Filed under:Mountain Biking
I spent a few hours just hanging out taking photos during the practice runs the guys were taking down the pro course from the NMBS (National Mountain Bike Series) race at Brian Head, Utah. This was an interesting course, because apparently there were 2 choices for the line you could take down. There was a “hard” line which took the riders down over a bunch of rocks plus an insane drop. My photos really don’t do this spot justice at all~ they fail to convey just how big the drop was. My opinion: You’d have to be a NUT CASE to ride a bike down that! And then there was the “easy” way down, which was not easy, either, by any stretch of the imagination. I overheard more than one person saying that the “Hard” way was actually easier than the “Easy” way, all things considered. On the other hand, all the crashes I witnessed ~ and there were quite a few of them! Took place on the “harder” spot. So, I thought I’d share some crash photos with you guys. I’ll be uploading some high-res photos for you guys to download (for free), hopefully within the next few days. So please check back soon!
Brian Head Utah MTB Downhill Crash #1:
This guy is off to a good start.
So far, no indication that this is going to go way, way wrong…
He lands it! Excellent, so far, but wait, there’s more…
Note: Notice the location and position of the hay bales, important details which will be even more significant in later posts showing other crashes.
Uh-oh. We’re starting to suspect that perhaps something is wrong here. His rear tire is off the ground, which is not really a good sign at this point.
Not good, yikes. At this point maybe he’s thinking, let’s see if we can save this somehow. The foot goes down. Can disaster be averted?…
Maybe!! Maybe!! Maybe he can pull it off.
NOPE! He’s down.
OUCH.
Sorry, dude.
Good recovery though! Gotta give you props. Glad you weren’t hurt.
Well. Maybe you were hurt. If you were, hope you’re healing OK…
Glad to see you got right back up after that spill, anyway. BRAVO!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, I have no idea who this guy is. If this is you or one of your friends, please comment and identify the rider here. Thanks! We’ll be happy to send you hi-res photos of the crash if you want them. Just let us know!
Brian Head Utah MTB Downhill Crash #2: Brad Jensen #598
Here we have some photos of Brad Jensen, who raced the men’s expert-master 45-49 class and was sponsored by Oneal / Azonic.
Brad started off strong…looking good so far, dude…
Until right about here, when all of a sudden I’m thinking that something looks amiss.
WHOOPS!
AAAAAACKKKKK. Who put that hay bale there?
OUCH!!!
Double ouch. Nothing like getting whacked by your own bike.
Right about now, I have to ask, where’s the rest of your padding, Brad? Are you nuts? Dude, if you’re going to ride down insane terrain like this, get some elbow pads. Seriously. A longer pair of protective Shin guards wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.
We’re SO RELIEVED to see you got right back up! Major props, that looked like quite a spill. Hope you didn’t suffer any lasting injuries after that one.
Up until now I haven’t been posting mountain bike crash photos. Why not, you might ask? Well…I thought it would be kinda mean. (Note: I am a girl.) If you post crash photos of me, for example, I would probably get all embarrassed and feel completely stupid. I crashed a bunch of times on this trip and am seriously hoping no one took photos of it from the chair lift! haha. So anyway, Mike and Chris keep bugging me to take crash pics. They insist, “people like seeing crash photos“. Well, to my way of thinking, not everyone likes seeing their crash photos posted on the internet, at least not when they are actually the ones who ate it.
So, here’s the deal. I will be posting crash photos because the word on the street is that people do want to see them. But if for some reason you have any objections to crash photos I’ve posted of you, PLEASE let us know and we will be glad to remove them.
I am wondering at this point, is there anyone who raced the downhill pro course at Brian Head who didn’t crash? I saw plenty of injuries, scrapes, bruises, and ripped jerseys. (If you need to buy a new jersey because yours got too thrashed, make sure to check our cycling gear comparison search engine to buy the best gear at the best prices.) Anyway, good thing they had a medic hanging around…is it just me, or were there a lot of DNF’s at this race?
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are enjoying your week, and that you’re getting plenty of riding time in… Be sure to check back soon for even more crash photos, plus a lot of pics of guys that actually made it without crashing. 
Brian Head, Utah, Aug 2008…FUN times and happy memories.
Posted by: Amy S.
