Sliding into second base when playing baseball is: strategic, makes good fundamental sense, and when done correctly is an integral part of the game. Sliding into second base while riding your bike...not so much. So yesterday I was coming off the mountain and riding back to the rock pile at lunch when I mach'd through a corner like I've done 200 times before. At the apex of the turn, the front wheel decided to let go and the speed at which the ground came up was alarming. I hit the deck and slid 15 to 20 yards before I was able to stop myself by slamming into my bike that had arrested its forward progress by slamming into a curb. Shaken and stirred, I quickly stood up and assessed the damage. I had fallen on my left hip and that seemed to be the trouble area. The left elbow suffered some rash as well but was mostly superficial at best. My greatest concern was that the impact to the hip was the same as the impact I suffered last year at the night cyclocross race that effectively ended my season. I assured no less than 10 passing motorists (including one motorcycle cop) that I was okay. I remounted and started to pedal and things felt fine. I had a little stiffness last night but today the hip actually feels pretty good. I think I got lucky in that: 1) the impact was slightly lower on the hip than last year and 2) I was moving pretty fast when I hit so that the energy from the impact was spread out over a greater distance (though I'm no expert on such crash analysis). And before any of you ask I'll cut right to the chase, the mullet was not damaged in any way during the fall. Anyway, stay upright and I hope you are well.

Johnny GoFall