I was recently filming a section with Dustin Greenall for Lone Wolf Productions. Dustin was commenting on how clean my bike was and how there was not a mark on it. I pompously replied that I had not taken anything close to a real crash for the entire year so far, and that was when everything changed. I should have simply said “thank you” and kept my mouth shut, because as soon as I made that one comment the bike gods all turned their heads and looked at me like a new guy to town walking into the saloon in an old western movie.
I came home and had planned to start shooting for my up coming Banshee section, which was set to have a number of large stunts in it. Unfortunately, the first thing I hit was a disaster all around. I was hitting a drop with a corner before it and washed out a bit. Thinking if I threw a quick pedal stroke or two in before the drop that I would be ok, I went for it. Big mistake! I knew as soon as I left the edge that I wasn’t even close. I front tire cased the top of the landing pad, ejecting me about twenty feet down the hill. I managed to roll out of it very nicely and walked away…luckily. Upon retrieving my bike I realized just how hard I had impacted the ground. My bars were bent down on both sides with stress marks all over them. I was very sore for a few days but all in all was simply happy to not have seriously injured myself.
brutal slam
Not long after Mike Kinrade and Steve Romaniuk came into town to shoot video for their new section of Stund, which I had offered to help shoot for. After a good day of hitting some of the biggest stunts in Kamloops we ended up at a large drop/gap I had built. Steve and Mike both successfully managed to hit it after several run ins. Then it was my turn. I did a few speed checks, made sure there was no wind, and the sun popped out from behind a cloud; I felt it was time to roll off the edge. This is where it got ugly. Due to the fact that Mike and Steve had already hit the landing it had a couple ruts in it by this time. I of course landed right in one of them which popped me out off the landing after impact. This sent me barreling into the bottom of the landing sideways and out of control. The next thing I remembered was Mike asking me if I was ok, as my vision came back from darkness to light. I quickly realized I had been knocked out for a few seconds, and that I had a concussion. Blood was all over the front of my shirt, and shorts from my nose; I was a mess. After a short trip to the hospital I was cleared to go home and rest up, with no major injuries.
It seems that after a full season of no crashes they simply condensed into two large crashes at the end of the year. I feel the lesson to be learned here is that none of us are immune to failure, and that we all make mistakes. I got a little to big for my bridges and I got knocked back down to earth. It can happen to anyone, so put some protective gear and a solid helmet on before you ride next time. Be careful out there!
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