B A N G ! ! ! ! and then... I was in the air.

What is it about me and February yard sails? Last night I got out for the Tuesday Night Dinner Club for the Big M. Starting at PMBAR start/finish->276->477->Clawhammer->Maxwell->Black->Thrift->Grassy Road->Sycamore->276->Thrift->Sycamore Connector->Sycamore->276. The crew started as 12(?) and whittled down to 3 by the last little loop. The roster: The other Eric W., Jeremy H., Ian B., Dave W., Trent B., (I didn't catch the girl's name), Zach B., Jody F., Eric C., Mike R., Than W., and myself.
For now, a quick description of the crash: After leading out through the tech section of the Black Mountain descent I let Jody, Dave, and Mike go ahead. I was on Mike's wheel and we were flying down the relatively buff lower section and railing through the berms. I was thinking all sorts of positive thoughts: There is no one I trust more to follow down the hill than the person I was following (Mike R.),  Kenda Nevegal tires are perfect for the terrain,  The trail is in perfect condition for traction, etc. Then... BANG!!! as I pushed into a corner my front tire blew off the rim. Mike and I must have been going about 25mph and suddenly I was in the air without my bike. Unlike last February when I flew over the bars and immediately said to myself 'Oh Shit!' last night as I flew I was overwhelmed by calm. Kinda like 'Well, this is fascinating. I just heard a shotgun and now I'm in the air. Hmmm... Interesting.' and I hit and somersaulted down the trail. When I came to a stop there was a bunch of commotion around me and my back felt a little tweaked.  I got up and felt OK though and after Than had finished changing my tube I had waffled back and forth but decided to continue on. For the record, this morning I feel fine. A few new scrapes but that's it. Well, I've got to get the little one ready for daycare and myself ready for work so I'll try to continue later. There is more to the story of the night that includes racing Eric C (he didn't know it), Eric C also making the best navigational choices, and everyone huddled around a grill at 11PM eating roasted pizza at the end. Great ride everyone!