I would say that is a definite Yes! Today at the Twisted Tire MTB race in Ashland, VA, I crashed on a downhill "rock garden." Lucky for me, the first body part to make an impact with the rocks was my helmeted head. The point of impact can be seen in the photo below:
After my helmet hit the rock(s), of course the rest of my body needed to go some where. So the right side of my face got scrunched up against the rack that busted my helmet. I was wearing some safety glasses and heard a crack but could not feel any damage. I didn't notice anything until, of course, after the race, when my friends Mike Thompson and Rick Duncan pointed out that the lens was missing:
So the side of my face is swollen from the facial impact (I'll spare you photos of body parts). I've got a rock burn on my back on the right side (small one). My right elbow is sore but has no visible damage. And lastly, both knees were skinned. Funny thing was, I was so "cross" after I fell that I actually rode better. The race consisted of two laps at Poor Farm Park for we Beginner Men 40+ (beginner geezers). I had no idea how or what I would do since I hadn't raced or ridden much since mid-September. I ended up fourth in my category. This race was the make up race for the one that was cancelled by tropical storm Hannah in September. It was also the grand finale of the VORS with the awards ceremony afterwords. Since I had a headache and various sore body parts I was allowed to take my schwag bag for finishing first in the beginner category for the series and go home before the awards. Thus ends my 2008 racing season.
