GOT DIRT?

Here is a true story I sent out earlier this year....(not me in the picture)

After a five year hiatus, I have recently rediscovered my love affair with mountain biking. It is hard to describe the euphoria felt from eating twenty different types of bugs, seeing a deer crap in the woods, and pulling spider webs out of your hair after a typical ride, so I won’t even try.

Today was no exception. Having ridden for almost two hours at nearby McAllister Park, I decided to take some trails to back track to where I parked my truck. I came upon Mud Creek, aptly named because it usually has mud, not water, in it. I approached the cliff of the creek to see if the terrain had changed much since I last rode it years ago. It is a steep drop down the bank, lined with rocks and roots, both of which I try to avoid when possible.

I spied a smooth section of dirt and decided to take that line, as it seemed to be the cleanest of the bunch. As I rolled over the edge, I prayed to God that I wouldn’t be killed or at the very least, my face wouldn’t be harmed, thus ruining my rugged good looks.

In the blink of an eye, I was at the bottom of the descent, feeling pretty good about my riding skills considering my 46 yrs of age. In a split second, I realized that the smooth line I decided to take was really a makeshift earthen ramp; probably built by some BMX Wannabe Kids (damn those BMX Wannabe Kids!).

Not having time to yell Bonsai!, Geronimo!, Bitchin! or some other cool saying that kids yell these days, I decided to just hang on as tightly as possible and hope for the best. After catching BIG AIR (probably only three feet or so, but it’s my story) I landed, and for a nano-second, I thought I actually pulled off a BIG AIR BMX jump worthy of a Jack Ass episode, or at least America’s Funniest Home Videos.

That was not the case however, as I soon found myself lying in mud. Being the conscientious person that I am, I immediately jumped to my feet to see if anyone had seen me bust my butt.
Satisfied that there were no witnesses, I felt my face for blood (remember the aforementioned good looks?), and found none. I straightened out my mud-caked handlebars and determined that my wobbly rear wheel could still get me out of the creek bed. After about 10 minutes, I was back at my truck and soon on my way home.

Aside from a scrape on my arm, a sore right shoulder and elbow, and having my butt shoved up my throat, I think I will live. Where are those Damn BMX Wannabe Kids with video cameras when you need one? I bet I really looked AWESOME!