but I think it did me!!!
Been 6 days since my Swinley Forest expedition and I am now getting some mobility in the neck although I still have to sleep sitting up due to the pains in the chest and back, but lets start at the beginning..........
I set out for Swinley in anticipation of some good riding and I was certainly not disappointed. I spent the morning blasting around the main gravel tracks but a bit of downhill and some single track through the forest itself on a mix of boggy ground - very tiring, and on more packed gravel etc with banked up corners which was just amazing. Tree roots everywhere doing their best to throw you off and the bike moving all over the place as a result.
After a bit did some more singletrack - this time very narrow twisting section which brought me out near a nice looking steeper section - no worse really than I had done in the morning although this one was more muddy. Had a good look at the route down and started. Went hairing down, but didnt see the tree stump that stopped my bike dead in its tracks. The result was me thrown over the handlebars, a balletic somersault, landing with one hell of a thud on my back in the undergrowth.
So after a moment of lying there trying to breathe I finally managed to get to my feet - all limbs seemed to move but a bit of a sore neck.
It took nearly an hour to get back to the car park but stowed the bike and drove home. Wifey thought I was a nutter and should have known better, but became concerned when she saw this lump on my sternum - so off to A&E. Upshot of this is something ruptured in the sternum, damage to the muscles between the ribs (intercostal??)whiplash and a very bruised pride. It wasnt until 2 days later that I checked my helmet and found how much force it had taken as it was cracked down the back. So there is a pic of my helmet on the gallery - not really downhill action but..........
Two things come to mind as I sit here recounting my best day and worst day of riding:
1. Swinley is fantastic, I will be back but I will stick to the trails and flat singletrack
2. WEAR YOUR HELMET - If anyone even thinks about not wearing a helmet, then you are in danger of some serious damage if you "come a cropper". I think I was lucky to get away with whiplash. Without a helmet it could have been so much worse.
