“Team Building” at the Kettles
“Team Building” of course is code for goofing off, kind of. It’s as productive, more fun than, and like Garrett said, “not as gay as catching people from falling backwards”. I fell though, hard, down hill at about 15 mph, which was way too fast for that section of track. I screwed up and had the brakes cranked when my front tire hit a rock. It shot right and my body’s momentum kept going forward, over the handlebars. I landed on my right shoulder, rolled on to my back, kicked the bike off and over my head and skid across the top of a recent clearing, where there were a lot of stumps. Garrett and Noah turned back and when they returned wondered how the hell my bike ended up so far down the hill and off the track from where I was standing, then I told them I was down there too. They “ooooohh’d” and “aaaahhh’d” at my back, then we went on our way. It only hurt for a minute. My shoulder was a little sore the next day, but if you would have witnessed it, you would have guessed something was broken, badly. All I came away with was a little rash on my legs, and this:
I also learned, and again in a more recent trip to Fitchuburg’s Quarry Ridge, the value of good pedals. I was slipping around on my stock platforms so badly that I really should have eaten dirt several more times. I put an order in for some cheaper ($22) studded (replaceable-pin), BMX/freeride-style pedals that should grip my sneakers a bit better. I’m not keen on going clipless out there just yet, not on the single-track. I’ll upgrade again when I upgrade my bike. I felt stupid dishing out $70 for pedals for my $120 rig, but I think I found a good value here.
Wellgo LU-A52 studded (replaceable pin) platform pedals