Sons of Anarchy




also not having a good day.

  

not having a good day.



In the small corner of the world where mountain bikers roll around, "I fell off a bridge" is basically the same cry out for shelter from a domestically violent situation as "I fell down the stairs" is in the the rest of the world.  Come on, a bridge, Dad?  You know that we know that you know that we know that that's a big shiner on mom's strong right hook side.  But sure, say whatever gets her to put her mitts down for now.  

On the plus side, it doesn't look like it's really going to bruise that much. 

I could be wrong about that though. 

Sort of reminds me of the BRS race in 2010 and/or the time Ellen decided she'd had enough of Scotty's yapping for one day.   

Face, meet bridge.  Enchante.

It was a litle out of character for me, but all of the crashing on ones face that I've witnessed this year got me worked up a bit.  I mean, I've got kids coming.  What if something happened to me (for example, using my face for suspension) and I didn't have a perfect nose and model like teeth to smile at them with?  In a panic, I reached out to our resident dental hygenists assistant secretary (pretty much, he sits at the front desk and reads Dirt Rag all day) The Mighty Ken Tank to ease my troubled mind.  Turns out most people live through this sort of thing. 

A hypothetical trailside consultation with Face and Toof Doctor Ken Tank:

BFR:  OK, hypothetical worst case scenario, you and I are ripping along some rocky ridgeline, and I take a digger on my face.  Teeth are missing.  Half teeth poking out.  I"m a bloody, snaggletoothed, sobbing,  screaming monster, and we're, say, way out in West Virginia somewhere.  What do we do first?

Ken Tank:  The first thing to think about with any head injury is the neck.  If there is any question of neck stability it is NOT a good idea to ride out and risk severing the spinal cord.  I don't know of any makeshift C-spine collars that can be McGyvered up out on the trail.  Just stay put and wait the eternity for your friendly EMS to arrive.

BFR:   What's the biggest concern?  Where I once used to put meat in, there's meat coming out.  There's enough blood to make the whole scene look like something out of "The Shining."  Awful stuff.  Could I bleed to death?

Dr. Ken Tank:   Remember Jeremiah Bishop got a Lefort Fracture when racing La Ruta a few years back.  This is where the entire maxillary (upper jaw) complex is disarticulated from the cranial base.  Surprisingly, this doesn't hurt as bad as it looks or sounds because the accompanying nerve damage renders the face somewhat numb.  Fortunately, this is a rarity in the mountain biking world and the mechanism is usually high speed motor vehicle accident or bat to face.  Those of us not moving at World Cup speed hopefully have less to worry about.The good news is that you have to be pretty unfortunate to exsanguinate from facial lacerations - though scalp lacerations can be impressive.

BFR:  Who?  Yeah, that doesn't sound too bad.  And by exsanguinate, I presume you're talking about either Sangria or bleeding out in the lonely wilds of West By God Virginia like a hurt deer.  But anyway, let's get back to what's really important: Me.  Panic has set it.  Hysterical screaming the likes of which you've never witnessed.  I look like a redneck senior citizen that's been absent-mindedly gumming a buck knife for several hours.  What's the best way to stop bleeding from someones mouth?  Aaesthetically speaking, can duct tape be involved? 

Dr. Ken Tank:  Facial gashes - no different from a laceration elsewhere.  Pressure, Pressure, Pressure until you can get to a proper facility where things can be properly cleaned up under local anesthesia and evaluated for sutures.  There is less leeway for just letting things "granulate in" since we try to keep our faces pretty and free of deforming scars. 

BFR: Umm, yeah,  maybe you do.  So should I hook up my CO2 air inflator and blast my mouth with it?  No reason, really, just wondering if I can do that. 

Dr. Ken Tank: Intraoral gashes (tongue, lip, tooth socket) - again pressure -  any way you can think of.  Vasoconstrictors, if available, could prove useful.  But unless you are riding with your Cokehead buddy who happens to have his stash with him, you are left again with just pressure.  The tongue and lip are very vascular so this can be messy for a while, but outright exsanguination potential is low.

BFR: My Cokehead buddies and their gigantic snakes usually drop me on the climbs.  So no luck there.  But can I keep riding?  There's a wicked cool log ride coming up. 

Dr. Ken Tank: Other than neck injury, the other big concern is traumatic brain injury.  If there has been loss of consciousness or obvious disorientation, the rally is over for the day.  Get a CT scan to check for a head bleed.

BFR: If my helmet is split in half, should I continue to try to wear it? 

Dr. Ken Tank: Get off your bike, Dave.   

BFR: OK, despite your advice, log ride successfully navigated, and we're down near the road now.  But I've got some neck pain/dizziness/bloody vomit/painful diarrhea/etc.  Should we pin it back to the car in a 20 MPH paceline? 

Dr. Ken Tank: You and I both know you can't go 20 mph in a paceline.

BFR:  Valid Point.  OK, what are the long term implications for someone with a facial injury like this?  Surgery?  Recovery time?  Will I be a wolf-faced, pygmy monster forever?  

Dr. Ken Tank:  Most of these injuries (exepting critical brain or spinal cord injury) will not keep you from doing your thing again in short order.  Albeit, a little slower.

Fractured tooth (root still in) - depending on the level of the fracture this is usually a salvageable situation.  It may only need a cosmetic composite restoration or it may need a a root canal, post & core build-up and crown.  Just depends.

Picked entire tooth off of ground - best to wash off with water (or Hank's Balanced Salt Solution if you happen to be so prepared) and place all the way back in the socket ideally oriented correctly.  The prognosis of an avulsed tooth can actually be good if the tooth is cleaned and quickly replaced.  It then needs to be properly stabilized to adjacent teeth by a health care professional for a few weeks.  You will need a root canal for this scenario as the blood vessels that enter the apex of the root have been severed rendering the tooth non-vital (dead).  You also may need a crown or veneer on this because these teeth tend to discolor with time.

If the fractured or avulsed tooth doesn't make it, one still has options.  Doing nothing - but missing one of your front six teeth doesn't tend to accelerate the rise up the corporate latter or getting lucky with the ladies in our society.  The quickest, easiest, and cheapest solution is to get a removable partial denture or "flipper".  Looks fine but usually not all that great in the function department and you have to take it out to soak in a cup each night.  Beyond that, the two more permanent fixes are either a dental bridge or dental implants with or without accompanying bone graft.

BFR:   Can I get calf augmentation and teeth implants at the same time? 

Dr. Ken Tank:   You can get a tetanus shot and recheck for a brain bleed. 

BFR:  Does dental insurance usually cover this?  Medical insurance? 

 Dr. Ken Tank: Most of this would typically be covered with medical insurance since it is the result of a traumatic injury, though dental may kick in for some of the more cosmetic intraoral stuff.

Yup.  There you have it.  Nearly 288 years of dental hygeine secretary assistance will make you a wise, wise man.  Thank you, Venerable Ken Tank, for your guidance in this matter.  Hopefully we never need it. 

Moving on, and decidely not on the subject of facial lacerations because he's way to smooove for that, Danny Flow is making a list of Colorado's finest young Oxygen-immune specimens that he's put behind him and kept there.  And it's growing. 
https://www.usacycling.org/results/?year=2011&id=2712&info_id=41362
It would seem they spelled Earallysville wrong.  But it's always good to see a VA in a sea of COs.  Represent. 

And how about the Harvest Moon.  A 6 pack of us, along with about 8 beers, made it to the top of the local hill to take in the moon, relax a bit, and fend off the local feral pet population. 

We also did some modeling. 

Scud may have lost a hand to the feral pets, but he's still perpetually psyched. 



Did you miss the Harvest moon?  Not necessarily.  She's still burning bright and open for business through most of this week, albeit running later and later. 


Other reportable worthiness?  Preddy Creek. 

No Hisers were injured in the creation of this trail.  Nor were they even there. 

Yeah, the expert loop keeps inching along, one rogue hoe at a time.  Today, Wednesday, 5:30 PM, we'll be after it again, with our without Hiser.  Likely without, as it would seem he's officially thrown in the proverbial towell (and also fallen off the proverbial wagon.) Apparently, all of that Bike Polo makes a man soft (and likely confused.) 
How do I feel about this new state of being the uncontested trailwork champion?  I'll be honest, it's lonely at the top.  Unless you're 5. 



Gav dropping his old man.  . 



The Preddy loop: more kids ripping around that thing than a merry-go-round. 

That's the happenins, Captains. 
Do something terrific.  Wear your helmet. 



A smattering of ideas with no unifying theme.

After the dust settled, the smoke cleared, and all of the stitches got put in, it would appear that BRC racing had a pretty good time at the SM100.

before stitches, bitches.

Full results over here. Of note, BRC up-and-comer Pemberton Heath ended up 17th in the women's field, but realistically, when you end up 17th at the SM100- you're no longer just an up and comer. You're pretty much right in the thick of things.

Getting away from the thick of things, however, and more over on the peripherique of the cycling world, which is where I like to be, let's dally into the mailbag, shall we?

First, as a follow up to a previously conceived, though perhaps undisclosed idea, the world is run by the people that show up. And even though I'm no longer one of those people, I still have a voice, and his name is Will.

From Will:
CAMBC has been involved with the "advisory committee" sessions that have led to this next and perhaps final "public" meeting. At the last committee meeting, the committee was "presented" the attached Concept Plan showing the approximate lay out of roads, trails, campground, staff housing, maintenance building ect. CAMBC feels the the roads, housing, camp grounds etc are in a good spot, old fields with scruffy growth, and decent soils for buildings. Our primary area of concern and interest is the proposed 10-12 miles of trail shown and the lack of neighborhood access points along the populated areas on the north side of the park. 
Full details here.

Yup.  Never underestimate the ability of a small group of people to come together and accomplish a big thing, then ride the living bejesus out of it.  Biscuit Run is an epic in the making, just a few loamy, singletrack moments from Downtown Fooftown.  Get involved, or at least dig when Will says dig.

Also from my voice in the legislative process/Will:
RE: Preddy Creek Trailwork, 9/8 and 9/10
Let's do a trailwork double header of sorts. All the rain means the trails aren't suitable to ride (mud= damage=bad name for mt bikers) and lots of folks have cabin fever.

First, Thursday we'll meet up at 5:30pm at the main parking area and work for about 2 hours on the advanced mt bike course

Then this Saturday, meet up 10 am, main parking area and work for 2-3 hours on the advanced course

That's today, Thursday, and Saturday, 2 days from now.  Find yourself a hoe Friday night, and let's do some digging at Preddy.  Conditions are pretty ideal right now for cutting a whole bunch of new hotness over there.

As for me, realizing I could probably make both days, taking all of this in and processing it at a slow, pre-10 AM manner, I naturally wrote a short email to Mr. Hiser to negotiate the terms of his surrender in the VORS Paydirt series. So far, 100% cooperation on his part, showing a level of maturity I didn't necessarily expect from such a fanatic who is so frequently armed with a lamberton rake.  But yeah, so far so good.

Anyway, on the subject of communications in general about what's going on in our local sub culture of lovin' on the dirt, if you're not on the CAMBC email list, get on it.

Almost lastly, former Fooftown all-star turned traitorous Rocktown all-star turned moved-out-west-and-played-with-salmon hippie, Nick Pence, has a new business, and it's running shit.
http://bedrockrunning.blogspot.com/

I picked up a pair of these myself, and in addition to my surprise at just how light they are, I'm also pretty amazed by just how quiet running can be.  And fun.  And slow.  And simple.  And what the hell, it's Nick after all.  Buy some sandals and maybe we can fund our hometown homeboy getting back on his bike.

Ditto that for Nolanpalooza down in NC.  Although, regrettably, there are no products to buy to support that effort, and it's far more dire.  Man overboard.

Flip 'er over and get yourself back on dry land, big guy.
Up, up, up.    

Not an SM100 post

September rolled in gloomy with some pretty spectacular thunderstorms, something like a stretch between 2 AM and 9AM with booming thunder and doggie whimpers. I'm not really sure; I was mostly asleep while my insomniac, twice-pregnant wife fought off heartburn and our 90 lb border collie that both wanted to be in bed with us. Eventually, the sun came out, and like most rainstorms, tackiness followed close behind it.

So, we did what any family does at that point: gather your friends, regroup, and rally.

The hardtail. Officially not dead.

My wife (not pictured) kicks ass. Looking forward to the day we get to roll this loop again together. Not too soon, though.

I love late summer. The trees, weary as they are, seemed to have soaked up all the rain they could stuff themselves with, and now, like a two-chipotle day, they're drooping a little. There's some shame there, I can't lie for them, but also, tranquility in the last few days before the leaves start falling. And over on the new earthquake trail, they're falling already.

Tomorrow, the SM100 will roll out of Stokesville at about 6:30 AM, looking like a hot one with a good chance for storms. Plenty of BRC jerseys will toe the line and roll that loop, smile and frown some, certainly grimace from time to time, but I won't be one of them this time. No indeed, in my place will be my bro, our fearless leader, having not nearly the level of fitness he's had there in years past but making up for that in sheer enthusiasm to seize the day and roll a big loop in the mountains. 12 hour goal-talk has been going around like a case of the sandbagging-flu. Downright enjoyable. And besides, who needs fitness before November 5th anyway, that being the day Shawn becomes Shawn TevenDaleEarnhardt.

Because when it comes to rolling fast laps about 500 times, he's our guy.

Or you could bet your money on this guy.

Another person who won't toe the line in Stokesville tomorrow? KRod - Whose whereabouts and motivations, though both mysterious, can only be pure of heart. And, to back up that assertion, a mysterious two-word email just popped into the mailbag moments ago with only this link:

Dropped Pin.

Yeah, it's a fairly long haul from there to Stokesville. So it's safe to say he won't roll through Aid 6 in under 6 hours tomorrow, despite considerable talent and potential to do so if he were, say, in the same country. But it's also a pretty safe bet to believe he's doing juuuuust fiiiiine right about now.

Lastly, our thoughts go out to BigJohn in Richmond this weekend. Keep your head up, up, up big guy. And an eye on the sky. Good folks are looking down, I know.