Bobs get dirty!

[jobob]

What a great day!

We rode from mp's place in Mill Valley up mostly fire roads to the summit of Mt Tam.

I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I've never actually been to the summit of Tam - either via a bike or car. So this was a real treat. And it was gorgeous up there - but no cameras came along so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Heading back down was loads of fun - the trails were well groomed with conveniently located bumps for a bit of airtime. Yee-hah!

As we approached the West Point Inn I rode thru some thick gravel, skidded and fell over - onto my left side, natch. Oh well, the bruises on my left leg needed some touching up anyhow, they were starting to fade.

The rest of the ride down the mountain went well. It started sprinkling but luckily it didn't amount to much. It was pretty chilly out but I had ample woolage on so my body temp was fine, but, just as well we didn't get more rain because it probably would have turned to sleet, yech.

We headed down the Panoramic Highway part of the way. It felt so odd cruising downhill on a paved road on the mtn bike! It felt like I was crawling but evidently I was going a reasonably good clip. I had my Garmin in my Camelbak and I couldn't really gauge how fast I was going. Those disc brakes work very nicely when its wet out - I felt very secure even on the wet road.

A few miles from mp's home she suggested we take a trail that cut through the woods. We had to walk parts of it - lots of ruts and tree roots and tight steep ascents & descents.

There was one section that we were riding that was starting to give me a serious case of the willies. The left edge of the trail dropped off steeply down the side of a hill covered with lots of brush & trees & gawd knows what else. About the time I was about to get off, I went thru a tricky bit and yep, fell over onto my left side. (Do we see a pattern forming here?) The good news is the ground was nice & soft there. The bad news is, I fell over onto the very edge of the steep downslope! It was one of those slo-mo falls and I distinctly remember thinking to myself "this is gonna turn out bad". But somehow I managed to put my left arm out and stop myself from sliding down the hill.

So, there I was, lying on my left side, still straddling my bike, my upper body pointing downhill and supported by my left arm. There was no way I was going to be able to get up without some help. Lee & Sarah were a bit ahead, and I figured sooner or later they would notice I wasn't behind them anymore and come back to investigate. In the meantime I just laid there like a doof.

Moments later a really nice lady out running along the trail ran up asking me if I was OK, and I told her I was fine, but I really could use some help getting up. So she pulled my bike out from between my legs and then I was able to scooch back up to more level ground. After she made sure I was fine and brushed some of the leaves off me (she was really sweet) she took off on ahead. She encountered Lee & Sarah a little ways ahead and told them I was OK and would be there in a moment.

The rest of the short ride along the trail went sort of without incident (unless you count the near miss with the falling tree log that some other guy who was behind us experienced ), until we reached a short steep narrow downhill section with a 90 degree turn at the bottom. I was up ahead at this point and naturally I walked down, but Lee behind me decided he was going to ride down it.

It didn't turn out so well. He got to the bottom, didn't quite make the turn, and flipped around. Somehow his bike was facing the opposite direction when he came to rest in a heap. He banged up his knee pretty badly - popped it out actually It was scary there for a while, I thought he might be hurt really badly. But after a while his knee popped back in again and he was OK for the rest of the way back.

Once it became clear that Lee was going to be OK and we were just hanging around until he was ready to go, mp blurted out "Oh My God, I broke the Bobs!!!". Her expression was priceless.

Thank goodness we were at the end of the Trail of Death by then and it was only about a mile back to mp's place from there, all downhill on paved roads.

Since it was so damp and chilly, instead of beer I opted for a cup of tea, followed by hot chocolate with a goodly slug of peppermint schnapps. Hit the spot. Lee got some ice for his knee and a couple of vitamin I's - and a cup of tea.

Lee's still hobbling around a bit, and the finger he jammed is swelling some, but all in all he's fine. And I have a few new bruises to add to my collection.

But we had fun!

[Blueberry]

Once it became clear that Lee was going to be OK and we were just hanging around until he was ready to go, mp blurted out "Oh My God, I broke the Bobs!!!". Her expression was priceless.

LOL! Thanks for sharing the day (and next time, pretty please take a camera).

Here's hoping LeeBob has a speedy recovery

CA

[aka_kim]

Oh no! Hope LeeBob's OK.

Popping knees, hanging upside down from a cliff, yeah, sounds like fun!

[bikerz]

Yeah, I have to echo Kim's faint remarks! You guys be careful out there!

I hope LeeBob's knee is OK - The next few days look like good ones for sitting on the couch with the leg raised and the tv remote in hand or a good book in hand.

[jobob]

Yeah, I'd say our mtn biking experiences are not starting out particularly auspiciously.

Lee had his knee & his jammed finger looked at at urgent care. Luckily we got there early so it hadn't already filled up with weekend warrior pre-holiday casualties.

He had xrays taken, no broken bones, yay. He did get a tetanus shot & a prescription for antibiotics (evidently the doc was more concerned about the finger than the knee). Knee is wrapped up and he's hanging out comfortably.

Geeze I hope he learned his lesson. Yeah right.

At least the little Christmas gift he has coming in the mail should help matters (Thanks for the tip SK! )

[SadieKate]

So nothing super serious at this point?

I try to stay up on my Tetanus shots (5 yr cycle) since between mtbbiking and fishing I'm exposed to "stuff."

[andtckrtoo]

Jo - I hope Lee heals quickly!!! Glad nothing is broken. Fortunately, the weather is not too condusive to cycling or being outdoors the next few days, so he won't miss much. I'd love to join you in Coyote Park or that area between December 30 and Jan 4th. If he's up for a ride. As I'm out of practive on dirt, we can go really slowly!

[jobob]

I'd love to join you in Coyote Park or that area between December 30 and Jan 4th. If he's up for a ride. As I'm out of practive on dirt, we can go really slowly!

Sure!

[aka_kim]

Geeze I hope he learned his lesson.

And that would be ...?

I have to say that on pavement LeeBob is the best bike handler I know. Does he save all the clumsy/stupid stuff for the dirt?

[maillotpois]

I have to say that on pavement LeeBob is the best bike handler I know. Does he save all the clumsy/stupid stuff for the dirt?

Oh but it was ever so graceful.

[jobob]

I'd say, so far, yes.

More stupid (as in, trying things beyond his current skill level over unfamiliar terrain) than clumsy.

I'm the clumsy one.