Big scare on Tuesday. Getting married next weekend and had a massive off on Tuesday, after hitting a jump with a bit too much gusto. The biggest I've ever had in fact. Whilst rotating through the air and before hitting the first tree and distinctly remember thinking a) I'm gonna be in plaster for the wedding and b) I need to chill out a bit in future. Both my riding mate and I were totally amazed I didn't break anything.
Bike is fubar'd for the moment. Gore text jacket was torn in half and I'm all swollen, stiff, cut up, and bruised. I doubt I'll be doing Gangnam style at the reception, but fortunately able to walk down the aisle unaided. I feel very lucky.
Have any of you lot had any defining, need to chill, slow down, keep wheels on the ground moments? What's the answer? Carry on going full guns? Session with Jedi? More CX rides or even a tourer?!
PS. 37, no kids (hopefully soon, but appreciate that's a game changer), wedding next week.
I def take it easier when coming up to holidays etc. but you can hurt yourself just as much on a slow speed crash whilst JRA so I wouldn't worry about it too much.
The fear of a big off is part of what makes riding so exciting for me, I have never once on the trail thought of the consequence my hobby may have on my everyday life, (should I?)
Me my bike and a kick in the nads of adrenaline for when you do take it too far.
Glad your ok(ish)
Enjoy your wedding.
knowing what and why you did the jump wrong is important. if you have getting married on your mind whilst riding it will effect your riding.
i didnt ride for about a month before my wedding.
I was under strict instruction not to be broken...
Kids. Calmed down a lot after they arrived!
Kids and going self employed slowed me down a lot
I find that I tend to reign it in a bit after a trip to A&E
ill calm down when i die .....
my mates are always telling me i need to slow down or im going to put my self in an early grave. It never gets easier just faster.
I find that I tend to reign it in a bit after a trip to A&E
+1 on that !
Dislocated shoulder on an over the bars down a slope moment.
Three weeks off work, now no more sick pay left.
Got me into buying a reverb post though, is that a good point?
Lol at Binners. That's where I'm at lad!!!
Tony - I sort of took it too fast. I tend to have a stack when I'm riding my best, and maybe take my eye off the ball. Similar to coming out of the woods at the end of mega qualifier, thinking about my time and finding myself in a heap!
Damn right about the slow speed stuff too. Dislocated knee from a real slow mincing off one too!
Pik - ta for the well wishes!
+1 for self-employed.
Knowing that breaking myself = no income had a significant effect. Even having an accident policy isn't a huge consolation.
I tend to find that the fact I am not in the slightest bit interested in 'jumps' helps with injuries somewhat...
I calm down if Im tired or not feeling it. My riding improved alot in my late 30's as I got into riding DH and got a proper bike / gear- did bigger drops / gaps at 39 than I ever had before and felt comfortable at full speed on DH tracks. Its a mind thing, worrying about it takes up space in your head which should be used to concentrate on what youre doing.
beagle - I feel your pain. Literally.
Post-massive-off, there's nothing quite like the look on your better half's face, as you're sitting in A&E, covered in blood and stitches, waiting for an x ray on a suspected broken wrist, to remind you that you're not 16 any more. And that maybe you should calm it down a bit, as you don't bounce as well any more. Or heal as quickly afterwards.
Its the kind of unspoken sentiment that can be conveyed perfectly in a half-pitying, half disgusted look 😉
about 1984
I was 13.... it all went wrong after that as i got old
Post-massive-off, there's nothing quite like the look on your better half's face, as you're sitting in A&E, covered in blood and stitches, waiting for an x ray on a suspected broken wrist, to remind you that you're not 16 any more. And that maybe you should calm it down a bit, as you don't bounce as well any more. Or heal as quickly afterwards.
What binners said but multiply that by a factor of 10 when your 17 year old son is telling you the same thing....
The answer to your question is never, do what I did at 63, go see that jedi fella, do it before you get married. He, within one pass will highlight silly little quirks you have and at the end of the day, your confidence will have returned.
Now, you folk are really lucky to have a guy like this coaching, you can trust me when I say over the thirty odd years I've been messing around the various 'extreme' sports as you call them these days, going back to ATB in the early '80's, windsurfing, snowboarding, kitesurfing etc & knowing most of the 'guru's and high level trainers personally, I can honestly say I've never come across an individual so gifted in the ability to help others, he doesn't even realise it himself, just go there and see for yourself.
Good luck with the wedding, good age to do it, but don't knuckle under, the secret of a long marriage is for both of you to keep an interest and continue to pursue it, even when the kids come along. One thing for me, never a year has gone by I haven't regularly ridden my bike off road in my 27 year to date sentence, it is the one constant in my life, and to think I'd be doing the stupid stuff I'm now doing thanks to Jedi, at my age, doesn't bear thinking about in the 'when are you going to grow up' discussions we inevitably have from time to time.
I was best man for a mate who went for 'one last ride' as he left his home for 3 years the Isle of Arran, 4 days before his wedding...
He spent the day in agony, with me feeding him painkillers for a broken collar bone.
Apparently the honeymoon was not as 'active' as both would have liked.... 😉
I definitely now ride/paddle/climb at 80% more often than not, and choose to 'step up' now and again for some sillyness...but it is a judged risk.
breaking my hip when my daughter was 3 months old.
I probably go faster now (10 years later) than I did then but I think about what I'm doing more and I'm not afraid to get off and walk if I think the risks are getting too great,
I calm down if Im tired or not feeling it
This^
If I'm riding well and feeling great I'm unstoppable... but there are days and rides when I know to take the easy lines and cruise.
I try not to let loose the ego and bravado when riding in a group as that's when things can go badly wrong.
messiah - Member
I calm down if Im tired or not feeling it
This^If I'm riding well and feeling great I'm unstoppable... but there are days and rides when I know to take the easy lines and cruise.
I try not to let loose the ego and bravado when riding in a group as that's when things can go badly wrong.
This is also good advice.
Igrf - you old sage! Noted.
Binners. I'm in south Manchester, and I think we share the same partner!
I've obviously cancelled this weekends trip to Afan though 🙁
Everytime I start picking up speed again I come off and spangle myself - most recent was my rotor cuff (2yrs ago), then my knee (18months- which turned into a very lucky escape with just a cracked patella). So I decided to hold it back and just enjoy the descents.
Yes its great going hell for leather (and every so often I will do- just to feel it) however no one is going to pay your mortgage and if you have a kid or getting married you are an idiot putting yourself at risk.
I had 4months of work a few years ago due to injuries. NEVER again.
Riding should be about relaxing and enjoying your riding, for yourself. NOT to show to your mates that you are hombre's -besting each other.
I know one rider who needs to anchor on abit before he injuries himself- he knows who he is!
[b]jedi[/b] - Member
if you have getting married on your mind whilst riding it will effect your riding.
Is that why he tried to kill himself ? 🙂
Always after a crash, sometimes a few rides after a small crash or many weeks and months after a big one.
Gashed my shin and dislocated my finger in August just popping off a rock, only just started doing little jumps/drops again. Face-planted a larger drop with a slightly tricky entry 6 months ago and haven't attempted anything remotely similar since.
Had a recent health scare. Still not in the clear (poss never will be that definitive), but exercise is a directly (negative) influence on this, esp hard endurance stuff. I used to do a lot of road riding, and regarding every ride as a chance to batter myself.
Thrashing myself isn't totally ou of the question, but it's forced me too reassess what sort of riding I want to do. More JRA is what I now want to do.
I find that I tend to reign it in a bit after a trip to A&E
this +1
as above, if you're not "feeling it", don't go hard. See also "just one more go on the big jumps before I go home" 😉
no longer feel the desire to race as I get older, but still like to ride hard and fast
I find that speed dosent play the main part in the accident so I ride quick whatever I do really.
I had an off on the road bike doing about 5mph on a greasy road and really hurt myself but I had a big off on a trail, bounced off a few things and hit a tree and came out laughing.
I also rode down a stepdown and low speed and broke my arm. Really shouldn't have happened. Compare that to going flat out down a track coming off and stopping pretty abruptly and only breaking a few fingers.
Usually, about 5 minutes too late...
When I'm on the Frankenbike - about the time I get to my last tube and there's still a fair way to walk if it goes tits-up.
A good reason, if no other, to finally wise-up and go tubeless...
Pfft! Go big or go home
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I'll be at home then
I had a trip to wharncliffe about two weeks before my wedding. After about the fifth off I decided to call it a day and didn't touch the bike again untill after the honeymoon.
A few years back the wife pointed out that for 6 of the previous 7 holidays I had been in a cast and that she was not happy. That slowed me down a lot.
I am thinking of sticking a picture of my ankle (see other posts)on my handlebars to slow me down in the future even though it wasn't a bike related injury, it is a damned inconvenience.
I'm 41 and have backed off in the last couple of years.
I've got too much to lose and nothing to prove.
Riding is about exercise and fun, not scaring the shit out of myself or taking unnecessary risks.
You can crash whenever your on a bike but it's certainly more likely if your pushing hard all the time.
At what point do you chill out and tone your riding down a tad?
There'll come a time when you bust yourself up pretty bad and realise what fragile bags of flesh and bone we all are
I only hit-it hard when I really feel in full command because higher speeds require more accurate braking and inaccurate braking is my main cause of crashing.
Most of the time, I ride in a relaxed, moderately paced style, and don't often suffer crashes.
When I'm guiding, it's hard to do it consciously, but I'm definitely backed-off a bit. Partly because the guide getting broken is not a good thing for the clients, but also because I'm pretty screwed financially if I have to pay someone else to do my guiding all summer!
It's hard to express in what way I'm "backed-off", but when you're out on your own or with mates, small or no pack on, you just ride differently. Freer, more relaxed and definitely a bit faster.
I tend to go easier after a few beers the night before. Of late I've been gripped by the beer fear on really tight fast descents, keep saying no beers on a Friday / Sat before the next days ride but sooo hard to stick to, been riding alone alot so maybe thats partly to blame too?
I stuffed my knee up 4 weeks before our second was born. Crutches in the delivery room didn't go down too well!
Being off the bike for a few months slowed me down effectively for a while. The knowledge that I could have done what I did a couple of days before, when I was on my own, in the dark, rather than in daylight with a mate to help me out, has definitely help tone down my solo riding to a more sub-gung-ho level. Riding with company I'm probably back up to speed (give or take the more ambitious "airings"), although I wear more protection now.
I'm more likely to ride a fully rigid singlespeed when out on my own, and the burly full-susser when with mates - which must be a subconscious limiter coming into play!
Crutches for my wedding.
Cut up for someone elses (Scottish wedding so thought i'd just pop out for a spin on the local hill in the morning.)
Came off the road bike and broke my collarbone at the weekend, so this is praying on my mind a bit. The problem is not all crashes are a result of trying something silly that then goes wrong. The best cyclists in the world have crashes due to daft stuff. It's a risk and it's small enough and as long as my mistakes aren't too often, they only make me stronger. hopefully 🙂
Bigger isn't always better! Control first, gnarr later.
Before I have had my bigger bails I usually had forced myself to MTFU. now I ride more progressively, feel calmer and have doubled my radness. Fact. Coaching sessions have helped, but they sometimes set you back as you have to undo certain things which is better in the long run.
When you're not feeling it, listen to your brain. Reluctance, tension and hesitation do horrible things to your riding! You look in the wrong place, stiffen your posture and fight the bike as well as do weird things with speed and braking. If it's specifically jumping, a session with Jedi wouldn't hurt at all (well, not after you've healed!).
However, if you're always set to "auto-schralp" it may be more a case of changing the way you approach riding. Still ride the big stuff, but acknowledge that your mind and body warm up and cool down.
[img] 
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Save the rad for the red, not the bell's end 😉
stolen!
😉"auto-schralp"
Interesting topic. I'm 37 now and if anything ride more crazy than ever, to me it seems like an upwards curve until one day I'm going to have a serious crash to bring me back down to earth (with a lot of bumps).
I think this is party because of the equipment and experience I have these days is allowing me to be more confident in what I do. I literally never worry about having a crash and I've been lucky so far in not having too many bad ones. I've got plenty of scars and only broken a couple of bones but could have been a lot worse.
I did have a bit of a "moment" at over 50mph a couple of weeks back, that wouldn't have ended well but all in all I can't see myself slowing down for a long time yet. Think I need to keep pushing my luck to get the same adrenaline fix but my old Rugby coach used to tell me that if you think you're going to get hurt then you probably will so I apply that to riding the bike too 🙂
Usually back off for a while after a crash then it slowly builds up again.
Had 2 "Strava offs" chasing KoM's in the last 4 months - no serious/lasting effects but it's slowed me right down again. I'd go as far as saying I've gone from 'controlled' to uber-mincer :-/
At the grand old age of 19 I had a crash at a jump spot which put me in an air ambulance. Whilst it didn't cause any lasting damage, it did make me question what I was doing. I realised that getting any good at dirt jumps would take time and commitment, and that really it wasn't worth the effort, and it wasn't what I enjoyed about riding.
A couple of years later I got a dh bike, but didn't really ride it, so only had it for 6 months. It was just too much hassle to get it to the right places to do the type of riding it deserved, which again wasn't what I was interested in.
The two worst accidents I have had have both been bad luck.
I lost 4 teeth when I just decided to push it a bit much without reason, and it went wrong. I broke my ankle in a simailr vein.
I've had a few luck misses too. I don't push to my limits, just ride what I want to and am comfortable with. I don't race, just have fun.
[img] http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTCYKPrrhRftGRyOidf2YO1Xjb34aI6PPCduQk53II3vvX1EI8E [/img]
...surprised no one had posted the old motorbike slogan!
For me personally it was the kids coming along as I think's already been said. You try bathing an 18 mth old with an arm in a cast 🙄
Erm, I've never actually "warmed-in" with my riding....
I think I'm just as fast now, but it comes naturally rather than being forced, which is safer.
Decided to tone it down when I woke up with pine needles in my mouth, in the dark, in severe pain wondering how the hell I was going to get to my mobile in my rucksack. 3 months off work spent in a chair playing call of duty and chugging painkillers crystallised I never want to be in that situation again.
I knocked myself out on my own in the woods where no one goes! SE, kids etc....I now have some OS maps at home with all my offroad local riding areas highlighted, its a variation of any of them every time I go out. If I dont come home its a place to start!
I worry more about the crashes were I don't actually hurt anything. At least when there is pain, there is a louder voice in your head to take it easy. Nothing like a few falls when you get up laughing to really give you illusions of adequacy!
Used to do some seriously daft stuff on the bike but I toned it down quite a lot when our little boy came along... responsibilities and all that.
Also taking it a bit easier at the moment as I've recently become a retained firefighter and don't want to clobber myself before training starts in a couple of weeks time as an injury would potentially mean having to wait another 6 months before getting on the run.
Took my mate on a biking Stag weekend with strict instructions from his fiancee not to let him break himself.
He got married one week later looking like John Merrick, aaah happy days.
37? Honestly 37 you're still a kid, I had hair down to my shoulders at 37, we rode down mountains on hard everything, no front or rear, no room int shoebox for suspension... 37 ha kids today don't know they're born..
soft lads all of em 😉
I seemed to attack just about everything (in life) full on until my early 30s ... then I kind of settled into a more sedate groove. Same thing probably happened to my riding. There's stuff I oddly ride now that didn't back then, but there's also stuff that really gives me the heebie jeebies now 🙂
And having a little monkey really changes things.
Not sure my mates would believe me but I mostly ride with a pretty big margin for error. Doesn't mean not riding scary stuff, or not riding fast, but does tone things down a little. I've got a pretty good understanding of my ability so it doesn't have to mean being a big nance, just remaining within that window. I suppose you could call it sustainability, I ride at the pace/level I know I can ride at for a day or a week without pushing my luck too far.
Course, I still do push it too far sometimes, would not be fun without it.
If I were you, I'd have toned it down or gone home JUST before taking that jump.
Hope that helps?
DrP
Before going out on the pull I always had a good tug. I found it made me more relaxed when out.
I've ridden a few times after a couple of beers and I'm super-relaxed, no hesitation etc.
If I combined the two?
Maybe in the carpark just before the start of a ride I should down three cans of Kestrel whilst furiously knocking one out.
What do you think Jedi? Will it help my riding style?
I didn't start riding again 'til my second kid came along 2 years ago, so consequently have been getting fitter/faster ever since. Had my first heavy over the bars (on a rocky descent) two weeks ago, and buggered my shoulder. Docs reckon it may take six weeks to come good.
They say you should do something every day that scares you. Telling my missus that I'd had an 'off' and might be late back (making her late for work) was the scariest thing I'd done in ages.. Luckily I was with mates, so someone was able to drive my car home.
I think my fitness level has possibly overtaken my skill level, so perhaps a skills course is in order? Certainly feeling a bit more mortal since. 😐
igf, you are too kind dude
jedi - Member
igf, you are too kind dude
I wasn't calling you a 'kid' you're *middle aged dude, sorry as my mrs might say, you need to start to think about taking it easy.. 😆
[i]* they do think folk are going to live to 112 :wink:[/i]
I struggle with long sentences
Always slower solo as no one is there to pick up the pieces
Sometimes you are just not in the zone
Overall though, given what we do, crashing is inevitable
me take it easy??? never 🙂
Not having a job with sick pay or a DH bike slowed me down, or at least stopped me from launching off big jumps and drops. I've never slowed down on more normal singletrack DH stuff though.
Now I have both again, training is in full swing to regain the title of '233,045th Greatest Freerider On The Planet'.
Kids and work have not slowed me down as such but I've changed my mind set when I ride - I focus more now on technique and control rather than trying to just go fast. I there are definitely lots of gap jumps and drops that I think I could do if I went for it but don't because there is no point taking the risk. But I'd say I ride just as fast now, but always try to be well in control. I've also chilled out and accepted I will never be a world cup rider, not even in my own head!
Will, you'll always be 233,044th in my eyes. 😛
45 years old now and getting slower up the hills ... but ... still getting faster down them with each year that passes.
Did the Mega for the first time this year. I'll be back next year and I'll be faster.
Still progressing here. Not backing off yet.
Bought a Patriot last night. 😀
20 years of MTB yielded 4 broken ribs, 1 broken ankle, 4 broken bones in hand, 1 broken collar-bone and many stitches, but when I turned 65 I realized it was way past time to exercise some caution.
Don't mind the hike-a-bike bit now when I weigh that against further bodily carnage. Always said I would quit when I reached 70 (next month), but probably won't---although Mrs Busydog is of a different mind.
The age thing never occurs to me, ditto responsibilities; that's what credit cards are for.
If I'm tired or not riding well then I'll have a break but I still feel like I'm learning and don't want that to stop just because I've got a mortgage and a family, they completely get what I do and quite like it really. I'm a 'rad dad' innit? 😛
I get scared of stuff but that's half the buzz for me, i still can't quite get my head round the fact that we are jumping gaps that you could park a truck in and riding ladders as high as a house. Make me laugh out loud every time I get something new. 😀
After many years doing silly things and 'extreme' sports I finally broke a bone (broken ribs from snowboarding don't really count as no cast), wrist from a small fall when bouldering. Not back to full on biking yet but i know the accident has already changed my mind set. Family responsibilities (child, job, mortgage, etc) and the realisation that i'm not indestructible has really made me think. Having a cast on for the summer seriously curtailed our family holiday plans, and my ability to do the things i enjoy. Prior to accident i was considering the sensibility of keeping my patriot. Having to go faster than my ability to make things interesting, leading to a couple of near misses, was making me question if it was too much bike for me. Have now bought a LTHT frame to swaps bits on to, as i seemed to enjoy my old STHT more without going silly. Will see how it goes when i get back out properly (only done flat 'family' rides so far) as my wrist feels so vulnerable. I know it will hold me back, which may be a good thing as i was potentially approaching a big accident. Still gotta have some fun though, no point living wrapped in cotton wool. That balance is different for different people and also at different stages in their life.
When i get back to the car park.
I generally tone it down a bit if there is exposure. Or if the physical penalty for failing a section is heavy.
All you guys crashing - do you not think it's about time you got a 29er?
The wheels will fall apart before you get fast enough to crash. 🙂
I find it very hard to slow down once I get a bit of flow on a nice descent. I've never been much of a crasher though, never broken a bone.
This thread is giving me the heebee jeebies though.
Married, 2 young kids, self employed sole trader in a hard physical job. Months out of work would hurt but it never really enters my head whilst riding.
I recently went to Spain riding and watched this vid before going as we planned to ride it. The section from 6.15 onwards freaked me out and I couldn't help but think of the dire consequences resulting from a fall.
Once there though, you focus on the trail and enjoy it. Really enjoy it! Rode the whole thing amnd didn't really find it scary at all.
Obviously, I rode it dab free, unlike the mincer in the vid 8)
Had a big off in Les Gets in June. Did a high speed forward somersault over a tabletop on Les Chavannes!! Broken wrist and collarbone, and a bruised ego later, I am definately slower/more nervous since my return.
I am off to Jedi in Jan to sort my head out.
Age and responsibility definately has an effect though - it's the reason I left a job I loved in the military.
It's just not possible for me to slow down for the simple reason that if I did my riding is so chilled and not fast I'd end up travelling backwards. 🙂
Kids and general work/life responsibilities keep me fairly sensible, in fact on a recent trip to the Alpes I decided that [proper] DH just isn't for me no matter how much I wish it was. Just to hairy. That said my passion for riding requires sailing close to the wind and attacking trails with as much speed as I can... Last four rides have seen me over the bars at least once pushing it a bit too far... 😳
For me it was a photo of a muscle in my wrist, taken during key hole surgery, caused by cycling.
I should have been looking at a "rope" but I have a very frayed bit iof fuzz and string.
If it goes, I get dreadful surgery and lose the movement in my wrist forever. So I still ride fast, and hard, but I just don't crash. Which sounds stupid but it works. I am doing more off road touring and less trail centres. Run bars with massive sweep, and bouncy fork when properly off road, to take the load off the wrist.
I had a fairly painful crash on the dual slalom at chicksands on Thursday, caused by 2 major factors.
1. my friend (15 years younger then me) was in the other lane.
2. A very helpful local guy offered to follow me down and film my run, so we could look at where i could improve.
I hit the first berm faster then i ever have done, started to panic, grabbed some rear brake, then did a superman impression.
The rear slid up the berm, and over the top, before gripping and sending me into orbit, landing on my chest 10 feet further down the course. My ribs hurt like fek 24 hours later, and i really think i need to slow down 🙂
My crash this year led to my first nightime A&E visit. Waking up with both arms in casts is not something I want to do again. I crashed hitting a tabletop on my HT. Unfortunately I can't remember the accident so can't learn from my mistake. Unlike mark90 I am now riding my FS more and my HT less as it gives me a better chance of recovering when things go wrong. I've not hit any tables since and do plan to keep my wheels nearer the ground in the future.