Why TF am I still alive?

I was on a mountain bike trip in Utah.  A good bit of the trip was on fire roads which are basically dirt roads.

I had my son, who  was 5 at the time, on a trail-a-bike.

We were bombing down a mountain.  There was a very sharp left turn coming up.  Straight in front of me all I could see was clouds.

With the extra weight of a trail-a-bike, we were not slowing enough to make the turn.  My main thought was how am I going to explain what I did to our son to my wife?

I figured it would be better to lay the bike down and suffer from scrapes.

Right as I was about to lay it down, the tires hooked up and we made the turn.

There was no more bombing downhill for the rest of that trip.  My son had no idea how close to doom we were.  And neither does my wife

Then with this crowd, you may not want to list your hometown and complete name. Someone out there needs a new bike......

I guess going out to meet a guy for a coupla drinks, deciding NOT to go home with the guy, instead hanging around a coupla more hours until I was sober enough to drive, then falling asleep and driving OFF THE ROAD on the way home would qualify.

I was 23.

I got really hammered on prom night and did so many drugs I completely lost track of what I was taking or how much. I feel like I did enough coke to kill a medium sized water buffalo. I woke up the next morning shocked to still be alive.

I got Married !!!






Edited by Luby162 2010-04-20 10:27 PM

Driving a Ford F250 Power-stroke diesel at 96 MPH over a hill, getting ALL FOUR wheels off the ground, twice.  Talk about stupid.

Hrm falling through the ice maybe 5 times, going nearly completely upsidedown in a 5 point kite (like a hang glider) 350 feet above the lake, rolling a snowmobile at 75 mph, driving when way to tired and hitting things (reflector, spraying gravel) young and foolish, driving through 10 foot snow drifts in neg 100 F on the way home from school, crashing into a car at 60 mph when it pulled out in front of me, snowskiing going off a jump landing on the back of my ski with my face, riding in the van with my brother standing up looking out the sunroof while he went up on 2 wheels around the corner on wet pavement, riding in a car at any point in time with my brother, hitting a wave and tubing at 55 mph and landing head first through the tube and getting yanked a few times too many, getting burried by a small avalanch, playing on a small styrofome surfboard at age 3 before I could swim and getting knocked off (I think I still use that swim stroke),  nearly getting run over by a charging momma moose as a child, getting lost way into the smokey mountains with no provisions past 2 am (don't follow older brother anywhere), multiple driving on ice stories, hanging out in snowcave in the ditch when a snowplow moved the bank back collapsing the fort under 8 feet of snow... so hard to pick.  Those are the ones that come to mind at the moment. 

My first stupid thing was getting in the way of my sisters horses (around 10 of them) and getting run over by the entire lot of them.

Not having learnt about horses, I then proceeded to walk behind another one 12 months later and get kicked resulting in a double somersault with a pyke before hitting the ground 5 meters away.  That one resulted in a bit of a stay in hospital.

Then there was the time I sat on a nice friendly brown snake without realising it was there - I wish I had maintained that speed today in my triathlons.

And that was just the first 8 years...

Driving really really fast with bald tyres on a down hill sloping left hand turn and loosing total control and litterally doing a 360 degree turn which involved me " turning around " and oncomming car. Neither me or the driver of the other car can figure out how in the hell I managed to do what I did and NOT make contact and kill each other. I swore from that day forward I would always have good tyres ...... still drive stupidly fast at times but am much more circumspect hwere I do so.

The most obvious is me hitting a car with my bike on a busy 45 mph road when I was 11.

Tossed over 60 feet horizontally, according to witnesses.

Luckily, I landed on the rock attached to my neck

Only a neck muscle strain and a sizable bald spot on the back of my head to show for it.

Hum, well, the list is kind of long but probably the dumbest one was falling into a crevasse on Mt Rainier at about 12,000ft while unroped.  I was wondering off to go to the bathroom.  What can I say, lack of oxygen makes you do dumb things.  I managed to catch myself on the walls and only went down to my arms.  Probably the dumbest thing was not taking that moment to go to the bathroom since I was completely covered.  For some reason I was more worried about getting out.  The next time I climbed in (same climbing partners) they wouldn't let me unclip from them to go to the bathroom but I had no intentions of leaving the rope anyways.

Losing my friends at a concert and proceeding to take an hour long ride home from two guys I had never met.  When I couldn't find my friends I wandered around the parking lot just shouting, "Is anyone going to Boston?"  This was pre-cell phones (had a car phone, but no car!) and I was scared to death the whole ride home hoping they weren't going to do something to me.

I tried to do the right thing.  I knew one of the bands playing at the festival.  I somehow found one of their roadies out front (it was a big place - Great Wood in MA) and got to go backstage.  I figured I could convince them to get me a ride home.  All they had was their van and they were going the opposite way to RI.  Looking back I should have gone with them and called friends to get me front heir hotel, but I was stupid and decided to wander the parking lot looking for our car.  

I can't even blame it too much on youth - I was about 22-23 I think.  My mom would have killed me if she knew!

Edited by MomX3 2010-04-21 6:53 AM

There's been a few fires that I've wondered how I made it out.

From the driving category:  Any number of dumb passing maneuvers, generally on the shoulder and generally at high speed.

From the falling out of things category:  I was climbing in an apple tree and was about 20 feet off the ground when the branch I was standing on broke out from under me, I was maybe 8.  I fell about half the distance to the ground across a large branch scraped all the skin off my arm and hip as I rolled around the branch.  Then I fell the rest of the way and landed on my back in a large patch of brambles at the base of the tree.

From the I'm just dumb category:  I was splitting fire wood with a hatchet and the pieces weren't standing up on their own, so I was holding them with one hand and swinging at them with the hatchet in my other hand.  At the last second I would let go of the piece of wood.  Well my timing was off and I hit my hand.  Fortunately I had a glove on and only cut my fingers instead of cutting them off.

From the "this isn't how that's supposed to be used" category:  When I was young, 6-10, my friends and I would try to see how far the swings could launch us.  So we would swing as high as possible and then leap off of the swing.  This would result in us flying through the air away from the swings.  Looking back on this, it was really not a good idea.

And we won't talk about fun with electricity, fun with water, fun with my brother, or fun with fireworks.

Edited by MNGopher 2010-04-21 8:22 AM

you win.

A bunch of the locals were going surfing. I wanted to go too, but there weren't enough boards. So I hopped off the pier and went for a swim with them. One of the surfers, a lifeguard, said he was scared @#$*less when he saw me jump in. To him, everyone who jumps off during high waves needs rescuing. I guess I have to thank my swimming instructor for keeping me afloat.



Another time, I was in a mountain bike race, and had mechanical problems from the start. I needed to make up time, so I barreled down a hill, pedaling really hard. Only after I reached >40km/h did I notice the hairpin turn going back up the hill. I don't know how my tired skidded and caught traction at the right time, but I didn't fall. I also picked up 10 seconds on the field.

I've been quite safe compared to many of you.

First grade - my cousin, who lived on a farm, told me to get the frisbee he threw pass the electric fence.  I got too close and *ZAP* in the chest I hit the wire.

5th grade - track and field day - tried to jump a H.S. high hurdle (the old ones that had metal weights on the stands/legs) from a standing jump, with the hurdle facing the other direction.  I step on the top of the hurdle and the force pulled the hurdle down with the weighted leg coming up towards the left side of my eye.  *SMACK/THUD*  Luckily, all I got was 2 or 3 stitches and came back in time to win the 440 yard dash.

Middle school - same cousin, same farm - We went up in the silo (which was full) for some reason, (which at this time I still don't know why).  That's never a smart a thing for two young kids to do - it's very dangerous.

H.S. - actually went out to a party with a friend.  They drank too much, they drove.  EXTREMELY STUPID.

Post-H.S. - Went to a Sammy Hagar concert in the Twin Cities, MN.  After the concert, my friends and I, being on the first level, went to area behind the stage (it was open).  There was  drop from the first level to get down to the stage.  I proceeded to climb over the wall and hang over the edge, noting it was close to a 20 foot drop or so.  A roadie or facility staff person greeted me from below, asking what I was doing.  Being stupid, I asked "Is Sammy there?", and promptly was informed "No", and told to leave.  My arms were getting a little tired and my friends didn't help me up, but I finally managed to pull myself back up and not fall.

A couple of years ago - Some drunk in a pickup pulled out in front of me during my bike training ride.  Luckily I didn't t-bone him, nor he t-bone me, and all traffic behind me were alert and stopped, and no traffic was coming when I downed the bike in the middle of the 2-lane highway.

With all the training that I have done, I'm surprised I haven't been hit by a vehicle, or killed by my wife for being away.

Edited by 1stTimeTri 2010-04-21 9:32 AM

This user's post has been ignored.

Having a few drinks and deciding to use the roof of  MIT's Kresge Hall as a slide.

The roof is metal, and there was condensation on the slide roof.

At the point of no return (2 stories high?), I had slow-motion perception and thoughts.

Thought #1 = I am accelerating REALLY fast!

Thought #2 = I have neither the ability to slow-down nor a plan to stop.

Thought #3= The sidewalk is getting closer WAY too fast!

The rest of the trip occurred in Fast-Forward.
Or was that normal speed?

Luckily, there was a enough of the lip that it popped me up in the air, feet-down.. I was able to stay upright by keeping my feet moving... which created a handy head-start from the cops.

Who would create a college building (with access to drunk college students) where roof-access is waist-high?

"Break left, break left, flares, missile launch, 5 o'clock!"

Apparently, I used to think that I was Spider-man.

I forgot about my 21st birthday.

I celebrated by doing the traditional Mass Ave. crawl.

As if trying to drink in every bar/pub/club on Mass Ave,  starting at the Hong Kong in Harvard Square to MIT is not stupid enough... (I am using the names from 1993).

My friends were boring me by focusing on the baseball games (not a fan).

I decided to climb the building of every bar that I could.

It is amazing how many buildings can actually be scaled by an intoxicated person with ADHD.
(Tip: use the back-alley, not the front.)

My apologies to the couple trying to have a romantic meal by the window of the Greek Restaurant by the Burren, my vomit sliding down the window probably ruined the mood.

The Middle East was probably the highest and most dangerous... you have to hand-over-hand horizontally on a chain-link fence to avoid the razor wire a couple of stories up.

I am thankful that the bouncer prompted me to flee before I could attempt my movie-style jump into the awning at Father's Fore/Cambridgeport Saloon/ Whatever it is called today.
I later learned that it had a pipe frame that I did not see.

My safest part of the night is probably when I magically teleported to the Back Bay because I know it was not on the back of the moving tow-truck that we jumped on... the driver stopped and chased us away with a crow-bar.

The most dangerous of all, probably eating at Hi-Fi.

I had been fiddling with my new fixed gear bike last year (I hadn't decided at that time if I liked riding a fixed-gear), and for reasons I don't remember the seat bolt was a bit too short.  Genius that I am, I decided to ride to the LBS with it like that, figuring if the saddle became too wiggly I would just stop and try to tighten it up some more.

Well, I'm riding down a busy two-lane road when the saddle COMES OFF!     The uncontrollable shifting of my weight that occurred at that moment caused me to careen out of control to my left.  If there had been a car driving up behind me, he would have run me over and it would have totally been my fault.  In the meantime, I'm trying to stop but obviously can't coast, and am still riding out of control across the other lane, where, fortunately, the car that was heading towards me saw that I was having an issue and stopped, horn blaring.  I finally stopped on the other side of the road, shaking like a leaf.  An hour later I was already developing what would turn out to be a massive bruise on my inner thigh from where the seat post had hit my leg when the saddle came off.  Funny, at the time it happened I had so much adrenaline running through me that it literally felt like a mosquito bite.

I sold my fixed gear bike.

Our car broke down when I was a kid (maybe 9), and my Dad walked to a gas station to call my Uncle; leaving my Mom, myself and younger brother & sister. It was late at night, on a deserted road in a bad part of town.
We had waited a long time for my Dad to return, when a car pull up behind us. I still remember looking out the back window and seeing four heads in that car. My Mom started praying and told me to lock the doors. Just then, my Dad and Uncle pulled up in front of our car. The car behind us started up and drove away. Perhaps they were only stopping to offer assistance, but we always sensed something bad was about to happen.
That was over 35 years ago, and I have goosebumps on my arms typing this.

worst for me senior year in HS. I was visiting a friend in Montana who lived up in the mountain. During the winter I would go there and we would spend a few days riding horses or snow mobiles. Well we were barreling along a fire break next to a little used railroad track that ran on the top of a 30 foot high embankment leading down to a rather fast flowing and freezing river (just the start of the spring melt basically.) Anyway my friend is in front of me about 25 yards ahead and I notice her ski catch on something and she swerves erratically for a second and then keeps going. I on the other hand hit this same, iced over stone and get forcefully redirected towards the edge of the embankment.
    Lucky for me I hit the one and ONLY tree on the slope in any direction for at least 200 yards and am stopped completely. My face smacked a tree branch sticking out and I was knocked unconsious for while. When I came too my friend was now about half a mile in front of my and had not noticed what had happened. My head hurt to much to move until she came back. We managed to extricate the snowmobile and surprisingly it still ran fine and just had a badly dented bumper. She drove me back on her snowmobile to her house and set me up in front of the fire with a big mug of cocoa while her brother and dad when out and got the other snowmobile.