PNW Husky event. Bend, OR. Oct. 15-16, 2010

Even if you are very careful, it only takes one moment of inattention combined with the bad luck to have someone else coming the other way.

Many of the trails there have good sightlines, but in some spots views are completely blocked by small saplings in places where you could be going 30mph or more around a sweeping corner. I really crawled around the blind corners.

Anyway, I hope brandon is doing OK. It must be incredibly frustrating to get hurt again so soon.

I ended up with a compound femur fracture a few years ago in a head-on at winom-frazier (similar trails to bend), so I am now exceedingly careful when I can't see well. Tresa and I tried to get up early and find the trails with decent sightlines to ride hard early in the day, then mellow out and be more careful as everyone else got going when it warmed up.

Yikes.

At that speed, you both could have been killed. Sobering thought. Glad it wasn't more serious. If you die in a crash, I would at least like it to happen when I owe you money for bike parts.

+1. That is some frightening stuff. I'm glad you were able to look past a broken bike and enjoy the rest of your weekend. I don't know if I would have been in a great frame of mind after that.

I hope to make the next event -- maybe everyone should come out to Idaho.....

It certainly could have been much worse. I have had my share of close calls there, once with a county Sheriff on a quad near the two wrecks this past weekend. During the week riding there is much more enjoyable.

Great to meet everyone!

Then instead of head-ons, we'll only have to worry about drownings and pulling bikes back onto the trail with ropes.

125's are just so much fun! I rode Kelly's bike before the crash and the extra low end of the 144 is nice and the bike is set up perfectly. The steering stabilizer works great.

Kelly's bike post crash.


My great running 125 (after some jetting changes)


Fun riding with Kelly, Ken, and Adam. Now on to GPNF before the snow!

I'm okay. Thanks for the concern!
rpmguy is where my concern lies as he's much worse off than I am.

For those with morbid curiosity....
my rt arm Sunday morning: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/BrandonV/IMG_4351.jpg
And this morning: http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v420/BrandonV/IMG_4361.jpg


After watching the helmet cam footage I found out that I managed to hit the rear brake a split second before impact and get my bike turned slightly left, so it was not a 100% head on. Had our helmets collided things would have been much worse.

I'm done with the high speed stuff!

If you guys keep getting hurt, I'll have to send you up my old fork protectors for you to use as splints!

Glad you guys aren't worse off!

Sure looks like you had fun and beautiful place to ride!

I did the same thing when I got hit at winom-frazier, except i turned slightly right, and took the impact on my left leg. The other rider musta been going 35-ish and didn't slow down at all. If we had hit head to head or torso to torso, it could have been even uglier.

Here's how I deal with it:

1. we ride alot of fairly extreme technical terrain, where you can't go fast enough to have a head-on (this is easier in idaho than in most other places).

2. I go fast when someone else leads. I let a gap open, then ride as hard as I can to close it. I make sure the lead rider knows to STOP oncoming traffic and have a chat with them until the rest of us catch up.

3. I go fast where I can see. There are alot of trails at bend where vision is good, esp on a dusty day where you can see the plume for miles. When I can't see, I go slow. really slow. annoyingly slow. it drives tresa crazy following me, but a crazy girlfriend is better than going to the hospital.

4. I enter races to get my speed thrill.



btw... yer arm looks fine. only a flesh wound, lol. here's what mine looked like afterwards (the scab on my knee is one of two spots where bone splinters were poking out. blech.:



beforewards:

That's below the belt...

We've never had to pull my bike back onto the trail with ropes - its usually only a few feet from the trail.

Also, I have never even had my head below water. My bike has floated away a time or two, but I've always come out of it just fine.

It was really nice to get to meet a few of you. I had a good time riding even with all the dust. Tammy I would love to meet up in California for a ride. I was on my KTM 530 and it was funny to see this lonely orange bike in a sea of red and white Huskys. I am thinking about picking up a 2011 TE 310 for the next get together.

Eric (mr woodschick) and timh had to pull my bike back onto the trail with ropes once.

I ain't ashamed....