Mountain biker rescue

Thanks for the photo! Just going to say... either those rescue personnel are 15' tall, or that hole isn't 15' deep Doesn't matter I suppose - I wouldn't want to fall into it.

 

A reroute is definitely in order, and I see that in the near future.

 

Well in 3D space there is height width and depth so that 15 ft could have been any of those 3 as it was non-specific dimension.

Those of us who have fallen into holes typically focus on the depth

 

Not to get preachy, and I'm 100% certain that this is falling on deft ears because everyone on this website are seasoned riders with a head on their shoulders... However, if there ever was a time to ride at 50-60-70% pace and stay 100% safe and enjoy the ride, now is the time. I've been reminding every rider I have more than a casual conversation with that we owe it to the emergency and health care professionals to not be on their radar right now.

Ride safe, hopefully this person is ok!

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I think a lot of are heeding to this. I know I was trying to out a Palm Canyon OR Noble Canyon ride together, but those rides have a high probability of injury, so those went on hiatus.

also backing off some the local trails(Joplin, etc) for the time being. I’m perfectly fine cruising the fire roads.

however I do find that I tend to crash more when I am being cautious than when I just ride like normal.

 

Funny you say that. I was having a conversation about that with a riding buddy the other day. We were debating going down lizards vs t&a and my comment that I was more likely to crash on lizards because I would end up not taking it as seriously as I should and would crash while not paying attention. It's tough to find the happy medium for sure. For me, I'm running more trail/XC tires right now and staying away from the big grippy ones. That way I'm slowing down a bit and horsing around at slower speeds.

Obviously not an option for you, because you can ride mach chicken down motorway on 23c road bike tires... but for the rest of us.

 

Yup, gonna be more time on the SS for the near future.

 

Sure - where was this post yesterday?

 

This is a do as I say, not as I do post. I was humming along in laguna the other day and was just thinking how for little slivers of time when I'm on my bike, everything feels normal. Just then, front tire washed out and I literally rode off the side of the trail. It's so hard to stay focused right now, both at work and while at play... I'm trying to change my riding to be a bit more defensive, but just as @mtnbikej mentioned, it's almost as if backing off a bit makes me more likely to crash. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Maybe I should have taken up a safer hobby like jigsaw puzzles or something...

 

I’ve been backing off on my speed and risk taking. I still enjoy being out there so it’s fine. Besides not wanting to tie up any medical care, we sure don’t need any media attention on riders taking risks and getting injured during these soft closures

 

I've been playing around with the idea of sitting up my Chameleon SS for just this very reason! Just to keep it different and a good time to figure out if I like it.

I've thought in the back of my head that this would be a really good time for Strava to shut down the PR and KOM feature on its segments. Without that motivation to get those, I'm sure a good portion of riders would slow down.

 

Idiots are gonna be idiots. Nothing is gonna change that.


SS......dooooo it.

 

So here's the thing about all-in sports like mt. biking. As you mentioned, sometimes rolling off the throttle and riding defensively makes you stiffen up and stare at the ground. One needs to continue to ride assertively and actively for best and safest results. Although, maybe not quite as assertively as I was yesterday. I wouldn't recommend any "Hold my beer" or Go Pro Hero moments. Save those hucks, doubles and steep, rutty chutes for safer times. Turn off your STRAVA so you're not tempted for those PRs and KOMs - unless you're @Mikie setting uphill KOMs on your new pain machine.