Man Down!! Medic!!

Wwnt out on a ride this afternoon w/ the Sycamore Cycles crew. Eric and Hugh from the Aerospace team were in town so I invited them as well. Wanted to get in 3-4 hrs. nice and mellow on the mountain bikes so we figured out a good route and took off. First up was North Slope trail- a nice 3.5 mile loop. We rocket up the climb w/ Wes D setting a good tempo, get to the top and regroup to start the downhill. There were numerous close calls due to the massive leaf fall on the trail but it was still fun. Nearing the end of the DH I decided that I hadn't had a hard crash since the Wissahickon Cross race back in Oct. and wondered to myself if I could still crash really hard and get messed up bad. If you have ridden N. Slope you know there is a tiny section of nasty rooty steps near the end. Today they were wet and covered with leaves. Nope, I did not answer my previously pondered question here- I did however crash spectacularly on a tiny section of wet roots 100 yards later. I have ridden that trail hundreds of times and had not even noticed that root before. However, it was my lucky day and the cosmos and stars and whatever aligned perfectly to drop me like I had an Aneurism or been shot by a sniper. After nearly being run over by The Weapon, regaining my feet and composure, ( in that order ) I brushed the mud off my white vest (a wise fashion choice today) and surveyed the damage. Surprisingly I got off relatively easy, until I saw the hole in my knee. It was the big enough to stick the tip of my pinky finger in ( I know this because I had to try it- much to my surprise it hurt very badly when I did that!) Anyways, the hole had big chunks of skin hanging off it and was rapidly releasing my blood into the open where I did not want it to go. So I pull my knee warmer down to cover it up- that will fix it and we ride on. After another 2 1/2 - 3 hrs. we roll back into town at the right time because the temp. had dropped 10-15 degrees. I go searching for Ibuprophen and go home to clean up. I'll spare the details of the cleanup but it did involve tiny scissors, toenail clippers, rubbing alchohol, neosporin, towels, and a large dressing. Lifting weights tomorrow will be fun!! Later- DH