Colorado: N. Thornton: Eastlake-Cherry-CRASH Loop

Sage -> Eastlake -> Cherry Loop

SPOILER: This ride ends abruptly in a crash. I rode into a hole (concealed in grass), the bike stopped ... I didn't, flying over the handlebars and landing hard on my head. Result: a compression fracture to the T4 vertebrae in my spine & no more riding this summer. I was lucky (it could have been much worse): (1) I didn't break my neck, & (2) there was no nerve or ligament damage associated with the fracture, thus no need for corrective back surgery ... more luck than smarts as I drove myself post crash to the ER.

HELMETS RULE!

For the squeamish, there is no blood associated with this crash.

The crash itself is played in slo-mo ... at normal speed it is instantaneous: hit the hole, impact the ground in a fraction of a second ... and none of the frames capturing the crash itself are noticed. I was going around 10 - 12 MPH when I hit the hole.

Discounting the ending crash, the resulting overnight stay in the ER, & the predicted 3 months recuperation, ... it was a pleasant ride.