June 2003 (Shubie Park):
My ex (Si) and I decided to go night-riding our bikes in Shubie Park. We both had headlights and tail-lights on our bikes, but they are more so you can "be seen" rather than help you see in the dark. Anyway, we were having a great time tearing around the trails in the dark. I was in the lead, and was bombing down this hill when all of a sudden I hit a deep washout and did a complete endo. The front wheel slammed into the opposite side of the gully and totally chucked me over the handle bars. I slammed into the crushed gravel on the opposite side like a sack of potatoes. Then the bike landed on top of me. Hands, knees and elbows all hit the dirt, and I had nasty road rash and bruises on all but my hands - my bike gloves saved my hands. The story doesn't end here.
Si was riding only a few feet behind me. He saw my tail-light go up in the air but it was too late for him to stop...he slammed into the gully and crashed into me. The steering stem of the bike got him between the legs and he was in a lot of pain. We were both laying on the ground moaning and writhing in pain. After a few minutes I got a major attack of the giggles - I just couldn't stop laughing...then he started laughing too. After we got ourselves composed and brushed off and concluded there were no broken bones, we checked over the bikes. Mine was okay, but Si's was toast. His forks were bent, rim bent and tire flat. So we walked them out. That was a good excuse for him to upgrade the bike to beefier shocks and disk brakes. I sold my Iron Horse about four years ago, but I bought Si's bike from him in 2012.
