Big crash, bad timing

As I am walking out of the Hagan singletrack in a daze, while Chris E is pushing my bike, Fitzy says, "I can't believe I am watching you walk out of here on your own". I guess I should feel lucky. Fitzy had ridden down the "Hagan Staircase" before me and had stopped and turned to watch so he had a front row seat for my crash.

My left shoulder and left knee took the brunt of my crash and as I sit here this morning I have about 25% of normal range of motion in the shoulder and very little left arm or left hand strenth. Lifting a gallon of milk for cereal with my left hand was sobering this morning. 800mg of Ibuprofen are taking a bit of the edge off but I am not exactly comfortable. With 16 days until my first 24 hour solo race the timing is not bueno, but hey, shit happens and when it is your time to crash, it is your time to crash. All I can do now is ice it and hope that I heal fast.

I was not trying to be a free-ride super-hero last night. I simply did not know the trail and was going too fast at the top of the series of root drops (Hagan Staircase) and once you start down the series of root drops things only get faster, not slower. I knew 1/4 of the way down that I was going to crash and that is never a good feeling. It is amazing how instinct kicks in during moments of self-preservation and I can remember saying to myself "DO NOT TOUCH THE BRAKES".