If I could freeze one moment – that moment of freedom, of defying gravity, of pure enjoyment, I would.

It’s that moment in time when it’s too late to be afraid, so there is little to fear, but it’s so fast you are never sure how it will end.

It only lasts a split second, but sometimes it seems to happen so slow you swear you were in a slow-motion instant replay.

Realistically, it never lasts long, but I still enjoy that half second of flight, the thrill of seeing the world from a different angle, the adrenaline of having such an event happen so quickly there is no time to prepare.

But, like certain things in life, good things can only last so long and before you know it that moment of wind in your face will end and the ride is over.

Smack, you hit the ground with a thud. This is often followed by pain in various body parts – hands and knees are common. Hopefully your hands broke the fall and your face remains unscathed. Sometimes your elbows or arms might hurt – in a recent case, I even lost a shoe.

That’s right, I’m talking about going over the handlebars on your bike, the good ‘ol endo trick.

It’s something that just about every mountain biker has done at least once, either from squeezing that left hand brake too tight, or simply hitting that rock or root on a steep downhill.

After biking the Overlander trail last week and tossing myself over my handlebars on while riding alongside the steep scree slope in the first half of the trail (starting from the north end), I found myself thinking how is it possible to do something that is so unpredictable, it can often end in injury, but somehow you get up, laugh it off, and think, ‘Whoa, how did that happen?’

I certainly don’t want to make light of a situation where some people have seriously injured themselves while catapulting over their bars – many of the more serious accidents don’t occur on trails, but on roads, often involving cars or a cyclist trying to do too many things while riding, forced to use their left hand break (which stops the front wheel).

However, talking to several people over the last week about pulling endos, they all had the common census that it was either funny or they were in shock of what had just happened. All of them I’m sure, myself included, haven’t let it stop them from hitting the trails again.

There is just something beautiful about a properly executed end-over-end wipe-out that leaves you thinking, ‘Holy crap, that was crazy!’ and somehow you get up just as quickly as you went down and are back on that bike with no fear. Is it because a wipe-out that sends you flipping upside down is just too much fun to stop doing? Or maybe you simply love riding so much you want to keep heading down that trail and keep the adrenalin rush flowing.

Maybe it’s just me that thinks it is totally awesome to end up on the wrong side of your handlebars, sitting on the ground, looking to see if your bike is OK before checking the scrap on your elbow.

Whatever it is, there is something about the unique bike wipe-out that keeps mountain bikers more eager every time they experience it, and something only someone who has truly experienced it will understand.

Do you have an epic end-over-end mountain bike wipe-out? Send me your endstory by emailing me at photojournalist@fitzhugh.ca.

DISCLAIMER: The Last Word is an opinion column. It is meant to provoke thought and debate. As such, any opinions written here are the writers own and do not reflect the viewpoint of any other Fitzhugh staff member or the directors of the Jasper Media Group Inc.