a smooth descent. Crank arms should be level (as opposed to one foot down and the other up). With you legs almost fully extended, you should feel balanced on your bike or slightly rearward (if you feel like you are leaning forward, lean back).

After you feel comfortable like this, then descend down that tough section. Use your knees and thighs as your shock absorbers. If it gets steep, lean back and down with your butt over the rear wheel. If you have to go over a drop, like a water bar or a ledge, do the same thing.

The one area I have improved using this method is a sharp but small dip in the trail, like into a stream bed. While standing on the pedals, I let my bike dip down the drop then back up the climb without losing momentum or control. It is like I am standing straight but the bike is doing the up and down.

[caligurl]

OUCH! i'm not a mtb-er... no no tips for you!

can you do squats to keep up some leg strength?

[mtbdarby]

Irulan, that's what I thought. We were riding the race loop to get used to it. I was tired and I remember consciencously thinking "get out of the saddle!". I was tired and I sat down to rest my quads. It happened right after that. This bike is so much lighter than my hybrid I have a harder time controlling it and feeling like one with the bike - I feel like I am flying. It was very frustrating to get through the really hard trails and biff on one I should have been able to handle. I also thought for a second that I was riding out of my league this weekend.. I should have waited for my "mentor" from the club to ride it with me. He talks me through the trail first, stops on the hard patches and shows me first, then lets me ride it. When I ride with my buddies, its simply follow me and they're off. I may need to curb my impatience and not get goaded into trails I'm not ready for. Hard for my competitive nature, but maybe my knee will remind me next time!

Wow, I feel like I'm learning something, hehe.

[Irulan]

this is what caught my attention:

I made it through the technical stuff and toward the end I must have been tired when I hits the rocks. I think I was sitting too forward on my seat when I hit the first rock

as a general rule, you should NEVER be in your saddle on rocks. It really limits your ability for respond to the trail.

irulan