Paul Petch

Man down! at the Wharfedale Track

I did not get to bed until after midnight so come the early rise I was not feeling to good. Infact- a lazy day under a tree with a book would have been my choice! And with Spencer running characteristically late we did not get going until after 10am. To further aid the poor start to the day, we once again got lost after leaving Oxford! We did eventually get to the car park though and were on our way just before lunch time. Mark was leaving Christchurch early the following day and wanted to do some shopping so time was already against us as we rolled out of the carpark. There was a “vibe” in the air for sure…..and it was not long until we worked out what the day had in store for us all :)

Mark, Richard and I were fatigued and we were all feeling the effects of the past few weeks. We were half asleep as we headed along the track. Lack of concentration and Wharfedale do not mix and we found this out fairly early on where I attempted a rooty step up to be in the wrong gear and spun out- teetered- and fell sidewards down a steep bank. I rolled about 6 metres down to then be hit by the 16KG Wolf which then pushed me down further to come to an abrupt standstill against a tree. The knee pads had just paid for themselves again as I slammed into the tree knee first. Ouch. While Spencer took photos and Mark helped (yeah thanks Spence!) haul up the bike, I managed to clamber up to the track. I was fine- but concerned at how we would fare with hours to go!

Heading onwards we had regular stops to allow the group to catchup and the foreign conditions were causing issues for the guests. Fair enough too as having to use the upper body so much while navigating step ups and steep sketchy downs into rocky water crossings is a real challenge. On one rocky step up Mark misjudged it and came down hard. His bike fell down the side while he landed hard onto the rocks with his extended hand. The sound of a bike hitting the hard ground is kind of eerie isn’t it? Thankfully, aside from a bit of bruising to his hand, Mark was all good. Wow. Fall two and we had only been on the track for an hour!

Heading into a water crossing Spencer went down hard onto his side. One minute he was up right and then he was down. Stack number three! It was not a big fall thankfully- so he was back up before I had a chance to grab the camera :D With some bike pushing and carrying we were then once more back on our steeds and then climbing to the Saddle. I love this part of the track and once more I was heading up and over the technical roots and ledges like a goat. Awesome.

At the Saddle with the sand flies biting and four wet and smelly bikers chomping on sandwiches- we opted to head back at this point because we had run out of time. Zipping back down the way we came was mental as there are so many lines to choose from….which all kind of work if you mess up. By now though my ADDH was on form and I was struggling to focus on anything! Then we climbed out until we arrived at the point where the track points downwards to the car park. I just let it go and before I knew it I was hooting along. With a cool rooty step up cleared (correct gear choice at last!) I was steaming ahead….and I came around a corner where a tree had fallen. At speed I took the turn what kind of dipped inwards and then up and back on track.

This section was not here last time I visited the track and with the rich Summer greenery and lack of focus I was clearly rolling to fast and lost control when exiting the turn….and I knew things were wrong. As I attempted to gain control of the bike I found myself tracking on the very outside edge of the trail…..and a tree stump hidden in the lush grass edge hit my right pedal. With an abrupt STOP! I flew down the track and landed at least 5 metres from the stump hard on my left side….fully attached to the bike….like a sack of shit with a loud CCCraaaaaaacccck!

I laid there winded some distance from the stump and my bike…with both knee pads rotated. The pain was instant and I knew that I’d messed up. Getting to my feet I thought of just getting back on the bike and pretending that it just never happened….but sense took over and I waited for the other guys who were some way behind me. The pain was all ribs…and I had landed on my side/ shoulder/ hip hard and the ribs had taken the full force of my fall and the bike! I could move my shoulders and rotate my upper body….which was a good sign! With my pride knocked and the adrenaline blocking the pain we headed back to the car which was not far away. Clearly the track had changed since our last visit and I had just paid for my lack of respect of the “dale”.

Back at the car we were missing Spencer. A few minutes later he came freewheeling to the gates and had also had a fall! He had washed out on a loose corner in the same fashion as his last stack. This time he had gone down harder and was nursing his left shoulder. My chain had also snapped twice during the ride and Richards Maxle had come loose…… The Wharfedale had a feast on a band of weary mountain bikers today for sure!

Heading back to Gotham we got lost and back later than planned. With hand shakes all round and stories of woe from the last few weeks Mark and Richard headed off. Mark is heading back to Melbourne in the morning while Richard is off to Queenstown for a week to chill out :) As for the ribs. I’m not sure what’s happening to be honest. I’ll take it easy this week and see what happens. You win some and loose some, and It could have been worse :)

Happy travels fellas and I’ll either see you in Melbourne or Rotorua come Easter time :) It was awesome having you visit and It was a total blast! Phew…what an epic two weeks!! I’m looking forward to going back to work next week for a rest! lol

As for the bike…..it’s just fine :D

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Related posts:

1. Mountain biking at the Wharfedale Track
2. Return to the Wharfedale Track
3. Return to the Wharfedale Track
4. Wharfedale track meets the Wolf
5. The Wharfedale Track – wet n’ wild

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 10th, 2010 at 6:48 am and is filed under Bike Rides and tagged with injury, mark, richard, spencer, Trails & Rides, wharfedale. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.