On the green loop at WWC a few years ago I was climbing up that long low grade.  At the sharp switch back at the end I oversteered and bonked my head right on the tree there.  It didn't seem a hard blow at the time, but left me a little woozy

Green loop at WWC got me once as well. After you come out of the back area and cross that small rock garden it opens up to a fire road. Great time to really press your speed. Well that's what I was doing, going fast. I was riding very tight to the left tree/brush line. I'm not sure if it was a tree or a vine I never seen it. One second I was hauling ass down the trail the next I was in the air off my bike. It's like something just grabbed my handlebars as I past and off I went. I remember being airborne and thinking wtf was that. I got up and walked the trail to try and figure out what it was, never seen anything out of the ordinary.

Poston got me pretty good once as well. The back side of the soccer loop. After you enter back into the trail from the dog park there is a fast flowy section with a few switchbacks. Coming thru the area there is this left had turn with a small 3-4" tree right on the inside of the turn. I was coming thru pretty fast and if I was going to make the turn I had to lay into it pretty hard. Well... I took that tree right across the chest. It stopped me dead in my tracks. It was that day I realized it doesn't matter how big a tree is, tree's give no f*&^%s. Whether its a 2" tree or a 20" tree we lose. I had a good bruise across my chest and a new respect for wood.

That same tree at Poston has a path to the inside of it now...

I was at Wilsons Creek once looking down messing with the chest strap on my hydration pack while riding along.  When I looked up there was a pretty good sized tree limb less than an inch from my face.  Needless to say I took a punch and came off my bike.  I was with a group of DH type riders and I felt like a huge douche because it was one of my first rides there on my shiny new Turner Sultan. 

I have also had some pretty nasty high speed crashes that luckily did not result in much more than a few scrapes and scratches at: 
Renni (right past the tennis court when you drop back in past the little rocky section - I ended up with 'road rash' on my face). 

Poplar Tent (while pulling a dead sailor on that wide downhill section that ended up at the bottom of devils drop before you started to climb back towards the top).

North Meck (at my first ever short track race I clipped a tree and when I fell I screamed dramatically like I had been shot even though I was fine).

Dupont (just riding along and took a corner at speed.  My bike came out from underneath me and I slammed the ground immediately coming to a stop.  I could only think about how much I hated Geax Saguros at the time and wondered why I ever used it as a front tire).

I was out at the WWC years ago with Bart and I thought I would try and pass him on one of the downhill fire roads and when I went to pass he sped up and my barend hooked his handlebars and we went right into a pine tree. I tried everything to slow down but it turned out that we doubled our speed at least it felt like it. We hit the tree so hard my front wheel was pointed one way and handle bars another the back wheel pulled out of the dropouts. Bart's glasses cut him above his eye stitches were needed. I ended up with a concussion, partially torn rotator cuff and 2 fractured ribs. Pete drove me to the hospitial. That was the first time I ever used my camelback as a sling. Now when I pass by that tree with the sap running out I just grin and think about how lucky we were that it wasn't much worse. Sorry Bart!

Woke up one morning, just not feeling it, went for a ride anyway. Decided to take it easy and was just cruising along when I lost my back wheel in a slickspot (now the site is gravitythief memorial drain) and hit a tree....hard. I was clipped and my body basically wrapped around two different sides of the tree. I ruptured two discs at my L4 L5 vertebrae and had some significant impingement on my spinal cord due to swelling. I ended up with permanent nerve damage in my right leg and foot and chronic back problems that i still enjoy to this day. There are many areas of life where it is good to be called impressive, the inspection of your MRIs by your spine doctor are not one of them.

Got out of control on the balance beam at Sherman, went over the handlebars, and hit that tree.  I was sore for a few days.

In my college days, went hiking at Table Rock.  A sudden thunderstorm started, we started running back to the parking lot.  I had a hat on and was looking down as I ran.  Didn't see the tree leaning over the trail.  Running full speed, I hit the tree with my forehead.  Knocked me out, I had concussion symptoms for awhile after that.

Riding NM one evening when the trail was bi-directional, riding with Tom Matthews and David Rodden. I left the swim, tennis club area going down the hill and up to the little jump at a very fast pace. I went into the right turn and the bike just about stopped on the roots at the large oak tree. I hit the tree and it knocked me across the trail into the woods. By the time they got there, I was back on the bike and the dust was about settled back down. David asked what happened and I said that I had no idea. I think that was my hardest fall!

Robert C. wrote on 05/14/15 at 8:44pm:


Makes me feel better about flats. Every time I start to think about "clips" some one reminds me why I enjoy my flats.