finger snap

i crashed. and it wasn't even that big a crash yet it sucked more than i thought it would. you see these guys on moto gp in full leather racing suits skidding along and then jumping up and getting on their bikes unscathed. so i didn't think supermoto would REALLY be all that dangerous. everyone thinks ohh, motorcycles, yikes. but i figured full race suit, helmet, boots, gloves (not nice enough gloves), it would be ok.

i was racing at englishtown in new jersey, my last race of the day, may 18th in a group of about 12 beginner racers, in a sharp corner and in the rain so probably going about 45-50 when i high-sided due to hitting some oil on the track. the guy in front of me was leaking like mad and proceeded to oil up the entire track. rear started to spin, then grabbed once off the oil, and bit and pitched me over the side. next lap many more guys crashed and they called the day. the weak points in my gear both resulted in injuries - leather gloves w little padding, and stiff motocross boots that transmitted the force of the impact up my leg and into my knee. not to say i wouldn't have been hurt. but it could have hurt less. oh and btw, crashing below speed limit speeds, even in full leathers w a back protector etc, hurts when highsiding. not to winge on, but those clowns in flip flops and tank tops make me cringe even more now.



the result - mallet finger, and my knee was messed up for a few weeks. the knee seems ok now. i planned to ignore the finger, but it would not straighten out, and eventually i looked online and found out that it might never straighten. so i went to the ER. note - go to the best ER you can, when possible. i went down the street. i later went to a hand dr and got much better care. i've included one photo of me splinted. one photo of another person's finger with the same injury. and an illustration of how the tendon snaps due to impact and then must reattach. or suffer from wonky finger.

the upside - i actually came in second once in a group of 4 in the DRZ class. that was an amazing feeling and got me hooked. 2 of the guys crashed themselves in that race, so i pretty much just rode around them and then just didn't crash. a good strategy i plan to try next time. don't crash and you probably won't come in last.