Yesterday, for the second time in 9 months, I had to limp off the trail and head to A&E. This time I couldn’t get myself there and had to call my wife to pick me up from the car park as a relatively high speed OTB had resulted in a fractured humerus (not as funny as it sounds). It wasn’t quite all the way through (about 90%) and only displaced by a few mm, so after much debate they decided on a sling and lots of pain killers in the hope that gravity would cause it to heal straight enough. Back next week for more x-rays to find out.

But, once again, this has left me wondering whether the fun of riding is really worth the injury risk. Especially as, this time, it’s not just affecting me. Not being able to drive for a few months will be a major hassle for the rest of the family as well.

A quick look at the stats would suggest that I’ve been unlucky to have two significant crashes in 9 months as injury rates for recreational mountain bikes are around 1 per 1,000 hours of riding. But a few things bother me.

First, as I’ve got better my risk of serious injury seems to have got higher rather than lower. When I first started I crashed on almost every ride, but they were just silly prat falls and just resulted in the odd bruise or scrape. Now I crash less often, but when I do I’m going much faster so the consequences are potentially more severe.

I’ve re-run the crash in my head a few times and I’m not sure I could have done anything to avoid it. I didn’t see the rock that stopped me, but even going back for a look it didn’t look as though it would result in a crash. It just seems inevitable that riding a bike down anything technical is going to go wrong sometimes.

So far both crashes have happened close enough to the car that I could get back under my own steam. But they could easily happen further away, or at night or just be a bit more serious. Of course I could minimise this risk by finding other people to ride with, but I enjoy riding on my own. It’s a big part of the appeal.

Finally I’m just not sure I enjoy technical descents that much. I love being out on my bike, I relish the challenge of a climb and gentle descents are great fun. But even if I make it down a technical descent I’m not sure I could really say I’ve enjoyed it. There is a sense of achievement and relief at being in one piece, but that’s not really the same thing.

Anyway, I’m just rambling as a way of collecting my own thoughts. Thanks for listening 🙂

I’ve had a few sore ones recently, but haven’t really asked the question much… The fact that the thing I regret while I’m crocked most, is that I can’t ride my bike, just sort of neatly answers the question. But that’s got to be a personal equation.

Pahhh, two is frankly amature, I’ve broken the same bone three times inside two years. Now banned from anything Gnarr for at least a couple of years, despite the last two being an inocuous wash out on the XC bike and a almost stationary tumble form the roadie!

Still think it’s worth it though. But will be taking up sailing for 18 months or so once it’s strong enough cope with that to give it a bit of a rest.

1 in 1000 hours? That’s quite a lot of riding, does that include towpath bimblers who never crash?

Yes, I guess it can only ever be a personal decision and the day after the crash when you are feeling sore and sorry for yourself isn’t the best time to make any decisions. I’m already missing riding and the idea of being out for months is hard to take, but it’s not really the gnarly stuff I’m going to miss, more just being out on the bike.

I thought 1 injury per 1,000 hours was pretty low too, but I think the definition of a recreational mountain biker was pretty broad and probably did include a lot of folk bimbling along tracks and tow paths.

i know what the OP means….

i’ve been sat at home since the beginning of January and still won’t be able to get back to work properly till the start of April. i’m a self-employed chippy, so it is costing me each day i sit at home.

hit the deck unexpectedly after the back wheel washed out on ice as i was manualling into a compression. whoosh!

you know when you feel something going wrong you have that split second to react? well, this time i didn’t have time to react and fell hard on my shoulder. torn tendons and a broken collar bone, but not a good break…. right on the end where the tendons attach. was too late to operate so now i’ve got to accept my lumpy shoulder and hope that it heals us ok over time.

one of the reasons that i didn’t buy a FS is that i was scared of the results of any crashes being worse due to increased speed. i’m fast enough on my HT and rarely hurt myself when i crash. although i did have a suspected broken finger last year, too…

but on the whole i find the risks do not out weigh the fun.

conversely, i find that snowboarding doesn’t give me the buzz i get from biking and am less inclined to take risks on the piste. i smashed my helmet almost in two last year and still had concussion after catching the edge of the board. big powder days are still on, but on-piste doesn’t enthrall me anymore.

I don’t crash much, it may be luck, I like to think it’s prudence and riding within my abilities (which I know a lot of folk consider lame!)

STOP RIDING NOW. IT’S DANGEROUS. Also never go up a ladder, or cross a road where there isn’t a crossing.

STOP RIDING NOW. IT’S DANGEROUS. Also never go up a ladder, or cross a road where there isn’t a crossing.

Yup, but chances of having an accident on a bike are probably hundreds’s if not thousands of times more likely on the bike.

I could give myself a papercut with this note book, but I won’t be extrapolating my minute keeping in the next meeting to taking up base jumping as they both have a risk of danger.

I don’t crash much, it may be luck, I like to think it’s prudence and riding within my abilities (which I know a lot of folk consider lame!)

I think part of my problem is that I consider it lame! Earlier in yesterday’s ride I’d wimped out of a section as I didn’t like the look of it and I was annoyed at myself, which is probably why I charged at the section on which I crashed. I should perhaps have viewed the earlier refusal as a sign the the conditions weren’t ideal or that I just wasn’t on it that day and scaled back the ride, instead of using it as a reason to beat myself up.

Like alpin I was also surprised by the speed of the crash. I was lucky to land on my shoulder rather than just face plant, but I don’t think I had any say in the matter.

At the risk of feeding the troll I’m not looking for a risk free life, but trying to balance risk and reward.

I think if you don’t really enjoy the technical bits find nice swoopy descents and enjoy them instead – I wouldn’t ride stuff that was too scary to enjoy.

I’ve done OK injury wise, but I know one day I’ll probably have a big one, I know also the main thing that will bother me is not being able to ride my bike etc, so for me it’s worth it.

Also, consider setting up something so that someone can keep track of you when you’re out in the woods alone, just in case. You won’t get help very fast, but better than nothing (and I find worth the calls from my wife or brother asking if I’ve stopped to chill out or stopped cos I’ve had a crash)

First, as I’ve got better my risk of serious injury seems to have got higher rather than lower

Some people (not saying you at all here) seem to think being able to go faster means they are getting better. It doesn’t it just means they are taking more of a risk.

If you crash alot something is wrong with your technique. When I’m getting better and better I never crash, or even close- I’m more relaxed and my balance is way better on the bike.

When I go fast and others have said ‘you were quick’ – Ive actually thought didn’t enjoy it/and I was on the edge of my ability.

Not being able to work really really slows you down on a bike.

Slow down/look at training IMO. I keep meaning to do this.

So far both crashes have happened close enough to the car that I could get back under my own steam. But they could easily happen further away, or at night or just be a bit more serious. Of course I could minimise this risk by finding other people to ride with, but I enjoy riding on my own. It’s a big part of the appeal.

Last night we rode at Innerleithen, and while I’m happy(ish) to go down the off-piste stuff when riding with others – no way would I do it at night, alone.

Find a friend.

Some interesting points there:

There are people I could ride with and I have occasionally enjoyed a group ride. But, for me, cycling has always been largely about getting away on my own and finding a bit of head space. I’d hate to lose that.

My wife can (and does) track my location from time to time using an iphone app, which might save me one day.

Faster isn’t better. That’s an interesting idea and one I might have to consider a bit more. There could be a Strava effect at work here as I am guilty of thinking that, if I’m in the top half of the leaderboard, I must be doing OK (and if I’m not I should go faster), which is clearly rubbish.

hora – Member

Some people (not saying you at all here) seem to think being able to go faster means they are getting better. It doesn’t it just means they are taking more of a risk.

If you crash alot something is wrong with your technique. When I’m getting better and better I never crash, or even close- I’m more relaxed and my balance is way better on the bike.
I see this a lot. People charge head long into sections and have no idea what’s there – but hey its a trail – so you must be able to go flat out right? Rather than riding to their ability/visibility and taking it easy first time into a section (or heaven forbid actually walk it), they charge in and then have quite bad crashes for no good reason. What really affirms this is that people I know that do this are repeat offenders as they have no idea how it happened – ie too fast in, don’t see what’s there, boom – OTB.

I think I have been so unscathed for so many years as I can read what’s coming and stop in time so that I don’t launch off/into something I shouldn’t. I guess I learnt this from years of kayaking where you cant just launch into rapids/falls not knowing what’s there, you have to learn to read the river, just like you should with a trail. You can always push back up and do a feature if you come onto it to slow first time around. Far better to read the trail that way than barrel into something and hurt yourself for no good reason IMO.

Yup, but chances of having an accident on a bike are probably hundreds’s if not thousands of times more likely on the bike.

Very true that – the chances of having an accident on a bike while not on a bike are significantly less.

To the OP, it’s a tricky one, and probably very subjective. For me, the buzz and satisfaction comes from knowing that there’s a risk – however small – that it could go horribly wrong. Even dropping off a kerb has a little satisfaction from knowing that, this time at least, I didn’t somehow screw it up and go OTB into oncoming traffic. Which has happened… And while there’s definitely a balance in tricky descents between “satisfyingly tricky to complete” and “too difficult to really enjoy”, the former is what keeps me coming back for more. The latter I’m too much of a wuss to try regularly 🙂

Now I crash less often, but when I do I’m going much faster so the consequences are potentially more severe.

This has happened to everyone I know who MTBs. The been-doing-it-a-while-got-some-skills-phase is imho the most dangerous part of the game. If you persist, with a bit of luck you’ll gain a greater sense of self-preservation, ease off a bit and realise that being able to ride again the next day is way more important than riding over some daft obstacle that’ll still be there while you’re in A&E

It’s called getting old. Good luck with it & GWS

I crash quite often and sometimes quite big – but so far haven’t broken or torn anything.

One of my work colleagues has fallen off twice in his life (I often do more than that in one ride!) and broke something each time.

I think its because hes a big bloke and consequently the impact forces are a lot greater. I’m quite light so the forces are less and Im not that tall so I,m never far from the floor to start with.

But I also think practice makes perfect – a see a lot of people crashing really badly where as for me its about the only thing I’m good at – really quite graceful in flight. The main thing is try and roll instead of going splat.

Also preparation is everything… Quite often I know I’m going to crash well before I actually reach the point of crashing – sometimes even before I set off. Look for nice landing areas and visualize all your moves so you don’t forget what to do when you get there.

People watch the mtb vids of pro’s ‘shredding it, the peer-pressure etc. The vids are to look good, make you turn to your partner/mate and say ‘wow see how fast and gnarly that is’?

I know a couple of blokes who set off fast as possible as to them its ace/looks good? (Prestige in the group?).

For me its making it down a section and feeling good/enjoying the section- riding as fast as **** and laughing nervously at the bottom as that was really close just isn’t worth it if you have to drive ALOT of miles aday to work and back. Sick pay only lasts so long and heaven forbid you **** your face/jaw.

I too like getting out alone. I was in the woods atthe side of the Beast in the Peaks mid-last week. I stopped, stood there, dropped my bike and slowly munched away on a cereal bar taking in the scene.

Who cares how ‘gnarly fast someone went? The memory only lasts as long as the ride. Plus when your laying on your back screaming out and no sound is coming out of your mouth- you aint having that beer tonight and boy you need a piss soon. Why?

You can enjoy technical trails, flow and have a great ride and have that beer. Why ride fast to show off? Its a bicycle for **** sake- you’d be shit in a fist fight.

I crash quite often and sometimes quite big – but so far haven’t broken or torn anything.

That by and large is me too, if it does happen though it will **** with your Summer riding plans.

REAL mountain biking, is putting some kind of bike on some kind of terrain because it’ll be fun. Find a combination of bike and terrain that doesn’t tend to lead to the sort of injuries you tend to have.

as I’ve got better my risk of serious injury seems to have got higher rather than lower. When I first started I crashed on almost every ride, but they were just silly prat falls and just resulted in the odd bruise or scrape. Now I crash less often, but when I do I’m going much faster so the consequences are potentially more severe.

Earlier in yesterday’s ride I’d wimped out of a section as I didn’t like the look of it and I was annoyed at myself, which is probably why I charged at the section on which I crashed. I should perhaps have viewed the earlier refusal as a sign the the conditions weren’t ideal or that I just wasn’t on it that day and scaled back the ride, instead of using it as a reason to beat myself up.

Sounds a Bit like your ego or idea’s of what you “Should” be riding/enjoying is getting you to ride a bit beyond your comfort zone/ability, would you say you’ve gotten “Better” or just more confident/comfortable with speed? You say you dislike technical stuff but like “Gentle Descents” by that I assume you mean open and fast rather than tree dodging and picking a line through a rock and root strewn Right hander?

I find a degree of satifaction in both, but I can see how the stress of more technical riding and the frustrations when it doesn’t go to plan Could put you off more… you may never enjoy it but it’s worth getting more comfortable techy stuff as you’re bound to need those skills at some point, and who really want to just be “surviving” those sections?

So far both crashes have happened close enough to the car that I could get back under my own steam…

So your big stacks come on the return leg of your rides? You mentioned another big off ~9 months ago would you say you are still getting back some fitness after that?

If so could fatigue have been a factor?
I know from past experiences I’m generally more likely to come a cropper riding when I’m tired, I know you have a fair bit of recuperation ahead of you, but do try to look for ways to keep maintain/improve your fitness and stamina while you are off the bike, it will make the return to riding less of a shock to the system and might actually help you avoid further injury…

Healing Vibes, etc..

For the record I wasn’t charging into anything blind. In fact I’d ridden the same section a few weeks ago in the dark and wasn’t expecting any problems. It was just a little rocky chute with some mud. It looks as though the front wheel slid a few inches off the line I’d intended (on a bit that was more slippery than it looked) went into a section that was softer than it looked and hit a rock that was bigger than it looked. There wasn’t even any warning. One moment I was congratulating myself for not being tentative and the next I was lying on the ground unable to move my arm and feeling somewhat sick. I’d like to think there is something I could do to avoid this sort of crash and I dare say I’ll find some lessons to learn, but I also suspect that there was a large component of bad luck involved.

Sounds a Bit like your ego or idea’s of what you “Should” be riding/enjoying is getting you to ride a bit beyond your comfort zone/ability

Yes, there is definitely something in that. I think I have got “better” over the past few years (aided by a couple of skills courses), but I am guilty of thinking that I should be able to ride anything described as suitable for intermediate riders regardless of how it looks on the day. There is also a (rather silly) bike effect at work too. I’m much happier to walk a section when I’m on my FF29. It’s not my fault, the bike’s not up to it 🙂 But on the Five I know I have no excuse and am more tempted to go for it.

I know you have a fair bit of recuperation ahead of you, but do try to look for ways to keep maintain/improve your fitness and stamina while you are off the bike, it will make the return to riding less of a shock to the system and might actually help you avoid further injury…

Healing Vibes, etc..

Thanks. Fitness is actually pretty good (by my standards at least) at the moment and I was only an hour into the ride (and feeling pretty good). Everything is sore today, but I already have plans to set the turbo up in the shed and start pedalling as soon as I can.

Stay in the green bit!

Chill, relax, go out to ride and not think about anything. For me riding is about getting out there, wandering and taking everything in 🙂

I think my stupidest ever ‘big’ crash was on one of the berms on W9Y at Swinely, flatish with a dowhill entry and slightly uphill exit so loads of speed, had the bike leant right over, absolutely railing it, one of ‘those’ runs where everythings comign together, and if Strava had been arround back then it would have been a winner for sure.

Next second I’m knocked out and on my arse a few feet ahead of my bike.

Turned out that as I’d pumped out the corner with my legs, loading the back wheel it had caught a tiny 2″ tall/diameter stump on the lip that seperated the inside and outside lines through the corner, must have dug into the rear wheel rather than rolling over it, and stopped the bike dead!

Proof you can be well within your skill level, do nothing wrong, and still have a complete mare of a crash!

Bit like saying “Is it worth getting out of bed today” Life and all aspects of it include risk .. Yes some more than others but it’s a chance you take to live it !!!! 🙂

I’m no fan of hurting myself, certainly.

For me, being out and about, staying fit, playing with bikes, having something I identify myself as doing – all that is worth it, definitely.

Whether being able to do a particular descent, get a PR on a particular segment, stick with the big boys on a technical downhill is worth it, that’s a lot harder to answer. Usually I come down on the side of caution.

🙂

I don’t crash much, it may be luck, I like to think it’s prudence and riding within my abilities (which I know a lot of folk consider lame!)

Pretty much my tactic, I don’t consider it lame but reckon it has held back my progression. Last 18months or so I’ve started pushing myself alittle bit more, there’s been a few “I really don’t know if this will go” moments.

OP maybe just slow it down a bit. It’s easy to get into the faster faster faster mode but slowing it down a little and concentrating on really riding the trail smoothly should mean less crashes at slightly slower speed. Or consider tamer trails.

sounds a bit like your skill level isnt what you think it is to be brutally honest, the trails by us are wrecked, we’re still getting down them in the slippyness, albeit it slower, but still wouldnt dream of not going down them, or standing over the top of them thinking about going down them, just how slippy can they be?!?!

if your really having to think that much about all the descents your doing, then maybe your just not as capable as you think you are/were, decent riders skill wise can make there way down anything without thinking about it too much regardless of conditions

i’d like to see some pics of said descent to be honest, if your riding super techy stuff then fair play you will crash now and again and its only enhanced when winter slippyness is about, but if these are just a few rocky chutes with minimal steepness id refer back to the statement i started with

if you dont feel comfortable riding the routes just design a route around the descents? you shouldnt give it up though just ride a tamer route, we ride with some folks who gladly walk down the descents instead of riding them, they dont seem to bothered doing that, and its better than getting them selves in to deep more than they can handle and ending up in hospital

you just have to accept some people are better than others at stuff, just cos your mate or whomever can ride it on a hardtail or similar, doesnt automatically mean you can ride it on a 5″ trail bike

i see alot of middle aged blokes out riding, clearly only being doing it a few years if that, and you can tell sometimes they are just terrified of the descents, clinging for dear life, or braking the whole way (almost to a stop) on steep descents, which in my eyes makes things worse, as you get older you’ve got less chance of letting yourself go the same as when you were young, but in your head you still think your capable of doing these things like in the videos/pics on here etc

im not having a pop here, genuinely if you think like above its better to realise it now before doing some life changing damage, its either that or just put it down to one of those silly crashes that happens (sounds more like you think something more to it than just that thought)

Are you Aberdeenshire based by any chance? Either that or your story sounds very similar to one I heard about yesterday where a friend of my wife’s was taking her husband to A&E.

If it’s you – I heard some rumours about jacking in cycling and taking up trail running! Don’t do it! Get back on the bike ;). If you want some gentle rides to get back into it again when you’re out of the sling, give me a shout.

Anyway – hope you’re on the mend now!

Oscillate Wildly – Member
if your really having to think that much about all the descents your doing, then maybe your just not as capable as you think you are/were, decent riders skill wise can make there way down anything without thinking about it too much regardless of conditions

I don’t know if I agree with that ^^^ I know plenty of skillful riders (whether I’m one of them or not is a matter of opinion) and I can think of plenty of descents that they would think twice about, depending on conditions or even how on top of everything they feel that day.

i see alot of middle aged blokes out riding, clearly only being doing it a few years if that, and you can tell sometimes they are just terrified of the descents,

No hope for them when they get old then 🙁

I went over to the more subtle delights of the road five years ago and so far… touch wood… haven’t crashed. I like to think that 20 years of falling off mountain bikes have taught me some handling skills and 12 years of motorcycling have taught me some road wisdom.

Ironically I was bombing along with my regular cycling buddy 3 weeks ago and we were talking about crashing. An hour later he took a corner too sharp and hit a car head on, writing off his almost new Tarmac SL4. Oops.

Hi euain,

Yes, my cover is blown 🙂 although any tales of trail running are purely a figment of Nicola’s imagination. Thanks for the offer, I dare say I’ll be back on the bike sooner or later. Probably just start with a few tame routes though and see if the desire comes back.

OW: I suspect that there is a lot of truth in what you say. It was far from a super techy descent. As I say I’ve ridden down it (all be it slowly) in the dark with no problems. It’s just a mixture of a few rocks, roots at various angles and some slippery mud. It’s the short section of trail that goes south-east from the tower at Kirkhill for those that know it. Really nothing too it at all, especially in the dry. But I guess the only strategy I know for that sort of trail is to keep the speed up, keep loose and stay off the brakes, which is fine until it isn’t 🙂

Andy R – Member
Oscillate Wildly – Member
if your really having to think that much about all the descents your doing, then maybe your just not as capable as you think you are/were, decent riders skill wise can make there way down anything without thinking about it too much regardless of conditions
I don’t know if I agree with that ^^^ I know plenty of skillful riders (whether I’m one of them or not is a matter of opinion) and I can think of plenty of descents that they would think twice about, depending on conditions or even how on top of everything they feel that day.

i see alot of middle aged blokes out riding, clearly only being doing it a few years if that, and you can tell sometimes they are just terrified of the descents,
No hope for them when they get old then

there are plenty of descents around that make you think twice yeh, it sounds more like the guy is just doing a sort of normal loop to me, nothing majorly out of the ordinary (to his normal rides)

there are plenty of stuff up the peak that you have to be cautious with in the wet slippy, and from time to time you will come off, but ive never really heard of anyone needing two trips to A&E in the space of months for what they call innocuous falls, fair enough big ballsy descents you get wrong can end nastily but if hes done it twice and its just on a normal ish every day route then i dunno, and thats what it read to as me

if it was one of those sweary northerner type riders then i can see why they could come a cropper, but i dont think from roverpigs post its anything remotely like that

again im not slagging him at all hes obviosuly not happy with himself/crashing so it mayeb in his best interest to lay off the route he does, or take a step back and look at his technique

either way dont give up riding!!!

EDIT : roverpig, you clearly love mtb, from your posts and your analysis of bike related stuff on here, would be a shame to give it all up! why not try a skills course, guess it could open your mind, im sure id definitely gain alot from one, and it might just make you able to ride the things your crashing on a whole load easier….im really not slagging you off for crashing, it happens all the time, but you need to take care of your family and such like so it may just be an eye opener for you that this has (painfully!) happened

healing vibes to you though and dont give it up!

Rather begruddingly I have begun to wonder the same.

I had, by quite some margin, my biggest off last year, which resulted in a broken elbow, fractured nose, lost tooth and split from nose to lip. Like you I was able to freewheel back down to the car & drive myself straight to A&E.

Also like you, I was on my own but late in the day @ CwmCarn and on a section I’ve ridden loads of times before with no issue. I still don’t actually know how I crashed, but due to the bent R/H crank arm I think I caught a root/rock which threw me off. My gloves were spotless despite the rest of my being drenched in blood and mud, so I didn’t even have time to put my hands out to break the fall.

I’ve been out since, but very cautious and now I’m not too keen (nor my fiance tbh) on riding alone, which is a shame as it means I’m riding less than I used to 🙁

Healing vibes to the OP too. Should be recovered just in time for spring 🙂

Another thing to throw into the mix is that I’d wound the rebound damping on the forks right off (just a couple of clicks from fastest) as an experiment just a few minutes earlier, which changed the feel of the bike and may have been a contributing factor.

To be honest I do think it was mostly just bad luck though. I’ve had as many skills courses as serious crashes and 99% of the time my problem is that I’m too timid and don’t really commit. The frustrating thing is that this was one of the rare times when I did just go for it.

Oh in that case its definitely the bikes fault 😉

I think that with modern full suspension bikes and tyres the speeds are now higher so when you fall off the impact is higher than say 10 years ago.

I’m of the bike at the moment recovering from a broken scaphoid two months so far together with surgery. A lot of hassle for others time off work , lifts etc.

But on balance I do think its worth it as the positives far outweigh the negatives.

I had to face this question last year after one too many injuries for my bosses to stomach.

Was off for three weeks with busted ribs and the company weren’t very happy about paying me full wages (we have an extreme sports clause). I couldn’t imagine my life without biking so have had to accept that at some point I will have another accident that prevents me working again. My employer has made me sign a form that I understand that any time off due to a biking injury will be at statutory pay only, so have had to take out wage insurance to cover any difference. Costs just under £200 a year but it’s definitely worth it!!

My employer has made me sign a form that I understand that any time off due to a biking injury will be at statutory pay only

😯