let’s just say I now have a different outlook on how “safe/friendly” airbags are. — Jared Eberwein
I’ve come to realize that I just may have never had a rolled/sprained ankle before in ALL of my riding. I broke my ankle before, which happens to be the same one I just rolled. I never DID get the break confirm when I did it, I was about 15 years old, and didn’t have insurance. I just took time off the bike, and stayed on crutches for about a month and a half.
Fast forward to about a month ago or so in my life; I rolled my ankle. Instantly felt a “bad situation” brewing up the moment it happened. I think we can all relate to a pain that comes on instantly and we just have to do what ever to power through the first initial painful 3 mins or so. I was riding this airbag landing jump that we just recently started riding for shows. Since I hadn’t much going on with quarantine and all at the time, parks were closed and not much to ride. I set the “show setup” in my driveway for a weekend and started to ride. I believe the second day was the day I hurt my ankle. Something that surprised me and made me realize that an airbag landing may not be as safe as I once thought. I was trying a trick I can’t even say I can do, but sometimes I can. So I was working on it, 360 downside whip. I had a few of them come around but not great of feet on the pedals well.
Then this one, I kicked it, spun around, clamped my feet to the pedals. Landed on the airbag, but my right foot wasn’t quite on the pedal, my heel was more on the pedal. Once I landed, my foot shot off, straight into the bag. Then I was on the ground right away with a painful ankle. I’m pretty sure my foot shot into the bag, and realizing the bag is pretty grippy. I knew that my foot had basically been grabbed by the bag and obviously my body kept moving forward and possibly sideways. Resulting in the bag basically reaching out with its death grip on my ankle, putting it in a head lock, and twisting me into some real good rolled ankle pain! Now knowing how easily that happened, let’s just say I now have a different outlook on how “safe/friendly” airbags are.
–Jared Eberwein
