I have fractured two ribs, nothing major but all a bit sore. My wife and various others have been going on at me about acting my age, growing up, taking silly risks etc etc etc.
Any ideas how to counter all this, I'm only 39 and feel I'm quite careful mostly. I do like the odd jump, drop off etc..
you are probably more likely to fall over in the shower and break something
Tell them that instead of getting out on your bike you'll be spending all your spare time and money in your local, leading to weight gain and liver damage?
I broke a rib leaning across the arm of a chair to reach the tv remote.
I broke my hip trying to jump.
I don't lean across arms of chairs any more and I don't try to jump.
It's not so much about acting your age it's more about acceptign the limitations of your skills/body and the possible consequences of injury to those around you.
you only truly grow old when you stop
I will not stop anything, sadly my body is self destructing around me without actually falling off.. 
I severed my a-c knee ligament bringing in the washing off the line. A botched repair op means I no longer have enough strength to lift my foot off the floor while lying down.
Cycling and mx injuries are trivial in comparison.
I also an 39 and while I take some risks, they are not "silly". Fun is a serious business. So you cracked some ribs - it's a fairly common injury in many sports.
Of course they are concerned about your well being. But it seems like they are asking you to conform to society image of sedentary 39 year old men. You have already decided you don't want to. You may have to adapt to deal with your body's emerging limitations, but why should you stop enjoying life?
I'm 56 and still fall off a lot - I'm not actually very good at this biking lark. Your body is designed to be used.
You may have to adapt to deal with your body's emerging limitations
I believe they are mostly a matter of expectation. Don't expect to be a crumbling basket case and you won't 
im 41 in december and this year i have learned to air big quarters on my bmx
Yes, act your age.
But 39 means going out and having as much fun as you can.
I broke my cheekbone and eye socket last year, riding too fast down an unfamiliar trail at night, but 3 weeks later I was out again and seeing how fast I could get down the beast (well, trying to tyre buzz a guy in front, actually). 56 here.
Our mate Old John came a bit of a cropper a couple of months ago, he rode off the end of the big red mound on Cannock Chase, not realising it had eroded since he last did it. Spent the afternoon in A&E.
But he's coming out with us on Friday for a whiz up the Long Mynd and down Minton Batch etc.
At 75 he manages pretty well.
high5 old john!!!
Tell thm you've decided to grow old and not grow up...then stick your tongue out at them and run upstairs and hid in your room...
I
4
Most accidents happen in the home - it's a well-known fact. So you are actually safer out on your bike
I am 52 and I broke a few ribs after i had a short excursion over the handlebars down @ Ae forest in May of this year, all my wife said to me was "you will have to learn to fall properly!", no mention of age... mind you, the older you get the easier bones are to break and longer they are to heal.... 
41, thought I'd bust my hand a few weeks back after a pretty high speed off, my missus just laughs at me to be honest
if your worried about hurting yourself when you fall take some judo lessons and learn how to fall properly.
That's where all this nanny state / health and safety thinking has got us!
Get out and enjoy it - make the most of life and the opportunities you have. I'm sure they would far rather a fit and active man than a couch potato with grumpy attitude coz he can't get out and do what he wants to. Age is not a barrier - it just forces you to slow down a bit.
I have found as I have got older that I am just a bit more aware of the potential for what could go wrong and think, albeit briefly, that something could indeed go wrong. When I was younger the thought just didn't enter into my head.
You're only 39 FFS....
Tell them to get lost. Throw a tantrum. Storm off........
Who do these various others think they are eh?
Healing vibes for the ribs. Ride on!
I've currently got the heat lamp, deep heat and compression shorts on my left thigh.
Was it the ride round Dalby or the children's padded play area that did it?
Guess.
And bizzarely I can still ride, but sitting, driving the car and walking up stairs is darned sore
your nowt but a youth - just get out & ride - all my most serious injuries have happened in my 40's – still ride bike like I stole them – still trying to ride harder, faster longer now that I’m into my 5th decade
"take some judo lessons and learn how to fall properly."
That is a really good idea.
Our mate Eugene is 86.
He rode Nant-y-Arian with us on Saturday.
I'm 39 too, it's fine stop worrying, ignore all that stuff and get on with it. Biking keeps you young dontcha know 
Yey Jedi!!! - that's what I would love to be able to do by the time I'm 41. Well Ok probably a bit ambitious, but is always good to try and dispell the girls can't jump thing. 
I'm 39. Trying to jump at Buck Wood (that we, SingletrAction and friends, built). I build trails at Stainburn ("probably the hardest man made trail inthe UK" 
and try to ride them.
I fractured a rib falling off the on the pump track (baby smooth, christ knows how) but I opened the fracture carrying on of my kids off Ilkely Moor. That's what really hurt and stopped me riding for weeks.
"Growing up", whatever that means, is greatly over-rated. I hope I'm still riding (as badly as I do) as long as some of the other buggers mentioned above.
I've been coming home dirty, sometimes bloody and occassionally a little busted for years. Sod it, life's too short to watch X factor and Strictly
35 here and just had 4 riding induced stitches out my elbow. I'm still getting faster and better every year. The mistakes hurt a little more each year though. That's what body armour was invented for.
My old man has just turned 60 and spent the last 2 weeks riding in the Pyrenees, including taking all the hard options and the hucks - he was the first one to drop a gully half way down the Superbagnere in the wet (he was also the first one to stuff it down said gully, but far from the last!).
Act your shoe size, not your age! Or alternatively "its better to burn out than to fade away".
lol, +1 for dick barton 
I'm 41 - I want my daughters (5yrs old and 2) to remember me as an active man, not somebody sitting grumpily clutching the remote and a can of beer.
I want them to think it's normal to go MTBing, surfing, climbing. Anything really....
Anyway, I still feel about the same as I did when I was 25. Just a bit more tired. And achey. And my neck doesn't turn as well as it used to. And my l/h big toe doesn't work at all anymore. And..........
you're never too old to learn new stuff
statistically most accidents happen in the home so you are actually safer whilst out on your bike...
'you're never too old to learn new stuff' - it just hurts more.
fractured rib or 2 here!
"take some judo lessons and learn how to fall properly."That is a really good idea.
Yeah, that's an awesome idea. Only last weekend at Glentress, an eastern looking fellow in PJs jumped out of the undergrowth, grabbed me and my bike by the arm and gracefully flipped us over his shoulder...
Seriously, how the hell is Judo going to help when your front wheel washes out at 30mph or you misjudge a drop-off and find yourself on your arse with a cracked helmet and a bike bearing down on you before you even have time to squeal?
43 and still playing rugby and playing on my bikes. Injuries take a bit longer to heal but there's no reason to stop really. We don't stop doing stuff because we get old, we get old because we stop doing stuff!
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