Oops I Did it Again (and I don't mean the song)

[mtbdarby]

I got out in the woods mt biking on Saturday with my boyfriend. It was our first off road ride together and I was hoping to pedal fast, no crashes, etc. We weren't 5 minutes into the ride when we had a steep shale descent. He was flying ahead of me and my helmet, which is too big and I forgot my bandana, was bouncing down into my eyes. I jerked my head back to move the helmet and my front wheel washed out on me - right at the bottom of the hill! I was down before I could blink. My right forearm took the brunt of the fall and is all road rash. My cheek bone and nose are bruised and rashed and so is my shoulder and my leg is badly bruised, welted and scraped up.

I was ready at that point to say I was done and lets go home, but I spit out the dirt and hopped back on. I rode the loop with him - all 13 miles of it! Renee, you would have LOVED it! It was all hill and descent - a perfect WORS race for you. Some of the uphills were so steep I had to walk up them. The scenery was nice, the bugs aweful, and my bf was great about it all (I think he felt bad about my crash anyway). He even kissed my boo-boos and told me they made me look cuter. All together: awwwweeeeee!

I have a couple of questions. Even though I didn't hit my helmet directly, do I still need to replace it? I do have a two strikes rule and since it's my second big crash, somethings going!! I also fell up one of the steep inclines because I couldn't get unclipped. I turned my heel twice to get unclipped and couldn't, and we even checked ahead of time to make sure they were as loose as they could be. I have new clips on my shoes, so any ideas what I'm doing wrong that I have a hard time getting unclipped?

I did fall to the right this time so my history of always falling to the left is gone. Of course, it didn't help my confidence one bit and my race is 5 days away. Just thinking about the race makes me want to throw up. Am I trying too hard or out of my league? I don't want to get so discouraged that I stop mountain biking, but I have to admit I'm very frustrated and discouraged right now. I WILL get back on and ride in the woods at least once before the race, and I will complete the race. But the rest of my training this week will be on the road. I'm just kind of down right now about it and could use some words of encouragement.

Oh, and thanks to this board, I didn't give up after my crash. On every hill I climbed I chanted "I LOVE hills, I'm good on hills", etc. It was kind of funny actually! Thanks for your kind words!

[DeniseGoldberg]

Dar -
Ouch! I'm glad you are OK, although definitely somewhat bruised. Keep remembering that your bike wants you to ride!

On the helmet front, what do you mean when you say you didn't hit it directly? It's my understanding that if your helmet hit the ground at all that it should be replaced.

--- Denise

[Irulan]

you don't say what brand of clips you are using. If they are spd's, check the tension screw, loosen it maybe and lube the fittings. I keep mine set fairly loose. It's a little allen screw, and you can adjust them so loose that your clips will practically fall out of the pedals.

As for the helmet, personally I wouldn't worry about the little thumps that occur from tipovers, but that's just me.

Irulan

[mtbdarby]

Denise,
As you can see from my face, that took the brunt of the fall, not my helmet, lol. I'm very good at protecting my bike, it's my body I'm getting worried about. My leg is full of welts and bruises. I've been told I should have taken this up in my late 20's because after about 35 you don't bounce any more. And I turn 38 next week Trust me, I don't bounce, lol.

I think the helmets going anyway. As soon as I can find a small one with a ratchet system so it doesn't move around.

[Irulan]

Heh, I didnt' start until I was over 35, don't let the nay sayers get you down.
Consider pads for your legs and forearms while you deal with the learning curve. My arms looked like yours a lot until I went to skills camp.

Irulan

[Irulan]

msot helmets in the $45+ range have adjustable head cradle systems, look for velcro peices that you can move around inside the helmet that go around the back of the head. Your LBS should be fitting it to you, anyway.... what's up with having a too big helmet?

irulan

[mtbdarby]

I honestly don't know what brand pedals I have - they were given to me by one of the club members. I have Sidi shoes with SPD's. I did order some Ritchie pedals though - I'm waiting for them to come in.

I have a small melon and a small helmet. Seemed to fit until it got really hot around here. The heat/sweat seems to be making it move around so I've been tieing a bandana around my head underneath and that was working. I just forgot it that morning. It's a Giro helmet but no ratcheting system.

[singletrackmind]

Blood! Cool! Bravo you, getting back on and riding it out!
Next ride I hope you get to stay upright. Of course you will, with your new smaller rachety helmet.

New cleats??? My hubby replaced his cleats (the part on the shoe) 3 years ago for his SPD pedals. Turns out Shimano had 2 designs and while the LBS assured him that the newer would work fine with the 4 year old pedal a ride on Chutes and Ladders proved that they were WRONG! He couldn't unclip for anything at the rim of an incline and crashed to the bottom. He had them loose as they'd go after that and it was still very difficult to clip out. If you have newer spd pedals though that's prolly not the case. Check for rocks/sticks wedged in there? That's only happened to me once but it was heck to get the shoe out of the pedal.

[madisongrrl]

hey dar,

That is awesome that you got back on your bike after the fall!

If your helmet/head hit the ground, you should get a new helmet. If you crash and hit your helmet, throw it in the trash because it is done. $75 dollars for a helmet is cheaper than a lifetime of brain damage.

For some reason my Giro helmet doesn't sit on my head the right way. I have two other bell helmets that fit me like a glove. So look at many different brands and have them measure your head.

I'm not sure about your pedals though. It might be a case of that you still need more time to develop that muscle memory to unclip in a split second. Have someone else who is experienced clip into your bike and get their opinion.

[bikerchick68]

OOOOOUCH! Yikes woman... you're waaay tougher than me if you climbed back on!!! This is exactly why I gave up mtn biking... I'm too big a WUSS! LOL...

glad you're doing OK other than those scrapes, which gotta hurt like heck! I have a friend who had a road crash 2 weeks ago while drafting at 25mph... broke his fork, broke his shifter into 2 pieces, snapped the handlebars in half, and his helmet ALSO split in two when he landed... he continued the skid down the road with it strapped on and flapping wildly around...

all that being said, a helmet is REAL cheap health insurance! If you have any doubts, replace it...

I don't know a ton about the pedal system you have but when my Speedplays get difficult I spray White Lightening on them... a dry lube that is really effective for me... but then, I'm not putting my foot down in dirt at all... so not sure what lube to use for mtn biking...

hope you recover and feel much better SOON!

[Dirt Girl]

Ouch! If you got back up and rode after falling like that, don't sweat the race. Think about how tough you are, get on that bike and ride. And most importantly, HAVE FUN with it. You can do it!

Regarding unclipping: perhaps something was stuck in your pedal or cleat making it hard to unclip? And sometimes it just takes a few rides to get new clips settled in.

Regarding a new helmet: if you are at all in doubt about a fall, get a new one, especially if your current one doesn't fit right. I'm on my second Trek Interval having replaced the old one after a head crash earlier this year. I love the dial in the back that makes it easy to adjust the fit before or during a ride. Sometimes I still have to readjust the chin strap after sweating a bit, but I think you'll find that will most straps. I have the women's model as I like the color choices better and they have both xs/s and s/m sizes. The Trek web site lists it at $69.99, but my LBS sold it for $49.99. They also have a 1-year crash warranty. So if you crash and hit your head within the first year of ownership, they will replace the helmet.

Good luck with your race!

[Grog]

Ouuuuuch! That must have hurt. Right after the crash and... when you cleaned it! (You did a great job at it though!)

Kudos for getting back on the bike and finishing your ride, and good luck with the ride. You'll intimidate other girls at the startup ("wow. this girl has been riding hard...") so that might help!

[newfsmith]

If even one of the bolts fastening the cleat to your shoe is loose it can be next to impossible to get unclipped. It sounds like everyone else has covered the pedal adjustment, lube, & being sure that the cleat is compatable with your pedal. Your helmet should be replace both because it doesn't fit and won't protect you in a fall, and it has crashed.

[latelatebloomer]

Bike wounds AND black lingerie! The coolest!

ps - latelate who works at the brain injury rehab says, please get new helmet if you have any question. A messed-up brain is so unsexy!

[amg]

Good job on getting right back on! And nice war wounds, bear them with pride! Have you thought about wearing arm and leg pads? When I was first starting mountain biking I found that wearing leg and arm pads gave me a little more confidence and a lot less scrapes and bruises. They strap to a hydropack pretty easily if you don't want to wear them on climbs.

About the helmet - replace it as soon as you can. Not because it may have hit the ground, but because it doesn't fit. In my opinion, a helmet that doesn't fit properly isn't going to protect your head properly. And you only have one of those - isn't it worth the cost of a new helmet? I've broken two (properly fitting) helmets in my mountain biking career to date, and had no serious head injuries, only a very minor concussion from the second crash (off of a jump). I attribute this to well fitting, high quality helmets. Besides, it's always nice to buy new bike stuff.

A.

PS - most of the other people racing are probably as nervous as you. Give it a try, it's fun! I finished dead last my first couple of races, and then gradually began improving - "hey, this time I was faster than someone who didn't crash or have a mechanical..."