in CamRock (Moderator: TheMayor1)

The slalom course is all about timing and using your momentum/brakes wisely.  Also practice pushing your bike to the outside of the turn and leaning your body in...your bike will follow your body.   Brake before entering a corner. 

That said, everyone misses a turn once and a while.  Last year, Scot and I were riding at night and we both overshot a corner in the slalom and both bit it pretty hard.  Part of the fun and challenge.  I would not waste time cutting grass around the trail.  Spend your energy focusing on the trail.  Like everything else in MTBing, if you are worried about/focused on going off course, you likely will. 

There are always going to be "just off the trail" hazards.  Everyone's advice about concentrating on bike skills and not exceeding your limits in terms of speed etc are the ultimate answer but there are always going to be hits from time to time.  During a race a Kettles last year,  I was going very fast on a long straightaway, as safe a section as you could hope for.  In the grass right off the singletrack was a log where a fallen tree had been cut a bit to close, hidden from view.  I must have barely been off center of the trail to the right, and at full speed my pedal caught it just right.  Stopped the right side cold and flipped me and the bike sideways into a tree a good 15 feet up the trail.  It happens. 

Yikes! Did you finish the race?

Oh, and I concede. I really shouldn't have hit that log.....:-)

Yea, it's all part of the game and the general risk of the sport. There is a rock on the side of the trail out at blue mounds (shocker) that is hiding in the grass, I must be very consistent on my line in that spot because I've had multiple very hard pedal strikes on that same rock and one that sent me off the bike.  To this day I've never actually seen that little bugger but gets me damn near every time, but it's my inability to spot that ninja rock that's to blame not the rock or the grass.

Yikes! Did you finish the race?

Of course.  But not until I had pulled out some tools and straightened my bars which were a good 45 degrees off.

Here's one for ya about how to stay in one piece.      Don't do this...

In copper harbor MI on sunday afternoon I fell off of the high side of the back corner of an elevated wooden berm on the on the edge trail.  I fell off wood with nothing under it but rocks and landed on my head and back, dented my helmet, bruised ribs, was a little dizzy for a few hours, pretty much hurts everywhere above the waist.

I fell off a raised structure about 8 or so feet.  Here's the rub, going into it I knew there was a chance I would crash and possibly be paralyzed.  If I would have come off the middle I would have launched off and landed about 20 + feet or so down the hill. 

I know getting hurt and crashing can be discouraging, but shreddin the brown pow is so worth the rish and even worth all the pain.  If I had to have my day of shuttled runs to the top of mt brockway end early for a damn near broken everything I would do it again in a heartbeat!! 

Just an FYI the better you get and the faster and bigger you go, the more it hurts!

Yea, it's all part of the game and the general risk of the sport. There is a rock on the side of the trail out at blue mounds (shocker) that is hiding in the grass, I must be very consistent on my line in that spot because I've had multiple very hard pedal strikes on that same rock and one that sent me off the bike.  To this day I've never actually seen that little bugger but gets me damn near every time, but it's my inability to spot that ninja rock that's to blame not the rock or the grass.

This is a good heads up to anyone planning to ride Blue Mound for the first time. Although there are lots of rocks in the trail, most of those can be rolled over unlike the ones just off the tread.

Walt

I know that mystery rock!  First time at bluemounds I had my right pedal down and it sent me over the bars, I couldn't find it either!

The point of my crash story (besides the general risk factor) I didn't really spell out, there are trails that going off the trail doesn't mean your gonna hit a rock or tree, it may mean you fall pretty far.  Sometimes the "off the trail" is a 250 ft drop down a rock face that will kill you.  Or in this case an 8 ft drop off an elevated wooden bridge. 

Camrock is prob one of the safest trails you can ride, I don't practice staying on the trail very well cause I do practice going as fast as I possibly can.  I got used to riding places where you can go off the trail and are usually ok, then last ride at levis I fell off the side of a steep pitch and luckily caught a ledge before I tumbled down farther, then this happened at copper harbor.  I really need to work on the staying on course thing!

The Hangover trail in Sedona would be the end of you.

I'll ride anything almost the higher and skinnier the better!  I unfortunately could see myself dying from falling of a cliff on my bike.  I'd be ok if that's how I died though so if it happens so be it.

I know that mystery rock!  First time at bluemounds I had my right pedal down and it sent me over the bars,

Not to pick on you Tim (I've done it too), but this is exactly why pedals should be level if they aren't being used for propulsion. Unless the bike is leaned over and the outside pedal is bearing the rider's weight for better cornering.

Walt

Not to pick on you Tim (I've done it too), but this is exactly why pedals should be level if they aren't being used for propulsion. Unless the bike is leaned over and the outside pedal is bearing the rider's weight for better cornering.

Walt
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That was the day I learned that lesson Walt!!   I was just like la la la this is fun, then flying over the bars, I was clipped in too!