Sorry, my posts have slowed to a trickle, but the boy has been a bit busy. One of the things that has me busy is Mountain Biking. I have found a couple of guys who are showing me the local trails, and I have wallowed in the reintroduction to true mountain biking. You know, mountain biking with lung searing climbs, and blazing descents earned with sweat.
This newly rediscovered love had me filling out and approaching the CFO with a capital appropriation form for a new steed. After all the trusty Litespeed is still sweet but like me, long in the tooth. It should be here in about a month, but read on, for that doesn’t matter.
So as the weather is starting to improve the opportunities to ride have gone hand in hand. I haven’t ridden a mountain bike in the mountains for ten years, and the Tejas mountain bikeing is a different set of skills than required to negotiate the wet rooty trails of WV. My first couple of trips were more mountain bike pushing that mountain bike rideing. The poor bike handling skills I may have once had were gone. But alas time in the saddle and a few scrapes and I am getting to the point of riding most of the dodgy stuff.
Or so I thought.
It twas the end of the ride, last downhill before the parking lot, and all I know is I hit the eject button on the handlebars. Jeez, I have had the bike for fifteen years and I didn’t even know that button was there.
It was a pretty steep downhill, we were cruising at a good clip, and I ejected to the downhill slope. I center punched a 6 inch diameter Hickory tree with my right kidney. I didn’t hit the ground and then the tree, I hit the tree while mid air. All of the judges, except the Romanian, gave me a ten. It did not feel good. Not at all. For a second I was concerned I had broken my back. Seriously, I was in some more kind of pain.
So, the entourage allows me to gather my wits, and after about ten minutes I make it to my feet. Of course, given the density of my head, I rode out and back to the parking lot, insisted on driving home. I could ride, I just couldn’t get on or off the bike, or in and out of the car.
They followed me home, and promptly tattled to the bride. She was cool, as she always is when I screw up. The boyz were insisting ER, but that really wasn’ t on my agenda for the day. So after three hours I caved and went for help.
Nothing broken, but it is confirmed that the modulus of hickory is much higher than the modulus of body tissue. A lot higher, I bet the tree is not bent at all. I did not detect any flexure in the tree whatsoever. I can’t say the same for me. I can barely move from one position to another. I may be permanently deformed in this curved state.
Ok, that’s enough blather, I am going for another round of happy pills.
One more thing, I have get better soon, so I’ll be ready to do the new steed justice.






