Falling into rivers is fun :).

SomeGuy

Had some fun while out riding with some mates today. I was riding along singletrack on the bank of a river, with a 3 meter (yes, I measured it) sheer drop on the right hand side. Just before this particular section is a short (1 meter) steep downhill, which is rather bumpy. At the bottom of the descent is a mild left turn.

So I ride down the bumpy bit, and start turning left. And over balance, sending me and the bike over the edge. According to the guy who was behind me, I hit the water upside down about a meter to two out from the bank. Quite literally I simply flipped over, so I was holding onto the bike, but it was above me. My memory of the fall is pretty stetchy, but I can remember thinking (as I tipped) 'it'd be kinda funny if I fell in the water,' and (just after hitting the water) 'I've got no idea which way up is, I think I'm going to drown.' I'm not sure exactly what happened next, but the next thing I knew about was standing at the base of the 3m cliff holding on to my bike. I think the water I landed in was deep enough to break my fall, but shallow enough that I could stand up.

I was in shock at this point, and commented on the fact that 'the water's actually not that cold you know.' Anyway, what amazed me is that I was completly unharmed. Not a scratch on me. The bike was also totally undamaged. I think someone up there likes me :P.

I would have had fun getting the bike out of the river if I was on my own though, as the rain had turned everything to mud and I had enough trouble climbing out myself. I passed the bike to a mate while standing at the base of the cliff, which was the point at which I measured the cliff: with me standing ankle deep in the water and the rear wheel at the level of my head, the handlebars of the bike were still almost out of reach for the guy grabbing them.

Anyone else have such an eventful morning? Or an accident which should have been very nasty, but wasn't?