A really beautiful week. Got a couple of nice road rides in on Wednesday and Thursday. Just 40 miles total but an intense pace. Finished building up Ann's racerx Thursday night and she was anxious to try it out Saturday. We hit up Cedro and started at Pine Flat with the intention of doing a big loop out to Sedillo, then back up to Oak Flat, Open Space etc. However, after 10 miles, I stopped to move some wire out of the trail and I heard Ann give a little yelp, then silence for 30 seconds. Next I heard her gasping for breath, so I high tailed it back to find that she went down hard. She's still not sure what happened and doesn't remember much, but I suspect she grabbed too much front brake and endo'd. Her first time using discs and it was a tough lesson. Her helmet saved her from a really bad injury, but she still got a gash that required 4 stitches, and has really bruised ribs, which are quite painful. Thanks to Dr. Dave who stopped to give assistance. Ann insisted on riding back to the car as Dr. Dave told us to get to urgent care asap. She rode the 5 miles back to the car, so our ride ended up being only about half the intended 30 miles. She's on the mend, but it's going to be a while for those ribs to heal and she's ready for the rocky trails again. One lesson learned was making sure we carry basic first aid with us in the future. We've gotten into the bad habit of carrying nothing, and if it weren't for some helpful people on the trail, we would have had nothing.

Sunday, I packed my gear and first aid kit and headed back to Cedro. About a mile into the ride I managed my worst crash of the year on my SS. Crazy how these things happen. I've found that when encountering big patches of those Cedro rock piles, to just hammer through them and you float on top. However, I somehow slipped on the pedal, pitching my weight forward just in time to bury my front wheel into a rock which sent me flying with no time to react. Face plant into some tasty limestone, and jacked up my shoulder and pinky finger pretty bad. I taped up the finger with my first aid kit and continued my ride, using mostly front brake. At least I got some miles in, though I paid the price. Sure glad those kind of crashes rarely happen. Though I've noticed that since I've hit my 40's, I don't see as well on the trails some days, and I think that's a factor. I think the reaction time and reflexes are still there, but some days the eyes are sharper than others and it shows. Anyway, I pray we heal up quickly to take advantage of the awesome weather before the real cold sets in. Out for now.