When to get a new helmet?

Answer: any time you see stars. Wyogirl saw stars on Pearl Pass this weekend. Without a good helmet, she would have been taking a helicopter ride.

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Even tho she fell to the right, her left wrist was bothering her. Watching the replay, we accused her of trying to brake her fall by pummeling the rocks into fine sand.

Gotta watch out for the putting-the-hand-out thing. Especially an open hand. Often better to take the impact on the forearm while keeping the fist closed.

There is a gender tendency with this, I have observed that women are more like to put out a hand while men are more likely to put out a fist & forearm. Wife & I have discussed this before. Not an absolute divide of course, but my theory is that it stems from boys being more likely to play contact sports and physically fight, compared to social behavior that girls are more likely to engage in, the "stay away from me, creep" gesture.

And if only that guy had gotten away from the line before the bike came up.....

We talked about that when viewing the videos in camp that night. I ride the bike into the ground with my hands on the bars. If I'm ejected, it's tuck and roll.

He's actually standing above a large, wet log that has been put into the road below this very slippery off camber section and is, I believe, ready to spot the section where people tend to get hung up. As usual, the video doesn't do this section justice showing its difficulty - there is a creek and the rocks slope off the 4x4 road at nearly a 45 degree angle. There really isn't a good line through the rocks. I think between our two groups (I was in a second group that went through here) we had 9 or 10 people, including some amazing riders, and only a couple cleared this obstacle.

As for crashing, I don't think putting a hand out is necessarily gender related. I know plenty of men who have broken hands, arms, shoulders, and collarbones because they try to catch themselves when they fall. I think it has more to do with sports and activities when younger. I played competitive soccer and raced mountain bikes and when I fall I tuck everything in and try to land flat without any body parts sticking out. Landing on a forearm or fist can easily get something broken if you fall the wrong way or too far.

I'm just glad she's ok and amazed that she rode those miles and miles of rocks and steepness with an injured wrist after seeing stars! It was hard enough without any injuries!

What sucks so bad, is that I was *this* close to clearing it. We decided post ride that the rock was covered in whale foreskin, from all of the damn GS riders dropping their bikes there. It is now forever known as "Whale Foreskin Rock."

You were doing better than I would have up until your wheelie ended in a rock. Good job hopping right back on.

Speaking of helmets, would this one pass inspection?

I'd send it to the manufacturer and have them test it. Looks borderline to me...

Damn..any details?

I dunno, years ago I used to flat track race a Honda Oddysee (not the mini-van) most of us had wrist restrains installed, lengths of nylon attached to the steering yoke with loops that you put around your wrists so you couldn't stick your hands out side the cage. I can't remember a roll over that I didn't feel the restraint stop my wrist even though I always meant to keep my hands on the yoke. I also can't remember any uninjured riders that didn't use them.

That should buff right out.

Probably because there aren't any. The lady we bought my son's beagle from rolled her Oddyysee several years ago.....thankfully the surgeons were able to reattach both arms. Her fingers still tingle a little, but they work fine.

It looks like her left hand got caught up in the clutch/handguard as she was going over. That probably accounts for the soreness. Tensions from the sudden stress of crash mode coupled with the unusual torque of suddenly going sideways would likely equal a sore wrist.

I hate Pearl Pass. But then, I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to big, rolly, wet rocks.

That helmet was done with some sort of belt sander either as a joke or demonstration piece.

I could be totally wrong... My dirt skills are basic at best, and I've never been on rocks larger than baseball size


But aren't your feet supposed to stay on the pegs? The idea being that the bike moves under you and your legs work as shock absorbers so you don't get bucked off.

You've been watching too many professional riders. In theory, you are right. However, for mere mortals, standing on the pegs climbing rough scree is often disastrous. In the extra second it takes to perform an emergency dab from a standing position, you will already be on the ground.

Last weekend I was riding with my lovely wife. She has great form standing up. I watched her picking a line up a long rocky hill. The front end hit a roller & she went down before she could catch herself. I told her to sit down and treat the clutch like it was our corgi (abuse it!), get her weight on the back wheel, and paddle her way up. All was good after that.

How well did that helmet fit Wyogirl? Was it the correct internal shape that matched the shape of her head...round, long oval, or something in between? And, if the shape was right, was the size right? The "seeing stars" is more likely if her head slammed the inside of a poorly fitting helmet.
http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/content/fitting-guide

No, it fit very well. It was a hard impact.

FYI, my wife decided to pick up a Kali helmet. I absolutely love mine. Half the price of an equivalent lightweight Arai.