Saturday mid morning, we all start off on a ride, we had 5 or 6 buggies, and about 7 or 8 quads, starting from pad 5 on gecko rd. to olds. it was a mess from the start, 2 buggies in front, then a couple quads, another couple buggies, more quads, all in one big cluster f..k. I didnt notice that much as I had the helmet cam on and was running parrallel to the group in safe spots to get some footage, I worked my way up to the front behind 2 buggies, and was trying to keep up when I flew off a switchback in 3rd gear really on the gas, (I wasnt pinned but was close), next thing I know is I am competely off the bike thinking this is gonna hurt, I landed on my back, the back of my head slammed into the sand, bike rolling over me, everything goest to black, but I realize that more buggies are behind me, so I spring to my feet, then fall flat on my face, cuz the world is spinning faster than I am, I come to my senses, pick up my flag, walk back up to the top of the switch back and stick my flag in the sand as a warning to anyone coming over the hill, and proceed to catch my breath for a few, after about 15 minutes I realize that nobody saw it, and nobody is looking for me, I get my raptor started, make my way to olds, find our group and ask them if they noticed anyone missing as they are having a cold beer at the hill. They had no idea I bailed, and I am so thankful that I did not break anything, other than my headlight, fender, whip and camcorder. I was kinda pissed at that, but since everything turned out ok, I wont bitch too much, I am glad to say that a fellow duner in a silver/grey funco did stop to make sure that I pulled my head out of my a$$ correctly and that everything was o.k.

So now its monday, and I am taking the day off, cuz my neck is killing me, my back feels like my spine got replaced with a 2x4, and I pulled pretty much all the muscles in my stomach, and I have a cold as well, I am 31 and just dont heal as quick as I used to. guess thats what happens when you start getting old.

Lesson learned, when in a huge group, have at least one or two people responsible for each other, so if something does happen, someones got your back and you are not alone, everybody should look out for the group, but there should be someone looking out for you in particular.

just my 2 cents, sorry about the length.

Very sorry to hear about your accident. Glad you were able to still ride.

I sure hope some other duners stopped to see if you were ok.

Ya see, if you were riding with a group from the WASHES....

99% of the time I am the leader and we generally dont have more than 8 riders, I can keep track of everybody without trying too hard, but that ride, nobody knew who was who, or or how big the group really was, 2 camps joined forces and it was a free for all, when we left olds, some of us went our own way to china wall, its was funny, when we all were ready to go, they pointed at me and said you lead, it made me feel good that everyone else trusted my judgement and my leading style, and we were all happy on that ride, nobody got lost or left behind and made it enjoyable, I also found out when I got to olds after my "incident" that they guys were saying "he is ok, he is one of the best riders we know, he doesnt crash, he is better than that" guess I proved them wrong on that statement. but its nice to know they have faith in my abilities, but it also might get me into trouble sometimes, .lol

I am thankful that someone did see me and did come over to see if everything was o.k. they were in a silver/grey funco with red trim, Thanks.

I feel like I have deja vu...

Glad to hear you are mostly ok.. you should try some rides with the 13.5'ers, as they are very good about keeping the whole group together. When I teach someone about riding, I instruct them to watch both the person in front of them, and the person to the rear. That way, if someone goes down, there is at least one "buddy" to help them out, even if they get separated from the main group, and hopefully two.

Dam those raptors!
Were you running audio with that helmet cam? I'd love to hear the "Uhhhaa" as you craterd. I have a bunch of my own.

unfortunately I turned it off about 2 bowls before I ate it, that twice now I missed the good stuff, from now on I am leaving it on all the time.

Ian
Try doing what you did but be 55 years old!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes we don't recoup as fast as we did when we were young.
Hope you feel better soon
Fuzzy

I at least waited until I was 50 before I did my first over-the-bars!

Jeez! That sucked.

Glad you're alright.

My chiropractor said I looked like I had been in combat!

I noticed this 'group phenomenon' when we mixed kids into the mix. Seeing as they were my own kids (that I inherited through marriage), I couldn't relax and ride at all. I was always trying to keep track. I tried asking others to keep track, but still had a hard time concentrating on RIDING.

Like the idea of a buddy system... but does it work? Really?

I love having the big group, but it's just not the same

I really think the buddy system would work, when I am leading I try to keep track of everybody, but sometimes I cant see them, like if they are behind a ridge or ???, but if you name one person responsible for another to keep an eye on, it should work, for instance:

leader --looks for everyone
#2 sticks with leader and #3
#3 sticks with #4
#4 sticks with #5
last person is another experienced rider and takes care of stragglers.

Also at least on person per group ride will carry a GPS at all times, if two people go to "fart around" one will have a GPS, I am going to try and instigate that rule in our group.

example. 2 people go out to "fart around" close to camp but out of site,both beginner riders one runs out of gas, one comes back to camp to get more gas, cant find where out of gas rider is, no bueno, GPS=no worries.