© 1997 Hyperactiveman
'OK approach the jump at speed, pull up at the lip... there, cross the bar a little... there, Wait this ain't right?!'Pow! Another crash and burn. As I lay there feeling the pain from my dislocated shoulder, I see the others running to me yelling 'Whao! That was rad man! We gotta try that!' Excuse me, rad? There has got to be something wrong with these guys.
It seems like now days crashing is a major part of biking, you just can't go out, bike and come back without crashing, it is a part of the biking deal, you ride, you crash. So what made crashing so significant to bikers? NORBA downhill, ESPN, all of those 'extreme' ads on TV all contribute to this but there are more, much more.
What about full face helmets, body armor, full finger gloves and so on. Think about these products for a while, they are all protective gears, stuff that will protect you from getting hurt. That's good, but they do something more then just protecting you, they make you more confident, with them you are less afraid to crash, so you push your limit a little more. So is that good or bad?
On one hand you can go faster, jump higher, try harder things because you think you won't get hurt with all these pads and stuff. Then on the other hand when you ride faster, jump higher, you crash harder. Want prove? Just look at all those downhillers that are getting hurt, I just go a Email from Cannondale title 'Rockwell Crashes Hard' Apparently Myles Rockwell shattered his kneecap on his run at World Cup Downhill #2, and needs surgery to repair the bone, and 'hopes to be ready for the world Championship.' Was he wearing protective gear? Yes. Was he pushing his limit? Maybe. Did he crash hard? Definitely.
But I'm not saying there shouldn't be protective gears. Hell I don't know where I would be now without my helmet, and if I do think so then I wouldn't be waiting anxiously for my Hammer Pads to arrive through mail. The fact is we need these protective gears, this sport is too dangerous to do without them. The mass seem to understand about helmets, the high end models are always out of stock. Now what about the rest of your body? After a major crash one of my friend decided to race with JT arm and leg pads in a cross country race, everyone at the race laughs and call him a downhiller wannerbe and a wuss. I would call him smart.
So if we need these protection then why am I saying that these protection sometimes may actually harm us more then it can save us, well it all depends on the person. We just have to know our limits, it's not really that hard since it is all in the mind. Since your are in control with what you are doing it only make senses that you should control your actions and act accordingly. So if you want to get hurt there is nothing stopping you except yourself, if you don't want to get hurt but still have fun and live to tell your stories to later generations then you should do what every one else is doing and wear protective gear, it will save you from major injuries and it will allow you to push your limit and do the best you could.
Keith Yan
Speed Zone | Wrench Zone | Breaking Zone | Hype Zone | Time Zone
© 1997 Hyperactiveman
