Death of a Yeti

One of the newest trails in the area recently had some new sections added to it. The new sections include a few small kickers, or small jumps, for added fun. Of course, they are optional features since you can easily pedal around them. However, I like them. After going to Snowshoe, I crave air time now.

Being the Winter season on the East coast, the weather forecast is wet and chilly. Not too cold to ride, but usually too wet. After a small dry spell, we hit the trails again. Sure they were soupy in a few spots here and there, and the wet leaves and roots made cornering tricky, but we were finally riding again!

During the ride, we approached one of the new kickers. It's a small thing, really. Only about a foot or so high. The approach is a slight downhill and the landing slopes off a bit more. It's a great way to catch some air - albeit small.

As I approached, I sprinted for the kicker. I sailed into the air and cleared about 15 feet. The Yeti soaked up the landing with no problems at all, but the trail had a slight right-hand turn ahead. Unfortunately, I now had too much speed to get traction on the wet roots and leaves and missed the turn. I crashed into a small tree. I walked away with nothing more than a slight abrasion. Neither the tree nor the Yeti were as lucky.



Andrew, who was the rider following me, later described the crash like this:

"I only heard two things when this happened. A slap/snap sound which I am guessing was the tree protesting the blow. And what sounded like a 6 year old girl wailing because their favorite dolly lost her hair.

I saw the tree and it won’t be long for the world. But I never saw the girl or her damaged doll."

Ouch!