Bumbling along, not really concentrating. That’s the problem. If you were riding something more difficult or faster then you’d have been paying more attention.
I'd argue that if there was a 7m ravine that I might fall into if I did something silly then I'd probably pay attention.
It’s something that I’ve done loads of times, an easy jump you’ve done a million times, the ride out after the hard bit, wiping out on the road back down from Avoriaz after a full day of riding. One second you’re off dreaming, the next whack!!
Since riding as an adult, so say since 2000 I've had the following
1 x Concussion
2 x smashed helmets no concussion
1 x slightly bruised back thanks to a car rear ending me
1 x broken shoulder due to not paying attention, which got fixed.
That's not bad going for 23 years. Probably healthier than if I took up darts.
As a comparison I've only been running for the last 4-5 years and managed to trip and break/bruise a couple of ribs 🤦♂️
After bouncing off a wall on the Campsite decsent at Hayfield fours years ago, I was told by an older rider .."only ride at %80 leaving room for saving graces and natural luck "
Let the younger ones do the crazy and ride for fun now
It's why I mostly ride a gravel bike these days, I still crash off road but it's at a slower speed so injuries ( 🤞 ) so far don't seem so bad.
I have just bought a HT MTB though so this may change!
@tpbiker take some time out which hopefully will enable you to gather your thoughts and gain some perspective. Perhaps a break away from bikes is what's needed, after all your bike(s) will always be there so see it as an opportunity of trying a different activity.
Do hope you find a way through this and importantly make sure you look after yourself.
This is a very interesting point. A few years ago I broke my shoulder (skiing) and then soon afterwards, my elbow (mountain biking). My work situation changed to where spending weeks incapacitated could have had much greater consequences.
So I took a very deliberate decision to reign in my attitude, which before that was always ‘go bigger’. So each year, and each ride, I was previously trying to gently progress my skills.
i have to confess, since then, I’ve found this new ‘don’t go bigger’ attitude a major pain in the ass. And sometimes I’ve found it demoralising to be one of the slower, more timid riders in a group ride. Before this, I’d have been the first down most new features.
Honestly, I still haven’t worked this out well. But I have to say that, on a good day, it can still be absolutely brilliant to be able to be on a bike at all - even if it’s not riding death-defying features. So that’s what I try to focus on. I’d go mad if i stopped riding totally. And riding on the road scares me much, much more than mountain biking.
Very interesting thread.
Edit: by the way, interestingly, both my falls and broken bones occurred on the easiest, flattest parts of difficult pistes/trails.
my crash was a lapse in concentration. I was literally bimbling along, caught my handlebar
Hope you make a full recovery soon. I did something similar after storm Arwen a couple of years ago on a pretty flat and featureless railway path that I'd cycled literally 100s of times. A downed branch had been mostly cleared, but a bit was left protruding into the path that I clipped with my bars and was high-sided, breaking a helmet in the process. As many have said, it's often when you're least expecting it. I was philosophical about it at the time and didn't let it put me off riding (gains still outweighing risks etc), but I do keep within my zone of confidence. If I'm out on a natural trail, I'm more inclined to get off if a feature is too risky; if I'm at a trail centre, I don't ride something if I'm not 'feeling it' (it'll still be there tomorrow). Thankfully, 10yo has this attitude too.
I'm sat here listening to the cricket, and I'm reminded that Jonny Bairstow broke his leg in 3 places whilst walking off a golf course - the point being that these kind of mishaps can happen in all sorts of circumstances and aren't just a feature of cycling.
Not MTB but related, I used to ride and race MX (very badly).
Tore ligaments in both knees, separated one shoulder, broke the other. About 12 concussions. Never doubted I would get back on. Then had The Big One, proper knockout, head injury etc and knew as soon as I came to that that particular game was up.
However, at 56 life is too short to be bored, so still muck about on the mountain bike, but with an emphasis on trying to polish the turd that is my skillset.
Frankly the lunatic drivers when I'm on the road bike will probably kill me before my own stupidity.
That said I once broke my ankle stepping out of the house so who knows?!
At what point do you say enough is enough.
When you are dead.
There is no point adding years to your life, if there is no life in those years
I've been lucky enough to have only suffered some minor injuries (mainly cracked ribs, broken fingers and various cuts and bruises) in 20+ years of mountain biking....until a few weekends ago.
New bike day ended up with nearly a week in hospital after a big crash resulting in breaking multiple bones, fracturing my vertebrae and collapsing a lung.
<p style="text-align: left;">It wouldn't have happened if I'd been on my regular bike. I didn't take more risks or ride much differently. It was down to a mechanical which, in hindsight, I could have prevented.</p>
I'm facing 8 to 12 weeks of recovery and at this stage not sure what the longer term health implications might be. This hasn't put me off. I'm sure it will take a few rides to rebuild the confidence but will definitely be riding again.
Hope you make a speedy recovery
Biking is fine, if you want damage then try snowboarding. Have had way more injuries as a result of playing in the snow than on any bike
There's a difference between never falling off, and avoiding injuries so serious as to be life (or lifestyle) threatening.
A few other sports emphasise learning how to crash as a skill, how to approach it in different situations as part of learning. I don't think I see that a lot in mtb stuff, seems to rely on the reflexes and experience of each individual. I don't ride road to any meaningful extent. I suspect people who "play" on their bikes more might be more experienced (and therefore safer) when stuff goes wrong, up to a point.
I’m a bit more risk averse than I was when I was younger, but I’m pretty sure if you took a 100 cyclists and a 100 couch potatoes the level of premature death and disability would be higher in the couch potatoes.
No, but as a doctor I’m careful to ride within my limits, and gradually expand them by having lessons and effective practice.
Reminds me I'm about due to go on a skills course. Annual-ish investment in self-preservation.
It’s shocking how many people on YouTube aren’t wearing body armour at all, or minimal at best.
The ones that stand out the most to me are pro DH racers, seem to have no knee or elbow pads.
my crash was a lapse in concentration. I was literally bimbling along, caught my handlebar, and was catapulted over the bars down a ravine. That’s the bit that has has put me off a bit, I wasn’t riding fast, or doing anything remotely technical.
Bumbling along, not really concentrating. That’s the problem. If you were riding something more difficult or faster then you’d have been paying more attention. I know lots of people who hurt themselves just cruising on something easy/familiar and every time it was because they were not paying attention on something familiar that they were super comfortable with and they’re not prepared for when they do crash.
Same, bimbling along, caught pedal on a bit of raised ground and fell down into a dried-up stream. First time I ever thought, damn I could have died there.
– Recognising and calling it when I start to feel tired. I quite often let my riding buddy go round for one more lap whilst I sit in the cafe.
For me another reason to work on fitness. Living in a flat area, when I go to somewhere hilly like Scotland the fatigue of all the climbing has me riding worse on the descents.Hydration is key too.
So long as you can still brake and turn in control then going slower isn’t really going to make things safer as now you’ll just be thrown off balance by bumps you barely noticed before.
It was a click moment when I realised this on my first LLS bike. Most of my falls were running out of momentum resulting in getting stuck and needing to get off the bike, the rest was getting off the bike clumsily and prematurely because I thought I was going to fall off. Unplanned dismount is not good even if you do it intentionally.
