Getting back on the bike

I don’t think I’ve been out for a leisure ride more than a couple of times this year with most bike related activity being restricted to school runs, shopping etc

Sooooo then.. I dusted off the Soul, planning a gentle spin through the East Devon hills with my other half and the dog, relishing the thought of good company, some stunning scenery and looking forward to getting used to riding SS again..
We unpacked the bikes at the edge of Aylsebeare common and set off along the (cheeky) East Devon way with the intention of some blackberry picking, some indian summer afternoon sun and maybe even the chance of finding a few interesting mushrooms..

My other half is a competent novice mtb rider but when we got to top of a sharp rocky rooty downhill section a hundred or so yards from the carpark, she encouraged me to shoot off down the trail alone and we’d meet up again at the bottom..
I don’t fall off very often.. I’m a confident rider, I don’t make a habit of riding outside of my comfort zone unless I am fully surfing on a rich seam of ‘flow’ but I gleefully set off down the trail pretty fast with a showy little bunny hop over the first set of roots..

About a millisecond before the landing, I realised that I didn’t have a sufficiently good hold on the bar with my right hand 😳
Resigned to an ungainly dismount I was a helpless passenger as an eyeball shaking tankslapper sent me flailing down the hill and bounced my feet off the pedals.. As soon as I could see again a large, solid looking lump of ground loomed out of the verge ahead of me, the trail suddenly felt much steeper and my speed much higher than a moment before..
I hit the hump, performed an impressive aerial somersault, the bike following my graceful arc due to being tangled in my legs and bike and I hit the ground cartwheeling..

Face first into a large pile of dog shit..

Certain that I would need an air ambulance, years of rehabilitation and probably a new bike I was almost sad to notice that I only had a couple of scrapes and an eyeful of poo to show for my aerobatic display of heroism..

I limped on pathetically for another couple of hours before finally admitting defeat in the face of a (slightly) sore knee and (lightly) scratched hand, heading dejectedly back to climb into the car whimpering and smelling of well, shit really..

sorry for no photo’s of devastating injury, but yes, it’s definitely great to be back on the bike 🙂

Forget photos, did you film it? 😆

Sorry, couldn’t resist – on a more serious note – hope you (and the bike) are ok 😉

Well written!

Forget photos, did you film it?

yes, that was my other half’s regret when she finally stopped laughing..

Glad you’re ok, hope you gave your eye a good clean, dog shit is nasty stuff.

Think I only had one fall when a bunch of us went out to spain the other year, managed to fall onto the only dog egg we say all holiday – fortunately only my ‘bak got smeared, pretty grim tho

Certain that I would need an air ambulance, years of rehabilitation and probably a new bike I was almost sad to notice that I only had a couple of scrapes and an eyeful of poo to show for my aerobatic display of heroism..

Stunning post, well done!

Splendid write up. Glad to hear nothing serious.

Dog sh!t. Damn that’s nasty!

I rode my bike around a housing estate in the street-lit dark once after fiddling around with it at my mate’s house. I rode on one bit of grass that I later learned was the house opposite’s dog toilet and was covered in dozens of dogturds. It was all up my back and all over the bike, and I was in my only set of normal clothes.

Which one is most similar to your crash? 🙂