Riding the Rock

“Spirit…has fifty times the strength and staying power of brawn and muscle.” Unknown

The ROCK

“Nothing splendid has ever been achieved except by those who dared believe that something inside them was superior to circumstance.” Bruce Barton

Met Marcy at the usual time to ride. We had no particular plans for today’s ride … I was going to wing it …

the trail

All was going well until about 5 minutes into the ride … This was Marcy’s 2nd time on this hill … and her 1st attempt at riding down it … there’s a pretty well worn line that makes it easy but its steepness can be intimidating if you aren’t used to it …

Marcy's Hill

Marcy followed the right line and was doing great until she hit her brakes too hard and stopped, which caused her to fall over. The fall itself wasn’t too bad but because it was on the hill, it was a little more dramatic. I caught her fall from the corner of my eye as I reached the

After the fall

bottom … I decided no photos and I don’t think Marcy would have liked it much.

me

She wasn’t too happy … she later told me she felt like kicking her bike again but didn’t … she just had it tuned up … can’t break it yet!

Marcy had a pretty nice scrape down her shin … another “battle” wound to add to her collection of bruises … I must admit she has the most bruised up shins and calves that I have ever seen. I recommended shin pads … but don’t think that will happen.

We rode a little further … and I mean just a little … we weren’t even a mile into the ride … and we came to the “Rock.” I watched Dale from Spark Bike ride over it so easily on

The Rock

Saturday … I considered doing it a few days ago,  changed my mind … then decided to go for it today … how hard could it be??! It’s really not that big … well, I found the answer to that one quickly! One minute I’m riding up the rock thinking this isn’t so bad and a few seconds later, I was on the ground … skidding across the leaves and dirt on my elbow and hip … landing about 10 feet from the base of the rock. Funny thing is … I didn’t roll to this spot … it was more like

Oops! and Ouch!!

a catapult … Marcy was on the other side of the rock … she said I was there one minute, then disappeared the next … She got over to me just in time to get my “crash” photo. Yeah, I had that one coming! Not that she was “happy” to see my dramatic crash … well, maybe just a little … I stood behind my words … everyone crashes … and I crash quite often, just not when I’m riding with her.

Maybe I will wear long sleeves for my next attempt

Sitting on the ground in a daze … head, elbow and hip stinging … I tried to figure out what I did wrong … in simplest terms, I made it up just fine but chose the wrong line to ride down … I had no idea my choice would have this result …. now I know … and damn, the mechanics of my rear suspension are awesome! My crash went something like this … made it to the top and rode straight across and down. (BIG mistake!! – should have gone to the right where there was a slight incline down before the smaller drop.)

me on my rock - I will conquer it!!

Well, my front tire made it off the rock and I just MIGHT have made it to the ground with the back tire if I had been going faster … but nope, I sort of came to a stop and my back tire came off the rock but came back down hard …

My Epic can do many things but flying isn't one of them

without any forward motion, it hit with enough force that my rear suspension sent me over the bars like a catapult. Clipped in, my momentum pulled my bike with me … after the air (No, I can’t fly … if so, now would have been the moment)  … we hit the ground (impact sucks!) with enough force and slid up past the tree. Thank goodness I didn’t hit the tree!! It hurt … and pulling the gravel out of my scrape was gross … I have a weak stomach … blood makes me pass out (REALLY) but I handled this one pretty well and at least there was no dripping blood, that’s the worst for me!

me

So … I checked out the rock AGAIN … figured where I should have gone … and gathered my senses … they were knocked out of me too … and off we went to finish our ride. At this point … we hadn’t even gotten 1 mile … We got to the lake and I was feeling pretty sore and my head hurt … clouds were coming in and it looked like possible rain … we made the joint decision to call it a day a headed back …. Marcy made it up her hill, which at this point looks like she has conquered … and back down and around to the ROCK. I thought about trying it one more time but changed my mind … decided maybe I’d stop by Spark Bikes and see if Dale was there and ask him first, how do I get over this thing!!??!!

Marcy and I packed up and went to Spark … Dale wasn’t there BUT I still got some great advice … if I was stronger, I could lift my front tire more BUT I know I can’t do that … maybe one day … so my best bet is the more conservative line with the smaller drop … guess I’m going to have to try it again tomorrow. Maybe I’ll even have Marcy video it! Maybe … I’d like to attempt to retain a little dignity … and its hard to do that crashing in the dramatic fashion I seem to do so well …

Then … it was off to EFS team practice … that didn’t go so well. My goal was 2-3 miles … I made it a 1/2 mile … Jay was at the 1/2 mile point (we were doing 1 mile repeats – mine was supposed to be at a slow jog but hobbling was more like it) when he saw me … he said call it a day (I wasn’t happy!) … Calling the PT tomorrow … looks like “myofascial release” is on my near future agenda. Thank goodness the hip I landed on in my bike crash wasn’t the same leg as my tight IT … now I can limp a little more evenly with both sides hurting … I’m hurting tonight … my body doesn’t bounce as good as it used to when I was in my 20s … or even 30s …. Well, tomorrow is another day … and I’m going to try to ride the rock again … and just think … that skinny little bridge scares me more than the rock … I’m such a dork!