Just got back from Sea Otter.... heard someone was killed on the DH course

[allison]

Originally Posted by mechmann

article is crap. they called it a "narrow bridge". the bridge was wider than most of the ST on the course.

my condolences to the family, but this accident should not be publicized as something negative against the sport. we all assume the risk. the man died doing something he loved and didn't suffer. something i can only hope befalls me some day...

To be honest, I read an article last night (just googled sea otter classic death) and the family actually said it was something he should've ridden without a problem and they think that there was something that happened before he got to the bridge (we all heard heart attack/stroke).

The bridge itself was plenty wide and covered in chicken wire or similar.

After my DH run there were sheriff's and others taking photos of the area.

Lots of other injuries, though. At least one sport woman fell and was carted off (collar bone?) and two expert men crashed in practice yesterday with one hauled off ona back board. He was sitting up directly after the crash).

I think a separate issue from the death, they were just pushing it really hard on the jumps and got squirrely.

[tkblazer]

wow thats really sad, Mark hung out with a few of us at the Downieville Gathering last year. My deepest condolences goes out to his family and friends.

Lee is right, he is a member of STR

http://www.socaltrailriders.org/foru...ckedracin.html

[JoeTruth]

This is another stark reminder of what better technology could do sometimes. Better equipment inspires riders to go much faster and gives them a false sense of confidence. There lies the risk. Sort of a catch-22 and is inevitable (technologically speaking) but does make you wonder.

[mechmann]

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

This is another stark reminder of what better technology could do sometimes. Better equipment inspires riders to go much faster and gives them a false sense of confidence. There lies the risk. Sort of a catch-22 and is inevitable (technologically speaking) but does make you wonder.

wholeheartedly disagree. equipment makes it more forgiving when you do make a mistake. the only thing that gives a false sense of confidence is ego. there is risk involved with our sport, if someone can't manage that risk, they need to get into extreme knitting or something...

[2wheel_lee]

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

This is another stark reminder of what better technology could do sometimes. Better equipment inspires riders to go much faster and gives them a false sense of confidence. There lies the risk. Sort of a catch-22 and is inevitable (technologically speaking) but does make you wonder.

I agree, and the equipment is not just bike related. Many DH racers try to minimize their injuries by wearing upper body armor with spine protection, full knee and chin guards, and a full-face helmet. But there are still many highly vulnerable areas. The Leatt type neck brace is something we'll see more often. But even with chest guards, blunt trauma is still, well, traumatic.

Kind of odd, but notice the first line in my sig. I actually put it there on Friday morning. The sudden stop also got me on Friday night - but obviously not as bad.

Originally Posted by mechmann

wholeheartedly disagree. equipment makes it more forgiving when you do make a mistake. the only thing that gives a false sense of confidence is ego. there is risk involved with our sport, if someone can't manage that risk, they need to get into extreme knitting or something...

Justin, your attitude on this may soften after you've had a major injury on a bike (assuming you haven't had one). But I really hope you don't have to experience that.

[el_d00der1n0]

I would hurt myself knitting (extreme or otherwise), but I know my limits. I have a healthy level of fear that keeps me alive.

The article I read in the Mercury said they all felt he must have had something happen to make him lose consciousness or something...

[JoeTruth]

I'm not saying "let's bring back rigid bikes" and all that hoopla. I'm just saying that the equipment we have out now (and it's only getting better) makes courses that otherwise would be challenging look and feel easy. Race promoters are constantly up'ing the ante on technical difficulty of a course. Riders are willing to attempt more things then they would have if let's say they were riding a bike from 12 years ago with a 4" (at best) fork and a head angle of 71. That's a simple fact and hard to dispute but yes, you can whole heartedly disagree. Tragedies are never pleasant and I'm not blaming equipment nor technology. I'm just voicing my own opinion, much like you.

Originally Posted by mechmann

wholeheartedly disagree. equipment makes it more forgiving when you do make a mistake. the only thing that gives a false sense of confidence is ego. there is risk involved with our sport, if someone can't manage that risk, they need to get into extreme knitting or something...

[allison]

It's fine to discuss equipment, but that wasn't what killed him.

He wasn't on a technical part of the course and didn't do anything crazy because he had 8" of suspension, etc. and plastic courage. It was about a 2-3 ft wood covered bridge with clean entry/exit.

Very sad that something happened, but it wasn't because he was over-confident or pushing his and the bike's limit's at that part of the course.

[2wheel_lee]

Originally Posted by allison

Very sad that something happened, but it wasn't because he was over-confident or pushing his and the bike's limit's at that part of the course.

Is that speculation or was the heart attack/stroke confirmed?

[L8 APEKS]

Equipment won't save you if your body goes limp before crashing...unless you're "the boy in the bubble". Your body tenses up to protect itself, and I'm willing to bet he would have lived if he knew the crash was going to happen.

It seems most people who were there feel the same way, hence the hypothesis about the heart attack or stroke immediately before the crash. It just seems to make sense. I hope they are able to get answers from the autopsy. Leaving things like this unanswered has got to be so difficult for loved ones.

RIP Mark. From the few pictures and words, you seem to be a really good person and you will be sorely missed.

FWIW, Justin, I think you just missed JoeTruth's point. Technology increases the limits of every sport, be it auto racing or mountain biking or what have you. This in turn can increase the risk of injury if something does go wrong while pushing the envelope. Case in point, rigid bikes could barely manage ~25mph down hill 25 years ago. Guys are now capable of blasting down over 50mph. If you crash at 25mph and you crash at 50mph, your odds of serious injury are higher at 50mph, regardless of your safety equipment. Ego has nothing to do with that.

I say about sport bikes, "crotch rockets get faster and faster, but the people riding them don't get any smarter." Same type of principal.

Let's get back to Mark. This is HIS thread.

[JoeTruth]

Originally Posted by allison

He wasn't on a technical part of the course and didn't do anything crazy because he had 8" of suspension, etc. and plastic courage. It was about a 2-3 ft wood covered bridge with clean entry/exit.

Very sad that something happened, but it wasn't because he was over-confident or pushing his and the bike's limit's at that part of the course.

I'm not disagreeing with you. In fact, I would not be surprised at all if the autopsy report discovers a cardiac problem of some sort which caused the blunt force trauma injury upon falling.
These sort of incidences makes you wonder about everything and puts things in perspective for you. That's all I was implying.

Being one who's lost a sibling and had my (ex) wife lose her one and only older brother when she was 5 months pregnant with my now 15 year old son, on a motorcycle caused by a blunt force trauma to his major organs, makes me feel sad and awful for what his loved ones are now experiencing. I don't wish that upon anybody.

[DBD]

Condolences to Marks family and friends. Even though I have never met the guy I always feel a sad loss when another rider takes their final run in life, there is a connection between riders, cycling, weather it be a snobby roadie, a kid on a 20 at the track, a Darth Vader-ish dh shuttle monkey or a lone rider 150mi from no where on an epic

Originally Posted by JoeTruth

This is another stark reminder of what better technology could do sometimes. Better equipment inspires riders to go much faster and gives them a false sense of confidence. There lies the risk. Sort of a catch-22 and is inevitable (technologically speaking) but does make you wonder.

Originally Posted by mechmann

wholeheartedly disagree. equipment makes it more forgiving when you do make a mistake. the only thing that gives a false sense of confidence is ego. there is risk involved with our sport, if someone can't manage that risk, they need to get into extreme knitting or something...

Actually both views are correct. The technology in frame/suspension design will take a small mistake the rider makes and absorb it and a lot of the time the rider will not even know that he/she did mess up. This will cause the rider to push it much faster with out really increasing their skill at the same pace.

Also, with the advanced armor we use it makes some riders feel more invincible so again they will push it harder. This is more of a concern because unlike the bike, the armor will not "fix" your technique and there is more of a chance you will bail when you do push it.

Personally I will ride just as fast in a race with or with out armor but when I used to road race (motos) I would be a good 20 to 30 seconds faster when I had full leathers on because the fear of loosing all my skin was gone.

[L8 APEKS]

Originally Posted by 2wheel_lee

Is that speculation or was the heart attack/stroke confirmed?

Still speculation, according to witnesses saying he got "wobbly" right before the crash. Hopefully the autopsy will reveal what happened.

[sdyeti]

I completely agree. In 2006 we were up at the NMBS-Deer Valley. I was watching expert DH practice. All of a sudden, the 4-wheeler came down the ski slope with a rider (XC) on the vehicle, the medics doing CPR the whole while. I felt crushed watching it. He was a marathon XC racer from S. America who had a heart attack on the course. He didn't make it.

The love of two wheels binds us all.

Originally Posted by DBD

Even though I have never met the guy I always feel a sad loss when another rider takes their final run in life, there is a connection between riders, cycling, weather it be a snobby roadie, a kid on a 20 at the track, a Darth Vader-ish dh shuttle monkey or a lone rider 150mi from no where on an epic

[evil]

http://seaotter.mtbr.com/

Originally Posted by Saosin

Just drove back last night. The talk of the festival yesterday was that someone was killed on the DH course, people were saying a 44yo guy. I was on the total opposite side of the racetrack by the Super D and Dual Slalom, anybody have any info.

[Abui]

Condolences to his family. You die once but your loved ones remember it forever.

[Kid A]

crazy sad stuff. glad his last few moments were doing what he loved. All my prayers condolences to his family and friends

[AKmoney]

Very sad story, but here's a bizarre coincidence (not sure if this was posted yet).

The name of th