Dark and Dirty Ride Report - Mild to Wild Route Thursday 9 July 2009 By DeeKayotic
The Event Horizon. Definition (Please note that for the WikiPedia definition I would have to quote Stephen Hawking and since I don't think he is particularly clever I much rather quote Hardy): An event horizon is simply seeing the horizon, and beyond that seen horizon, there is an event waiting to happen. This applies equally to paddling and to mountain biking. The event in question is usually not planned and is often associated with bump or bruises, but almost always associated with a story worthy of being told. Background (you may skip to the ride report section if this kind of thing bores you): First some backgroud of why I actually managed to make the ride in the first place (if you refer back to the previous edition of the D&D ride report chronicles, you will recall that my GT suffered a broken top tube). After having received my new frame back in record breaking time (oops I used the work "break" again) I have to firstly thank Neil and Kevin from Fritz Pienaar Cycles (Brooklyn) and Lionel (or Lance?) from Omnico (the GT importers) for their brilliant service and support. Since this is my fourth GT frame (I have bought one and broke three, each time receiving a warranty replacement since the breaks have always been on or next to weld joints on the frames), I didn't have any doubt that the lifetime warranty would be honoured. Still, I understand that sometimes, things take time. First I needed to get the broken bike to the shop. I managed this on Saturday morning, after the Thursday ride. So I didn't even rush the thing to the shop first thing Then the GT rep needs to evaluate the break and decide whether a warranty replacement is possible. This happened first thing Monday morning. Not too bad! Then I needed to decide whether I want to upgrade (say to a carbon frame for R3500 extra) or even a Kona or Spaz dualie. Being the cash-strapped sort, I opted by Tuesday morning for a simple replacement of what I had; something I didn't have to hesitate to do. Then the GT rep needs to source a new large GT Marathon frame, something that I was warned may take up to 6 weeks. So the new frame arrived by Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday afternoon I went to pick up my rebuilt bike. Cost: R0.00. The guys at Fritz didn't even charge me for the rebuild; something I honestly appreciate, and which will take me back there when my shopping list and my wallet someday see eye to eye. The Ride Report On Thursday evening, not having ridden my new frame at all, I was picked up by Oupa Gert and we joined the clan at the Moo mall. Eric took the lead, Nico swept. Elsie was in Russia, Hardy was somewhere else. The Mummy, Oupa Gert, yours truly, and around 4 others guys formed the middle. I was geeking out over the smoothness of the gear changes and the ride in general (with the new frame came a new rear derailleur hanger, a new collarbone, and brand new rear suspension mechanism excluding the rear shock, of course). The rebuild was really done well. The hydraulic brake cables (pipes?) were even routed through the frame, something that no other rebuilder had managed to accomplish before. After a couple of uneventful kays I followed Eric over Nellmapius, on the way to Cornwall Hill. Right after crossing the tar there is a bit of a dropoff (the "horizon") before joining up to the single track. The "event" portion is the reason of my writing this report. I thought to myself wow this drop is a bit bigger than I remembered (it's only about a foot high but almost vertical), and I edged forward slowly to let the front wheel negotiate its own way At this point the little lip in front of the drop caused my front wheel to stick (I was going really slowly, OK!) and my momentum took me over the handlebars (obviously I wasn't going THAT slowly)... I landed on my back at the bottom of the drop. In the soft grass. Next to my now broken-in frame (again with the broke word, I know!). With my 4Ah lead acid battery reminding me that it's square and hard, in the small of my back. Then Oupa Gert rode over me. Well, he sort of tried to avoid me, and sort of managed, and sort of got off his bike (not falling, he says) on the other side of me and my bike. Report writers' honours were unanimously awarded. We went on, chatting and cruising the Mild to Wild route, when we eventually got to an unnamed single track (I think). Eric took the lead gunning it real hard in big blade to stay in front of (1) the new guys, (2) the fast guys, and (3) the regulars who knew the trail. A rock met with Eric's left pedal, which caused his bike to "bokspring" and the saddle to meet ... uh ... let's say some soft parts belonging to Eric. Some airtime was awarded for the rider and used up on a per-fraction-of-a-second-billing basis, shortly before Eric's right hip and back landed on a large solitary rock. A hard rock. After being very still for a minute of two (but awake), then being very grumpy and groaning for a minute or two, Eric started responding to comments and requests of state-of-being. Eric tried to get up, but quickly realised he was still dizzy and in shock. We were all quite worried, especially due to the way that he had his arm wedged in under his hip and back to relieve pressure at an obvious sore point. Eventually after eating an energy bar, Eric got up, and got back on the bike. Slowly. Painfully slowly. We drifted down to a wider dirt road, looked for the first piece of tar we could find back to the Moo Mall, and some of us took turns pushing Eric up the climbs back to the parking lot. At the finish (and after a lotal of 25km or so of riding, some of it in a lot of pain) Eric was still a little bit dizzy, and struggled to get off the bike, and it was obvious that he wouldn't be able to drive his car back home. I drove Eric's car with him navigating (interrupted by the odd groan and grunt) and Oupa Gert followed us to pick me up again. That was the ride. At the end of the day, it seems that most of Eric's problems were just bruising, fortunately, but still painful. A couple of days of crutches and pain medication seem to have sorted him out, barring a potential back-rib or muscle or ligament between the ribs that cause some pain still. Time heals most wounds, and I'm confident that Eric's wounds will heal over a short span of time. We all fall sometimes. We all get injured. We all get back up and do it all over again. Because this is Dark and Dirty. This is what we do. Some events don't come with horizons. They just happen. ********************************************************************** This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received this email in error please notify the system manager. This footnote also confirms that this email message has been swept by MIMEsweeper for the presence of computer viruses. www.clearswift.com ********************************************************************** --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "DarkAndDirty" group. 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