Ouch my Face!!

When I built up the Superlight to race Super D one thing I didn't replace was my sticking pedals. Slowly it's become harder and harder to unclip my feet and today it bit me in the ass - or should I say face. I've been training for Super D by focusing on increasing my speed and improving my tech skills. This means picking more aggressive lines, carrying more speed into sections that I would previously brake on, and hucking when ever possible. Today I saw a line that ended in a sweet huck (about a 4 foot drop). There was a small bush on the lip that I would have to ride over to make it work. What I didn't see was the rock hiding in the bush that caught my front tire and ejected me face first off the jump. Usually when I find myself in that situation, i.e. hurdling towards the earth, I jettison the bike (as it's of no use to me anymore) in favor of running out the landing and staying upright. My sticking pedals would have none of this today and me and the bike went down together. I landed on my 4 front teeth! Ouch!! The gritty sensation of dirt against my teeth is something I haven't felt in a while, but luckily the blood helped flush it out quickly. After checking that my jaw worked fine and my teeth were are all in place. I finished the ride with scratches on my face (can't wait to shave for work), bleeding gums, a bruised knee and shoulder, chain ring punctures above my ankle, and a SMILE!!