A couple weeks ago Brandon, MIke and I went out for a brisk early morning ride at Wilderness. The scenery was frosty and beautiful, the single track was nice and fast. Consiering the cold weather we were clipping along at a good pace and feeling great once we all got warmed up.
We made it through the first half of the trail and on our way back towards the Jamaica I blew a tube. I've been reluctant to carry a pack and have been gambling the while riding the trail. Needless to say I was not at all prepared. No tube, no patch kit, no pump and no 15mm wrench to get my bolt on wheel off. Damn. . .so we started walking. A few minutes into the walk a couple nice guys on some totally BOSS crossbikes stopped to help, on of the guys works at Cycleworks. He dug through his whole pack trying to find a 15mm to pull my wheel off, but no luck. He had switched from a 15mm to some other fancy bits. . .to match his sparkling Phil hubs,sexy.
Whle he sorted through his pack I made a mental note off how much stuff he was carrying, even for a quick jaunt through Wilderness, and I realized that I did not want to be the guy trying to bum a tool and a tube. I would much rather be somewhat in control of what the trail may throw my way.
We all walked back to the Jamaica. Mike and Brandon where very cool about hoofing it with me. Brandon had to jet once we hit the trail, but Mike and I walked to Yankee HIll Rd where Justine picked us up in the mini-van.
Obvious moral of lesson one. . .carry some tools. A pack may be somewhat cumbersome, but well worth it.
Lesson two.
Sunday morning Mike, Jake, Brandon and I headed out to Branched Oak. Jake and I have been trying to coordinate a ride for the last couple months and it finally worked out, so I was psyched. It had also been awhile since we hit Branched Oak, and the season is slipping away, so we wanted to take it in while we could. I love the trail out there. The tight twists and turns, longs climbs and some of the washed out and sandy descents are a blast. Especially at the level I ride at. . . a nice rush, but not too crazy.
I was feeling a little out of it because I forgot my helmet. . .and I don't feel right on the single track if my dome is not covered, but I rode on anyway, trying to play it a little bit conservative. We made it to our regular stopping point on the ridge that is over the highway. We were catching our breath, hydrating and chatting a littlle bit. My front brake was rubbing just a little, so I though I should try and adjust my skewer to fix the problem. I was telling Brandon about Justine and my experience at Magnolia the night before (great food by the way. . .check it out) because Brandon's former sous chef is now their executive chef.
I decided I should probably pay attention to what I was doing and began to say "I can't do two things at once. . ." and spun my wheel to check the alignment. One problem, my left hand was still very close to the skewer, especially my middle finger which was actually in the path of my disc brake. In a split second my fingernail had been broken in half.
Luckily, Jake had packed a little first aid kit. I have never carried a first aid kit and neither had Mike or Brandon, so I had some seriously good luck. I don't do too well with blood and especially with fingernails breaking or bleeding in anyway. I'll be honest. . .I got pretty faint and felt pretty crappy for a few minutes. Jake wrapped it up like a pro and after a few minutes I was feeling alright. Except for that throbbing finger. For the second ride out of three I was walking my ass back to the mini van.
Lesson two, carry a first aid kit. Evevn a little gauze and some bandage tape can serve as temporary fix for wounds. Thanks again Jake for being prepared.
They guys proceeded to make another lap as I sat it out in the car, listening to crappy radio. Once we got back to my place Jake, Mike and I ate some Big Sal's and drank some beers. Three cheers for the Tommyknocker brewery. After a few my finger was feeling just fine. It hasn't been too much of a hastle at work and school, which was my major concern. It does look rather gnarly though. . .
1 comment:
Nice pic of the finger.
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