Literally.
Jr. had Pres. Day off, so I put in for a vacation day to go to an area we hadn’t been in years. I was anxious to try a friends FMF Gold Series pipe on my RMX in place of the Gnarly.
Traffic thru LA was remarkably light & we were being passed by many going over 70mph. On the winding country road up, we were cut off by a big Ford w/bikes – thought nothing of it since the driver may have been jazzed to go riding too; saw the same truck coming turn around & coming back down the entrance road – saw he had some kids w/him, so perhaps they needed something.
It was on the cool side but getting into the 60s as the sun rose higher, we could tell it was going to be another fine day. When we started to unload, this same white Ford pulls in & it’s a friend (ex co-worker) who bought ExtraShorty’s RM80, grinnin’. Small world. He apparently lost his forest Adventure Pass & had to get another. He then got busy getting his two boys ready, and just had to show off by starting his 520SX by hand!
I did a 1-mile warm up loop waiting for Jr. to finish suiting up. That Gold pipe has some bark, & demands respect – a bit different from the thick torquey delivery of the Gnarly – certainly along the line of delivering an MX rush, tugging on the leash.
Jr. & I headed off eastward on some of the lower trails, then @ the east border hooked left onto the mid-elevation single track trails thru the oak trees & shrubs, rock stair steps, etc.: these trails demand attention – lots of 2nd gear stuff. Oh, and the rain from Saturday soaked the ground, but the top was dry enough not to be muddy nor slick, but broke up well when a rotating knobby ran over it. Good stuff & good roosting.
We came upon a wicked stair step climb out of an oak-lined canyon, which required some delicate clutch/throttle work, along with just enough momentum to clear one set of rocks, but not too much lest control be gone & it’s down the step side into the canyon below. After waiting beyond the top for Jr., I sensed he was having a little difficulty struggle; after all he’s lacking muscle for a bike, which outweighs him by 100 lbs. I walked back down to take yellow bike #2 to the top. He doesn’t say much as my skills have a few more years behind them, but he will say something about another stabbing subject later…
We wound in/up/around/thru more of the mid-elevation trails – did I say conditions were just fine? For some reason when turning my front end would resist @ neutral & require more effort than normal when turning off of center. I first figured it may have been the perfect traction/tackiness, but when it persisted I backed off the stabilizer to its lowest setting. Still there. Flat tire? Hmmm: looks/feels like maybe 7lbs or so. I did center-punch a metal fence post poking inches above the ground, but is it half flat? Nope. On the trail back to camp it felt fine…sure like the rush of the pipe.
Back at the truck & off the bike I turned the bars left/right. Ah hah! The fender trailing edge is catching on the pipe. Out of the fanny pack comes the Leatherman – time for, er, some surgery. A trim here, then there – gad, this is a tight spot to be doing this. Eh – a little more off here, and there….arrrgggghhh @#$%^&*! The knife slips & skewers my other hand! I look in while it’s yet dry and see some things white-ish, perhaps fat/meat, followed by the bright red juice gushing; well, it’s no geyser, but it’s more flow than I’ve seen in a long time. I hustle toward the glove box for some bandages (finger in the dam), then this guy parked on the other side pulls in, sees my one hand clutching the other & the red stuff slowly dripping out “oh, wow: need something man?” “Yeah. Got gauze?” “Sure!” He wraps it several times. Phew. I knew I needed some stitches, so I flag down Jr.
Jr. comes rolling back in “Hey, dude: time to pack it in!” “Why…ohhhhh. How’dyadothat???? Oh. Mind if I do one more loop.” Gad, the boldness of teenagers. “If you fall, I cannot come out to get ya. Don’t burden strangers or friends with foolish riding.” “I’ll take it easy” “OK” I said, reluctantly.
Getting unsuited was a chore, but manageable. If you are going to be stupid, ya gotta be tough – or something like that.
I decide to drive the 1-1/2 hours home to my own doc. Of course my lovely wife sees I need to get going right away & takes a usual 20 minutes or so to get ready. I take the time to view the damage: where the thumb base & palm merge: under1/2” in two spots.
It feels like nerves were severed, so doc takes this wooden swab, breaks it in two and proceeds to poke all over. “This hurt?” “Oww…of course! “ This?” “Ye…yesss!” After a more pokey fun than I cared for, he concludes the nerves were sub surface, not the deeper ones. Phew! again. Six stitches & two hours later I’m out of there – still looks somewhat puffy today, but when he saw it yesterday, said it was holding fine.
I’ll be on the sidelines for a few. But oh, that pipe – gotta get one. And did I tell you the conditions were just fine?
Jr. had Pres. Day off, so I put in for a vacation day to go to an area we hadn’t been in years. I was anxious to try a friends FMF Gold Series pipe on my RMX in place of the Gnarly.
Traffic thru LA was remarkably light & we were being passed by many going over 70mph. On the winding country road up, we were cut off by a big Ford w/bikes – thought nothing of it since the driver may have been jazzed to go riding too; saw the same truck coming turn around & coming back down the entrance road – saw he had some kids w/him, so perhaps they needed something.
It was on the cool side but getting into the 60s as the sun rose higher, we could tell it was going to be another fine day. When we started to unload, this same white Ford pulls in & it’s a friend (ex co-worker) who bought ExtraShorty’s RM80, grinnin’. Small world. He apparently lost his forest Adventure Pass & had to get another. He then got busy getting his two boys ready, and just had to show off by starting his 520SX by hand!
I did a 1-mile warm up loop waiting for Jr. to finish suiting up. That Gold pipe has some bark, & demands respect – a bit different from the thick torquey delivery of the Gnarly – certainly along the line of delivering an MX rush, tugging on the leash.
Jr. & I headed off eastward on some of the lower trails, then @ the east border hooked left onto the mid-elevation single track trails thru the oak trees & shrubs, rock stair steps, etc.: these trails demand attention – lots of 2nd gear stuff. Oh, and the rain from Saturday soaked the ground, but the top was dry enough not to be muddy nor slick, but broke up well when a rotating knobby ran over it. Good stuff & good roosting.
We came upon a wicked stair step climb out of an oak-lined canyon, which required some delicate clutch/throttle work, along with just enough momentum to clear one set of rocks, but not too much lest control be gone & it’s down the step side into the canyon below. After waiting beyond the top for Jr., I sensed he was having a little difficulty struggle; after all he’s lacking muscle for a bike, which outweighs him by 100 lbs. I walked back down to take yellow bike #2 to the top. He doesn’t say much as my skills have a few more years behind them, but he will say something about another stabbing subject later…
We wound in/up/around/thru more of the mid-elevation trails – did I say conditions were just fine? For some reason when turning my front end would resist @ neutral & require more effort than normal when turning off of center. I first figured it may have been the perfect traction/tackiness, but when it persisted I backed off the stabilizer to its lowest setting. Still there. Flat tire? Hmmm: looks/feels like maybe 7lbs or so. I did center-punch a metal fence post poking inches above the ground, but is it half flat? Nope. On the trail back to camp it felt fine…sure like the rush of the pipe.
Back at the truck & off the bike I turned the bars left/right. Ah hah! The fender trailing edge is catching on the pipe. Out of the fanny pack comes the Leatherman – time for, er, some surgery. A trim here, then there – gad, this is a tight spot to be doing this. Eh – a little more off here, and there….arrrgggghhh @#$%^&*! The knife slips & skewers my other hand! I look in while it’s yet dry and see some things white-ish, perhaps fat/meat, followed by the bright red juice gushing; well, it’s no geyser, but it’s more flow than I’ve seen in a long time. I hustle toward the glove box for some bandages (finger in the dam), then this guy parked on the other side pulls in, sees my one hand clutching the other & the red stuff slowly dripping out “oh, wow: need something man?” “Yeah. Got gauze?” “Sure!” He wraps it several times. Phew. I knew I needed some stitches, so I flag down Jr.
Jr. comes rolling back in “Hey, dude: time to pack it in!” “Why…ohhhhh. How’dyadothat???? Oh. Mind if I do one more loop.” Gad, the boldness of teenagers. “If you fall, I cannot come out to get ya. Don’t burden strangers or friends with foolish riding.” “I’ll take it easy” “OK” I said, reluctantly.
Getting unsuited was a chore, but manageable. If you are going to be stupid, ya gotta be tough – or something like that.
I decide to drive the 1-1/2 hours home to my own doc. Of course my lovely wife sees I need to get going right away & takes a usual 20 minutes or so to get ready. I take the time to view the damage: where the thumb base & palm merge: under1/2” in two spots.
It feels like nerves were severed, so doc takes this wooden swab, breaks it in two and proceeds to poke all over. “This hurt?” “Oww…of course! “ This?” “Ye…yesss!” After a more pokey fun than I cared for, he concludes the nerves were sub surface, not the deeper ones. Phew! again. Six stitches & two hours later I’m out of there – still looks somewhat puffy today, but when he saw it yesterday, said it was holding fine.
I’ll be on the sidelines for a few. But oh, that pipe – gotta get one. And did I tell you the conditions were just fine?
