Bend

We took off for Bend, Oregon last Thursday morning & returned late last night.
Our only agenda: ride bikes, drink beer.
Accompanied by our friends, Mike, Joy, their two kids, & Chris, we had an awesome time. We all agreed that it was some of the best mountain biking any of us have experienced.
Here's our campground, with the entire Phil's Trailhead right in our backyard & a peek-a-boo view of Mt. Bachelor.

Levi with Alina & Cameron.

Riley trying to nab the bacon that we hung to attract the bees away from our campsite.

Nice rocks in our campsite--perfect for climbing, warming in the sun, & star watching.

Alina Bina had a fun afternoon in the dirt. The desert dirt was so fine & got everywhere!

Deschuttes--one of three brewery stops.

Whoops Trail--the beginning of a seven mile descent.

Hands down the funnest (yes, that's a word now) trail I've ever ridden.

Chris riding a berm on Whoops.

Me riding Whoops.

The trip would have been just about perfect, except I crashed on Saturday's last ride. It was on the Whoops trail, which I had already rode once just fine that day. The second time around I was a bit over-confident & pushed my limits, gathering too much speed as I hit a 5 foot tall double-peaked table (or Whoop-de-Woo). Coming off the top, my back tire caught a lot of air & I didn't bring my front up enough, so I went over the top, landing mainly on my right shoulder. I walked off the trail just fine, but the evening of Levi's 29th birthday was spent in the Bend ER. The image below shows the AC joint--where your clavile meets your shoulder blade & there are four ligaments.AC injuries are fairly common among athletes--it's actually nicknamed the Quarterback Injury. I have a class 3 distruption of that joint, meaning I blew all four ligaments. I see an orthopedic surgeon on Thursday, but from the information I have learned from my knowledgeable Uncle Casey & the internet, hopefully surgery will not be necessary. I'm praying that with some rest & physical therapy, it will heal well & I'll be back to full range of motion by our trip to Hawaii in December.
Next summer, I'll definitely be ready to head out on another mountain biking adventure for Levi's & Mike's birthdays--we're thinking Whistler. :)