River Falls

I thought I would get up to River Falls for my second training session on Sunday. The weather was phenomenal and I figured I was good for two times around the loop. As I made my way around the first loop I took some time to acclimate to some of the 'man made' obstacles on the course. These obstacles are a relatively new concept for me as I do not recall their existence back in my younger days. I am not sure what to think of them so I am trying to keep an open mind and negotiate them as best I can.

Once I got through the first loop, I had developed an unhealthy confidence and began riding the course as if I knew it. I entered a section that contains two narrow foot bridges. These bridges are no more than 18" wide and span a gully with no more than 3-4 feet of exposure on either side. In the middle of the two bridges is a rock ramp which you must negotiate prior to mounting the second ramp. I blew by the "PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION" sign and negotiated the first ramp unscathed. I then ran into a bit of a problem with the rock ramp and hit the second bridge off balance. Of course, in my mind, speed is safety so I continued to hammer the pedals. I had a few feet left on the bridge with a 'good inch' before I fell off the side of the bridge. Unfortunately, I looked up and noticed there was a fairly large tree just to the right of the bridge. At about the same time, my 'good inch' was gone and I was milliseconds from becoming intimately involved with the tree.

Now.......I am not exactly sure what happened but this is the story I am sticking with for the moment. I was able to get my head to the side and nearly missed the tree with the only revenue generating source I have access to. The rest of my large self was less fortunate as I now have a columnar looking bruise from chest to my waist line. I think I flipped and somehow came down on top of my bike. I immediately jumped up and conducted the obligatory 'is anything broke' pat down and moved to the 'look around and see if anyone got a picture' pose. As far as I could tell, no fractures and no pictures so on my way I went.

After all of that, the only part of my body that bothered me was my left little toe. Mind you, the collision occurred on my right side so I am having a bit of trouble explaining this one. Anyway, White Tail Corporate Park is a tough trail for me so I had better get there a few more times before race day. See you there!