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Falling Hurts 💥

Since snow still feels far away, Liam McGee got back on the bike again a day later with friends. 📸 Audrey Landis

Ow. My breath hiccups in my lungs, and I do a mental run-through of my limbs. Both arms fine? Check. Legs? Check, I think. Head? Another check. My hip throbs a little, grit lines my teeth and my lip is split open, but otherwise shock seems to be my biggest injury. I spit out bloody sand and look around. I’m curled in a fetal position between a spindly pine tree and a small boulder, which I’m sure I shot through like a football through a field goal. My bike lies behind me on the trail. Its momentum was stopped by the ground while I hurtled, frictionless, over the bars.

I ease back into the rest of the run. Unfortunately for me, that was supposed to be a warm-up. And since I’m in Tahoe to go biking, I will be participating in more biking. We pick up the last member of our crew and drive over to a new trailhead. My brake lever is twisted but functional, and I wave everyone past me. “I’m just going to take it easy,” I tell them.

The words are barely out of my mouth when I wash out my front tire and find myself hurtling over the bars yet again. This time, I land directly on my head. Despite being, at most, 10 feet from the parking lot, my teeth and gloves are again filled with sand. My shifter has sheared off my bike, there’s a dent in my helmet (shoutout helmets, my head seems as fine as it ever is), and I am decidedly done for the day. I offer to shuttle and quietly curse my bike, because falling is obviously not my fault.

From the base of Sky Tavern Ski Area, I call a friend to commiserate. “I’m really appreciating skiing right now,” he says. “Snow just makes you feel invincible. Biking’s just too dangerous for us.” In the moment, I couldn’t agree more.

—Liam

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