I've had three falls this year, two were minor and one not so minor, which required stitches in my knee.
Did anyone manage to see out the year unscathed?
Had a nice over the bars on a steep downhill. Went down with the ship and my face broke my fall. Didn't think I had done any damage a bit of a scrape under my nose. Then two weeks later bit into some chocolate and my crown came out. I had broken the tooth but because I had a root canal had no feeling! €1000 to get a new crown fitted!
Thats not bad for a the year though!! 😀
I broke my thumb - it hurt a lot for such a stupid small injury...
however my other riding buddies were not so lucky, we've had 9 trips to A+E between us this year...
1 broken collar bone
1 badly bruised sternum
2 lots of cracked ribs
1 hurty leg
1 herniated disc in lower back
1 chipped elbow + hurty leg
my broken thumb
1 bashed noggin with concussion and mangled hand for good measure
here's hoping 2012 is a bit better!
:-/
Racing down a rocky tree-lined path, full tilt. Bar brushed sone leaves on one side, with turned out not to be leaves, but were, in face, a dirty great branch. Bars turned I went over the bars, landing drove my elbow into my ribs, ribs ****ed for about two weeks. Thought I was on the mend, picked up one of the kids, something in my ribs clicked, ****ed again for another three weeks.
Been riding rather tentatively since it happened, too. Been v. slow downhill.
amedias - Member1 hurty leg
Nothing worse
Good grief, I have no idea! Loads. None of them big enough to result in anything more than minor bumps and grazes, though. I think my favourite was the head-first OTB into a massive gorse bush, leaving me with loads of teeny tiny itchy pinprick scratches. Still not sure how that happened as I was just pootling down a farm track at the time.
Went through a rather strange period earlier this year where I had a few fairly big stacks but lived to ride again and somehow the thought got stuck in my head that I wasn't trying hard enough unless I crashed.
A few miserable weeks off the bike with self-induced MTB injuries was enough to convince me otherwise.
Crash total this year would have to be in excess of 20. Lots of torn clothing and damaged parts. The ground is really hard.
Just the one, back in April right at the end of Cannock's Monkey Trail.
Really thought I'd broke my leg. Nasty gash on the knee & elbow. Thanks to those who stopped to help out.
Sold the FS not long after, bought home to me I'm not a flexy bendy kid any more. Prefer my clown wheel ht these days.
mintimperial - Member
Good grief, I have no idea! Loads. None of them big enough to result in anything more than minor bumps and grazes, though. I think my favourite was the head-first OTB into a massive gorse bush, leaving me with loads of teeny tiny itchy pinprick scratches. Still not sure how that happened as I was just pootling down a farm track at the time.
I had a great one of those. Down a really steep rocky chute. Mate ahead of me didn't make the corner at the bottom, went over and into the gorse. He was just climbing out when I did the same, not realising he'd come off, and landed on top of him.
Went otb pelting back from the Cutgate cairn towards langsett in the middle of summer, was on the ht and it felt like a pump track! Bruised my intercostal muscles, took about 3 months for the pain to go fully. Shortly after this, on the same trail further off the moor I did the same thing only much faster and landing in heather, bruised the opposite side, another 3 months of pain lol those muscles take ages to heal.
too many to count. Didn't have any really nasty injuries though (just lost bits of skin etc) so thats all good.
I've had a few decent offs this year... I am currently nursing a broken hand, its not stopping me doing anyting but smething is floating bout in there causing me agony now and again.. should probably get it checked out.
I'm not a flexy bendy kid any more
Same here. It takes ages to recover from injuries these days, which is making me more of a pussy when I ride, which probably just increases the likelihood of a crash.
No bad crashes, plenty of falling off, saying ow, shaking it off and carrying on. Only 1 where I've had to stop and chill out for a bit, but not broken anything.
Aside from comedy slow speed falls...
One big one at Kirroughtree back in April. Going full pelt down a rocky bit and my front wheel washed out on a pointy rock. That's the first time I've ever had a proper full speed crash. I was shaken but ok. Managed to wreck my rear seat stay though 🙁 Abandonded the ride and headed back to the car park shaking with adrenaline the whole way.
Fell a few times on Ben Lomond and managed to break some ribs which was agony for weeks.
Too many to keep count, but mostly pretty minor. Crashed twice in one lap of a race (first crash really puts you off!) and had a sore wrist from that for a good few months.
Did a classic over the bars at another race too as a slow chap waved me past then cut me up, forcing me into a ditch. No injuries from that one.
Singlespeed bike spat me off on the commute too when the chain popped off as I stamped down hard on the pedals. Cobbles hurt, but the bike came off worse than me on that one.
Cyclocross is good for fast unexpected dismounts when the front wheel gets stuck in the mud at races, but at least the landings are soft. 🙂
No stitches or broken bones this year, so can't complain.
Lots of little ones, but nothing worse than cuts and bruises fortunately. Worst on a bike was on the Panoramique green (!) trail down towards Chatel - a slower chap and his son had kindly pulled over to let us by, and obviously I wanted to show off / get back up to speed (delete as applicable). Overpumped a jump, landed too far into the corner and had to drastically brake and steer to avoid leaping off the edge of the mountain... Resulted in me sliding along the gravel on my arse for quite some way, trying to hang onto my bike so it didn't disappear into the abyss.
Most amusing (non-biking) injury was falling off a wall trying to get into an abandoned window due to being startled by a smackhead in the rehab centre opposite... Landed on my finger and gouged a big lump out of it.
Worst injury of the year was a completely innocuous fall off a slackline onto grass, landed and rolled my foot at an odd angle and ended up hobbling around on a walking stick for about a week.
A couple of small ones at the begining of the year in the snow and ice, followed by a big over the bars moment at Cwmcarn in April, which put me out of action for a month or so (I still have no feeling on the skin on my left knee!). 2nd ride back after the crash I tucked the front through a sandy turn and sliced my elbow open that I'd messed up in the Cwmcarn crash.
Have had a couple of minor ones since then, but nothing to write home about.
Remarkably I managed a week in Morzine without a single crash which is a miracle.
I was seriously happy with my riding until the start of August when I stacked it riding a familiar trail in the Peaks which thankfully left me battered, stiff and sore but nothing major.
I then stacked it in Les Houches at the start of September on the penultimate corner of the penultimate day of my Alps holiday. Hurt both shoulders as it was an over-the-bars off for which I'm still having problems with and will soon be visiting the physio for.
Then out on a local ride in the first week of October, for the final outing on my FS before I sold it, I had the front wheel completely wash out. Bruised, grazed and I hurt my left wrist. Which I'm now unable to put weight through without pain so again hopefully sorted by the physio visit.
Then in November, the front wheel washed out again that left me with a seriously swollen thigh and hip and some nice gouges. It's only really just healed.
So 4 stacks in 4 months has left me with zero confidence and motivation for riding. I seem to be in a cycle of ride, start building my confidence back then crash again. I've ridden twice since the last one and find myself being quite nervous and over thinking 🙁
I think a hearty dose of MTFU is required 🙂 and maybe a skills course/coaching.
erm 2011 hasn't finished yet. Still a useful number of riding days to go. Don't want to tempt fate.
A couple of small ones but nothing eventful. I had a big one in August 2010 which I'm still hurting from. Best crash this year was coming off the Fatcrobat log ride too fast into that really slippy mud before the tight corners. Bike went sideways and I went straight into the bushes and mud 🙂 twas my only crash in 2 months of Whistler so I feel quite lucky, especially when you see people being carted off in slings etc.
Over the handlebars - crank fell on back of leg- achilles tendon badly bruised, couldn't walk, on crutches for a couple of days-now have 5 puncture wound marks to show for it.
Got better . . . .
2nd ride back - off sideways after catching back wheel on tree stump - broken metacarpules in right hand x3 - hand in plaster for 7 weeks - still don't feel right?
A proper right off this year!!!
Mr Rocketeer is quite correct - in 2010 I saved my biggest accident for the 27th December - off the bike for three months with a mashed up ankle with eight bits of titanium in it...
Loads of tiny slow ones, a handful of lucky big ones, then a full-on shoulder-and-head-land last week, which I can still feel in my shoulder, and had me digging mud out of helmet, as wel as re-attaching the wheel, as I'd caught the qr lever in the dirt and pulled my back wheel off.
As I sat there, hoping I hadn't broken anything, I actually though I'd sheared the whole back wheel off before my senses returned.
Lucky...
Yep, alot
though only 1 that required A+E
had several at Cwm Carn, not surprisingly and a couple of beauties at Afan, got pretty good a falling now tuck and roll and hope the bike is ok - bones and skin heal - bikes cost money!!
A big fat zero 🙂
I don't like falling off
Cracked a rib near Les Houches in June on a fire road leading to a singletrack above St Gervais. There was a wet metal waterbar crossing the trail - the bike went straight down and I kept going. And going. I then rode the trail. This is it. It was worth it!
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That one hurt in the morning.
I had a spectacular one on Sick Track in the rain in July (Gary you were there if you're reading this) - flying through the air, landed squarely on the back of my head
Had another spectacular one with Bike Verbier near Sierre. I was going quite fast (for me) on an easy bit of trail, saw a bunch of riders crouched by a corner with cameras out so thought "accelerate". Rounded the corner into a massive rockfield I completely failed to anticipate. Fell squarely into a rock, it was like being punched in the face albeit that I was wearing a full face.
So three big big ones...and a million minor ones...nothing broken but was v. lucky
odd saying that as I think of myself as a very conservative, mellow, wimpy rider. The most dangerous crashes have been on easy sections following hard sections, where I failed to concentrate enough (a common theme I'm sure).
Generally I don't crash much, not because I'm so good but because I generally don't push myself hard enough, and in my experience the less you crash (unless it's a BAD one) the more you get scared of doing it so you hold back.
My memorable one of the year was dropping into the Picnic Bench trail in LW and the front tyre immediately burping most of the air out. I managed to get almost to the bottom but coudn't turn so went straight off a small rock lip, the rear wheel landed first throwing my weight onto the air free front tyre. My hip took the brunt of it but it could have been much worse as the I came to a stop with my glasses pressed against a rock which had just started to grind a groove into them and my face.
Nothing that I can remeber so they must not have been hurty if I did.
Ah - dumped the tandem a couple of times including one on a descent of rivington
The year isn't over yet 😯
Fell off twice last night! And once on Friday night! Cider might be involved...
No big offs this year but I think that's more good luck than management. ESP since I tend to push myself when it comes to going downhill. Even when I'm on my own in the lakes I tend to go balls out. I know I shouldn't but I can't help it, I see a downhill and set off with the best intentions but within 20 mtrs I think stuff it. Iv'e got a feeling it will end in tears one of these days.
Plenty of tumbles (2 the result of avid brake failiure)
Hanfull of more serious offs including spraining my wrist on the new bit of stickler.
1 broken arm in my biggest and most spectacular crash to date riding the ridiculator track in spain 🙁
Just about every ride I manage to come off, haven't managed to damage myself too much this year; wrecked 2 wheels in seperate crashes and cracked a helmet when I managed to come off when riding along a nice flat bridleway. Biggest crashes 2 hurt chest / ribs, same place with in 3 weeks of each other, lots of bruises, but nothing which has sent me to hopsital (10 more days left to try to this year)
Broken collarbone, KO and load of road rash sustained in a road race.
Cracked ribs and dislocated finger on the mtb.
Hoping for a quieter year next year!
Been getting faster this year, and riding better. Had a couple of comedy offs in the greasy mud in the alps in July, and one recently when I dislocated my thumb, but apart from those nothing. 😀
This is probably the first year I have ever been able to claim this though.
Just a couple. The worst of the two was messing up a bunnyhop of a sleeping policemen, resulting in very deep bruising to my hip and a scabby elbow. I really shouldn't attempt bunnyhops.
too many to remember. Mostly on my bmx, down the trails, riding bowls etc. I had a couple of bad ones, I messed up my shoulder pretty bad in a bowl, made whole leg turn purple falling off on a vert ramp, knocked myself out once, went over the bars a few times at the trails, and tons more.
Loads of small ones messing about riding DH tracks. Only 3 big ones this year I think, 2 riding XC, one big enough that you can see where I went tumbling down the side of trail on my gps track! Then I broke one of the metacarpals in my hand riding DH 2 weeks ago. Xmas dinner is going to be interesting with just the one hand!
dont think i missed a beat till august...
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not ridden much recently 🙁
I think the surgeon has a sense of humour soobalias, they've fitted a rear mech hanger to your wrist
Had a few crashes this year but two of them quite messed me up.
First one was at the beginning of August when out biking with the mrs. Going downhill I took the 'quick' route down the steepest part. Had to cross a quiet road and could see it was clear apart from a family stopped in the area where the kerbs were dropped. Not enough time to kill much speed and not enough skilz to bunny hop the kerb fully. The rear wheel hit the kerb and I did a comedy somersault and threw my head around a little. Got up laughing and embarrassed.
Turns out that the fall had caused a tear in an artery in my neck which caused a blood clot which went on to cause a stroke through the night. Not good, hospitalised, double vision (one eye was looking at last week the other the next), unable to swallow, voice changed to an intermittent Barry Gibbish falsetto, off work, off my bike, unable to walk. Got over the worse of it pretty quickly with only a few remaining symptoms. Back at work 5 weeks later.
Itching to get back on the bike I was soon biking to and from work again as soon as my balance allowed me. I was even extending the routes from the direct one of 4 miles to ones along the coast of 14/15 miles each way.
All going well... until biking home through the woods one night, in the dark, downhill, in the wet. Lost control of the front wheel as it skidded on some wet wood. Went over and smacked my head on the ground. Put my left arm out to break the fall. Ended up dislocating the shoulder and snapping a bit of bone off. Mrs was NOT happy as I called her from the woods saying I might need a little help getting home.
Arm/shoulder is getting better but it has now taken weeks! It was easier getting over the stroke than it has the shoulder injury. I start physio on that tomorrow after just finishing it for the stroke.
Wife wants to chop up my bike, I explain that it must be jinxed and that I need a new one.
I've promised to stay off it till the new year, Roll on 2012!
At 47 I know now that I don't bounce as much when I fall as I used to!
Absolutely bloody millions tbh. But only, IIRC, 4 little broken bones and mostly ones I'd broken before, so that's not too bad. Almost recovered from the last set...
only one i can remmeber. stoopid mechanic skills mixed with stoopid avid brakes meant i hadnt doen up the caliper enough on the front brake and when i jumped into a berm, something hit the caliper and locked my front wheel. i basically landed in the berm with a fully locked wheel and wrote myself off big time. coaching with concussion was fun 🙂
Only two worth mentioning
First slammed in the ground on quick decent, spd didn’t engage properly due to a build up of chalk and clay. Damaged neck and right shoulder, two weeks off the bike
Second hit an earth bank with left should whilst riding at the FoD, hospital though I had broken my shoulder but thankfully only muscle, ligament and tendon damage, 8 weeks of the bike and lots of £££’s on physio
A big bouncy feet off pedals then back onto pedals just in time for the next bump resulting in a 30mph get off over the bars up hill through a gorse bush resulting in a slightly banged knee. Thought that was my big crash of the year but this August hit a tree at 25mph during the Brighton Big Dog, breaking my left scaphoid which then failed to heal and has just been grafted and screwed. 🙁
2 dislocated shoulders, 2 broken collar bones, 1 pound of flesh off the right side of my body and countless little crashes.
I've only been back riding about 18 months and have had about 9 months off in that time. Partly bad luck, partly my own damm fault (especially the 2nd broken collarbone).
Since then I have calmed down and am no longer trying to learn everything in one go, and am not hucking myself off things.
How'd you do all those Kudos100? Sorry to hear
soobalias: snap! literally...although mine's the left one
[url= http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6527420007_fb5df30e33.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrispeartree/6527420007/ ]IMAG0209[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/chrispeartree/ ]Chris Peartree[/url], on Flickr
happened mid- november
Just the one I think, hit a hidden plank of wood going through a muddy bit and over the bars i went. good landing though, one of those nice crashes, where you pause for a second, realise you're alright and start laughing! Other than that odd slip here and there but managed to bring them under control, just. I am getting more careful these days I think.
4 This year,
Two comedey ones on the moutainbike, one comedy one into a ploughed field on the CX, and one hurty washout on dropped mud on the road bike. Left hip still isn't quite right 6 weeks later...
*hi5 headfirst*
3.
2 commuting, the first just a little scrape, the other lots of blood, but nothing serious at all.
1 on the road bike. 2 days in hospital, still have no memory of the crash, or the previous 48 hours. don't want to start a helmet debate, but I'm convinced mine saved me serious injury...
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Thankfully only the one proper crash (along with a couple of comedy ones!). Pretty sure everyone on here will have seen the pictures of resulting brake lever impalement at some point 😛
Not managed to get back on the bike since (almost 6 months down now...) - think I might WTFU and get back out on at least the road bike soon though. Bored of not riding now (and several people have asked me if I've put on weight!!)
Just the one this year in August. Resulted in broken wrist, torn knee ligaments, concussion (still no idea what happened!) and 14 stitches in my knee. First time out on new bike! (Now sold due to being jinxed!)Back riding again now though so could have been worse.
How'd you do all those Kudos100? Sorry to hear
First dislocation was landing badly after a jump. Second was following my mate (who is a much better rider than me) down a sketchy bit of DH and clipping my bars on a tree.
I broke my collar bone after sessioning a downhill track. Took my body armour off as we were riding 'the beginners' track and on the last run of the day got my left pedal caught in a root. Almost saved it, but hit another root and went over the bars onto my head and left shoulder 😥
Stupidly, I started riding after 8 weeks, and while night riding I took a mild tumble and re-broke it. Lesson learned.
I ripped the skin off my right side when I was trying to nail a drop into a sandy, gravelly off camber corner. 1st and 2nd goes, I didn't quite ride it out. 3rd go I got dragged along about 3 meters on my side. Again I was riding with the same mate 👿 😆
The second shoulder and collarbone could have easily been avoided, but I was a bit too gun-ho and eager. I've now mellowed out and am a much better rider, due to learning from my mistakes and learning good technique. I bloody paid for it though.
Whenever I ride with my mate, I don't even bother to try and follow him. Gets you into all sorts of trouble trying to keep up with someone who used to race DH at national level!
I'd managed to do really well for ages, I began to think that my new bike had made me invulnerable to crashing.
My Weaver Dunn operation is on the 21st Feb.
Had an OTB where I broke the right hand brake lever, no sure how I did that.
Had another OTB not a scratch very odd, as it was a bit of a big un.
Then recently an of camber turn taken rather fast no braking, twisted my left wrist and hit my face into the ground as the bike slid out, felt like carpet burn and being punched in the face at the same time 🙂
Plenty of other stuff too (not as interesting)
Nothing for months then a heavy crash trying to avoid a small dog at the Chevin at the start of October. Skinned and gouged my knees & elbows so I couldn't walk properly for a fortnight afterwards.
Topped this off by breaking my collarbone in 3 places at the end of October riding a very dull bit of trail indeed (think I'd just turned my brain off for a minute). Been told not to ride the bike or snowboard until late March which is really doing my head in! Can't wait to ride again in the spring though, but I just hope I have more luck in 2012.
No crashes this year, some near misses and the like but no real spills. Still a few days to go yet mind.
Only 3 or 4 offs that I remember this year. Apart from sliding off the wet boardwalk at Laggan all of them have been techy slow speed stalling I-am-slowly-but-inevitably-toppling-over episodes so injuries pretty much non-existent happily apart from a monster purple egg on my shin that lasted a good three weeks from clipping the top tube as I tumbled into the undergrowth on my local trail.
slainte ➡ rob
Quite a few minor crashes but nothing serious yet in the spring I managed to catapult myself over the bars and land on my neck/back.
Was sprinting out of a corner chasing after a mate and as I put a power stroke in I hit a stump which sent me flying missing a tree narrowly. bike landed on top of me. That gave me a nice head ache for a bit
Just one notable one near the start, but limited the chance of more occurring.
Went over the bars, scarred just about every bit of exposed skin, except for the left shoulder, that just ripped pretty much every bit of soft tissue as the last bit attached to the bike and the hand I pivoted over. Lost all strength and flexibility in left shoulder, finally managed to cope with short, smooth rides by the end of the summer. Nearly works properly now.
two...
1. off snowboard broke 5 vertebrae
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2.off roadbike, used face to slow down concussion soft tissue damage to arm
great year 🙂
Lots of slow speed tumbles, and lovely shiner on thigh from "getting used to SPDs". Latest was fall downhill onto soft mud except for ruddy log that connected with lower spine. Spent a week walking like I had wet myself, and still have bruise a month later.
I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way, but reading this thread certainly puts mine into perspective!
One brief hospitalisation after elbow surfing down a rocky trail in the Malverns and exposing the bone. Elbo healed in three weeks, head took a bit longer. Aftermath published in STW earlier this year.
But compared to previous years, nothing else worth mentioning especially compared to some of the stuff here. Jeez, I've never seen so many x-rays!
None that I'm aware of
Had a few comedy falls but two stick in my memory.
Luckiest was going over the bars in a rock garden in Grizedale. Somehow managed to land on my feet and run 10m through the rocks without falling over. My friends thought I was going to be a hospital job and couldn't believe I'd somehow got away with it.
Worst was near Skiddaw - got cocky and made an aggressive line change and lost front which then caught on a boulder and slammed me chest first into a stone slab. Cracked some ribs, heavily bruised legs and had to ride 25km to get back.
counting would be impossible, every year the number would be at least into triple figures for me, ten years ago it would have been quadruple but have only visited hospital twice in 20 odd years, been more often from injuring myself while pished.
Had a few minor crashes on the mtb which left me with superficial wounds.
Had one major crash which broke 3 spinal vertebrae, my left hip socket, and a couple of ribs.
Put me into hospital for 2 weeks, but thank goodness i got health insurance as part of my job! Got a mighty fine payout after all of that!
too many, seemed to spend the whole year recovering from a shoulder injury, only to get back on the bike and throw myself over the bars into the other shoulder. repeat to fade.
2012 will hopefully be better as i have a new routine of gym in the morning with some work on my shoulders to try and build a little protective muscle. oh and riding within my limits, remembering the jedi rules and keeping my enthusiasm in check when riding unknown stuff
I converted to SPD's this year, so many comedy offs whilst stopping!! My most embarrassing was a roll down the side of a Friston bomb hole - put on You Tube by a so-called mate!!
put on You Tube by a so-called mate!!
link please
Not me but the worst I've heard this year was someone locally who hit a fallen tree on his road bike at some speed.
The tree literally ripped his face off. Lost all his teeth, nose, shattered his jaw and cheekbones and his face was apparently just a flap of skin.
He then somehow walked to a nearby farmhouse to get help.
He's had to have loads of re-constructive surgery including rebuilding his jaw and cheekbone plus a mouthful of new teeth.
Well until this morning it was just one worth mentioning - grazed a tree with my left shoulder and managed to sprain it, no riding for a few weeks. But this morning I managed to wash out the front wheel on a root in one puddle which neatly dumped me into the next puddle. Just back from A&E with a strapped up right hand as i've apparently cracked a bone. So much for my Xmas riding plans...