Northwest Recreation

Riding along the trails at high speeds, we had just started our descent to the bottom of tiger mountain.  We had been riding a couple miles, but things were about to take a harrowing turn.  Coming around a corner and off some 3 foot jumps made out of roots, we struggled to maintain a solid control on the trail in the semi-wet conditions.

As I approached one particularly tight right corner, I pulled in my back brake lever to lockup as I laid the bike over around the corner, which allowed only a couple feet between tight trees.  Upon coming out of the corner, the bike skidded harder to the left than expected, sending me towards the bank on my right.  Over-correcting and adjusting to the skid, I lost control and veered towards the left edge of the trail, where a steep drop on my left was.  Forced to choose between the edge and my safety, I jumped from the bike and slid across the trail.

My friend ahead of me heard my shout that I was down and stopped to see if everything was okay.  The rest of the ride was fun, but a severely bruised elbow made it less pleasant than it could be.  I was grateful that I sustained no serious injury, though, and I live to ride again!