GOt my membership while in hospital

[Heldergaspar]

Hey,

I was looking forward to being part of this forum for about a month, I love inline skating, and I love pushing myself to be better at it. I couldn't wait to start posting and getting involved. I finally got access while in the hospital, here's what happened.

I was headed to a trail on my 100mm's with my gf, all I had to do was go down a very steep but short decline that leads to a tunnel at the bottom that runs under the train tracks and on the other side is the trail. The decline is curved 90 degrees to the left and the tunnel entrance has concrete poles at the mouth to prevent vehicles from entering.

I have been down that decline many times and I tuck to stabilize myself and to get a bit of speed since it's fun and I get a bit of a rush. The poles separates the tunnel entrance into 3rd's. I was heading in the middle section as I got maybe 15 feet away 2-3 kids came flying out on their bikes to the middle and right sections. I was going way too fast to get to the left section and barely had enough time to try to bail out to the right bushes, I didn't make it. I hit the corner of the concrete tunnel entrance maybe going 25-30 kph I guess, I blacked out and woke up on the ground unable to move and barely able to breathe in very short breaths. A ton of people were around me screaming and I blacked out again to hear ambulance sirens. They took me to the ER. I got 5 stitches on my chin just below my lips, collapsed lung, lacerated liver, 3 broken bones in my left wrist, knees were all cut up, along with a bunch of sprains and couldn't move or walk until about day 3 of 5 in the hospital. My collarbone to my belly button were super yellow from a massive bruise.

I had driven my gf's parents to the airport for their 2 week vacation on Aug 3, I had done the same for my parent's 3 weeker Aug 4, this happened Aug 5. I had gotten a new job July 23 which messed up my ability to work for a couple months.

I am out now and hating that I might not skate any longer this year and this cast might be on for 3 months. I also have a decent sized scar in the middle of my face for life and I'm 28. What a terrible turn of events.

It's funny when I was in hospital I said I would never skate again an here I am 2 weeks later dying to go for a skate.

Just though I would introduce myself Hopefully I will up and running this year

[online inline]

i'm sure i speak for all when i say sorry to hear of your accident and get well soon. Also, welcome to the forum.
Blind corners combined with a descent always spell danger to me. Fact is, when a skater with no brakes starts a desent, there's just about nothing they can do if some obstacle or unexpected diversion arises. There is exactly one of these on the trail i have been skating lately, and truth be told, when i can, i start my skate just after this area. But we have group skate sessions and they want to run it, so i've found in just about every instance, i take it super slow, even walking it down sometimes, and lose the pack every time. NO biggie - just requires a few miles of massive pushing to catch back up.
Anyway, good luck. All i can suggest is always be formulating an idea of where you can go if something pops up. And if there's dangerous sections of a trail, i would just avoid them, or walk it on down through it. But suit yourself. I tend to be very risk averse, and often pay the price for it by losing the pack.

[Foot2big]

Holy crap!!!!!!

My form of skating breeds danger on every run, but occasionally I'll hit a trail skate. Most of the time I'm lulled into a sense of false security, because hell.... it's just a trail skate. Whats' the worst that could happen? It's not like I'm doing 540's out of the 12' deep end or something. Usually, I trail with no pads or helmet. They're generally soaked by the bowl skate.

I may have to revisit that miscalculation.


Welcome to the forum, what an entrance!

[bjvircks]

Welcome to the forum, sorry for your pain. but...

what if there had been a couple mothers with babies right there?? You could have killed a baby. It's one thing to screw around with your own health and well being but quite another issue to wrecklessly endanger others around you.

I read a recent article in which a person falsified the amount of flight hours he had so he could get an advanced pilot rating without having the required experience. He was trying to save money by not flying the required amount of time. There is a very good reason for requiring people to aquire a lot of experience... so they are less likey to hurt themselves and others. When I was learning to fly hang gliders I was under the close supervision of well qualified pilots and not allowed certain things/locations until I was fully capable of handling them. When I was scuba diving my training and early dives were, again, closely controlled. Same thing for driving a car. Same thing for hunting. However... skating is one endevor in which we learn thru the school of hard knocks, it seems.

Hope you come away from this respecting momentum and kinetics.

[Heldergaspar]

[QUOTE=bjvircks;620924]Welcome to the forum, sorry for your pain. but...

what if there had been a couple mothers with babies right there?? You could have killed a baby. It's one thing to screw around with your own health and well being but quite another issue to wrecklessly endanger others around you.

I read a recent article in which a person falsified the amount of flight hours he had so he could get an advanced pilot rating without having the required experience. He was trying to save money by not flying the required amount of time. There is a very good reason for requiring people to aquire a lot of experience... so they are less likey to hurt themselves and others. When I was learning to fly hang gliders I was under the close supervision of well qualified pilots and not allowed certain things/locations until I was fully capable of handling them. When I was scuba diving my training and early dives were, again, closely controlled. Same thing for driving a car. Same thing for hunting. However... skating is one endevor in which we learn thru the school of hard knocks, it seems.

Hope you come away from this respecting momentum and kinetics.[/QUOTE

You can see a bit far into the tunnel, if I saw mom's with their babies stationary or walking I would have more then enough time to safely pass them. The kids came out pretty fast so when I saw them they were already in my face to safely pass them. I will obviously be more careful in the future in that area I could have died... In terms of momentum and kinetics...I didn't really learn anything, I already knew concrete is hard and you pick up speed on downhills.

[Heldergaspar]

Now that I think about it the reason they were coming so fast was to probably build enough momentum to get up that sharp hill. Gotta remember that since most people will be doing that, I do that on that hill when coming the opposite way. Running out of steam half way up is death on that hill.

[slowsk8]

[QUOTE=Heldergaspar;621449]

Originally Posted by bjvircks

You can see a bit far into the tunnel, if I saw mom's with their babies stationary or walking I would have more then enough time to safely pass them.

You can never safely pass kids at speed, you never know what they will do.
Say "passing on your left" and kids might just turn left.

[ZenSteve]

Three months in a cast... could have been worse.

Be glad you're still kickin', at least.

[Foot2big]

[QUOTE=slowsk8;621496]

Originally Posted by Heldergaspar

You can never safely pass kids at speed, you never know what they will do.
Say "passing on your left" and kids might just turn left.

Haha that's no shi7! That's why I just jump over them.....


(seriously)

[motosk8ter]

Welcome to the forum. Very sorry to hear about the accident! I cracked a few ribs this Spring and that was not hitting anything but the ground. Thanks for sharing as it reinforces my belief in wearing armor and helmet.

[Foot2big]

Best thing you can do for your safety is to pad up and intentionally eat it a bunch of times. Practice falling. It's the only way to master it.

When I go skating, I don't wear protective pads and helmets because I "MIGHT" crash, I wear them because I know that I WILL crash. Numerous times. And do.