[Closed] 4 crashes in 2 rides

philconsequence welcome to my world 😉 in all seriousness though (i haven't crashed for a long time/i go too slow 😉 i have this problem also though.whatever i try and do/practice e.g guitar,trying to get fitter on my bike e.t.c it just constantly feels like i'm banging my head against a brick wall 😡 you'll get your mojo back mate 🙂

are you injured?

sounds like you are thinking about it too much

you've just very recently fitted new brakes IIRC..

your old braking habits and instincts will take a while to dial out.. try a much more relaxed approach to your riding for a few weeks.. different trails.. sightseeing rather than shredding.. sharpen your low speed skills.. session some stuff.. play around a bit..

I don't know about your mojo but it might stop you falling off for a fortnight.. 🙂

Oh Phil, am sorry to read that. 🙁 Are you injured?

Step back ... ignore the bike for a few days ... then reintroduce yourself to bike. No pressure.

You're supposed to enjoy it, it's not a punishment!

FWIW I would love to be able to ride a bike instead of waiting for hospital appt for metalwork to be inserted in shoulder. 😥

Edit: you're not shit so stop saying that.

Every crash teaches us something, even if it's just that sometimes we're stoopid 🙂

From what I saw on Sunday, you weren't consistently shit by the way.

Every crash teaches us something

He's right ^^

Forget what CG says. You're well shit.

However, would you like me to pick you up early doors on Saturday and take you to Bristol to race for four hours at Oktoberfest? If so, let me know.

Unless you're massively shit. And then I'll just laugh at you.

😉

Oooh pick me, I'm totally rubbish... just watching me try and put a shoe on to a leg I can't bend is seemingly hilarious!

What doesn't kill you will make you stronger and all that. The thing with me is I seem to manage the hard stuff but come off on the easy stuff. Last Sunday was a case in point. Went through a rock garden as if I was Danny hart ( well I thought I was ) but tried manualing a puddle and came off 😳

You'll get it back, dude. Don't worry. No matter what bullheart says, you're probably not shit. Having said that I haven't seen you ride, but if my mental image of you is a good judge, you're well sick and gnarly!

This kind of thing happens - especially when you get a new bike.

When you're ready, jump back on, try not too be too rad immediately and stroke that pimp-mobile like it's your b*tch!

EDIT: Speaking of rubbish, I've just spent 35 minutes trying to work out how to change the pedals on Susan the Commencal. Even had to check out an online tutorial (*blushes*). I was about to ask STW, but the humiliation would have killed me!

Seriously camo16; he's the shittest you've ever seen.

Apart from Elf. Jeez he's shit...

Every crash teaches us something

in that case i should be the fountain of all knowldge 😕

Seriously camo16; he's the shittest you've ever seen.

You SURE he's not sick and gnarly? I could have sworn...

Sod it; this'll cheer you up....

[img] [/img]

Just go slower and concentrate on being smooth. The speed will come.

I've had about 3 months off due to injury and have been riding like an old grandma due to my collarbone healing. I've been working on cornering, pumping, braking etc and I'm now regaining confidence on the bike.

Luke Dog-Walker ?

Time to chill. Stay off the bike a little while - stop beating yerself up. The mojo will return.

Sod it; this'll cheer you up....

honest, I'm not. I have episodes of faulty equipment though

not THAT "equipment" 😳

specifically 😥

Everyone loses their mojo every now and again. Had such a shit ride earlier in the week that just seemed to get worse and worse, my timing got so bad that by the end of the ride I couldn't even hop off a curb without completely ballsing it up.

Slowing it down a lot helps. Find some nice bit of flowy singletrack and session it, start out real slow, relax, then repeat building up speed till your flowing nicely. If it's not working just cut your losses and try again another day. Try that and I reckon the riding a bike thing will come back pretty quickly.

Forget what CG says. You're well shit.

(Cackles with delight. Jumps on bandwagon to mock, belittle and generally pour scorn on poor Phil)

Apart from Elf. Jeez he's shit...

Eh... do wha.... YOU SHUT UP YOU YOU'RE WELL RUBBISH YOU EVEN GOT BEAT BY YOUR LITTLE SISTER YOU'RE SO RUBBISH SO SHUT UP!!!!! 😡

(Runs off sobbing)

[img] [/img]

I've been over the bars twice in the last five rides and got thrown on the floor thanks to a sunken root as well, last Sunday being the most painful , all falls where on simple bits like Sunday's entrance to nath's in Woburn , I was doing the big Woburn drops and tech bits in the dark the week before no probs thought I too had lost my mojo but then realised I was not always paying attention on the easy stuff, oh yer and I'm shit

Since last year when I broke a bone in my left hand and most of this year whilst nursing a twisted left knee I have been all over the place some days. All I do is stop getting frustrated with myself, slow down a bit and concentrate. Problem then is I am trying to concentrate on 3 things = riding the bike, nursing my knee and trying to get my left hand to grip the bars and pull the brake at the same time ❗
Not easy some days but when I relax and let the "flow" take over the good days are good 😆

Go on rides that are scenic and make you smile, in the sunshine if possible. Repeat until you feel ready to do more. Then only do a bit more and build it up.
Do stuff that you know you are good at too - even little things 🙂

I had a week like that a couple of months back. After four or five stupid falls I ended up flying over the bars and bouncing about 20 feet into a gully, leaving me nicely bruised and distinctly disinclined to ride anything technical for quite a while. I pootled around different, easier stuff for a bit, and when I felt better I went back to the descent in question when I felt up to it - and I had my best run down it ever. Falling off is just another way of learning.

Chill. do some less demanding rides and relax and remeber to enjoy it. Its all about mucking around on bikes, its not a competition

The only advice I can give is to build up slowly again, trying to go full on back into it doesn't really work for me. Work out what caused the crash and don't do it again - use your Jedi skills training, it helps with this part 🙂 Whenever I crash now I know it's usually because I was looking in the wrong place or because I didn't have enough speed to clear something!

philconsequence, I'm right in thinking you had a day with Jedi about the same time I did aren't I?

One thing I remember him saying was that the training doesn't end on the day.

Have a look at your Jedi blog, it might refresh your memory, send him an email or text, he will help you out

cheers guys, a long hot shower and some sleep always makes you see things a little clearer too!

all four crashes were my fault:

1) fist full of front brake on super greasy ground, wiped out

2) same as above 😆 it was about 3 hours later and the ground felt much drier, but again it was my silly mistake

3) got on the HT after a couple of weeks of only riding my newer bike, first thing i did was drop off a 2ft wall with hardly any pace = OTB

4) despite spending the whole ride moaning to myself that i was being a shit rider having crashed before even leaving the house i spent the first half of the ride trying to get my front wheels off the ground, similar to the story above i couldnt even pump off the curb as my timing was shot and i jsut got more and more frustrated....

instead of applying my mental skill-set (like a good jedi stooodent) i got increasingly frustrated and ended up 'pinning it' or 'riding faster' as you adults would call it. in the dark, over a bit of trail i didnt recognise, like an idiot. went too fast through a section and my front light drew my attention to what looked like a bump i could roll over, but the closer i got at speed i realised it was a drop that had been cut away at a nasty angle... my eyes fixated on it at the last millisecond and i forgot to pump at the right point = front wheel dropped 3 foot, forks bottomed out and over the bars into a tree i went.

little finger on right hand damaged but i dont think its broken, pain radiating down my radius and dodgy right elbow, which nicely balances out the pain in the left hand side of my hip from sunday 😆

all my fault, need to have a little break and get my head back into the right place!

oh and i also need to get that back wheel you gave me mr yeti into a shop, realised before we set off that half the spokes are loose and some are bent 😯 (think that was playing on my mind, but for some reason it didnt stop me pushing on like and idiot).

its binners fault of course
i blame binners
*blames binners*

MTFU - you came off, you're alive, get back on - it's a bike and you'll fall off sometimes.

[i]once in the garden before even starting the ride[/i]

this is the sort of skillset I've acquired from years of mincing around on bikes.

Accept that you're rubbish at the moment and ride within your limits, after a while strive for mediocrity and so on, you'll be happier for it.

We can't all be riding gods all the time (or, indeed, ever in my case).

Its all about mucking around on bikes, its not a competition

Phil.

Consider yourself lucky.

You're just playing at crashing.

I crashed on the 1st October and was properly mashed up.

I'm now toating the latest in NHS polyester cast to support the wrist I have a double fracture in.

Still got lots of pain elsewhere too, but have managed to get to work this week, cos if I don't work, I don't eat.

So, I'm glad you're not badly injured and that you're feeling better today.
And remember, practice makes perfect.

[img] [/img]

Rock on Fella.

😉

I'm definately nervous about Saturday's impending ride after last weeks stack! Especially as it'll be out with a mate who I haven't rode with for nearly 20 yrs! In that period of time he continued to ride for 20 yrs, I've been back for 2 😕

Which crash was that Solo... the road one?

I'm currently having to sit with my knee above my head... it's not all that convenient.

Phil - apologies on the wheel... is it badly buckled then?

lol dont apologise yeti, you gave me a wheel 😀 i think we just didnt really check it 🙄

the wheel isnt buckled from what i can tell, rolls in a straight line... i'll get it into a bike shop for them to fix it up 🙂

Phah, hahaha.. falling off.. It's hilarious, seriously try laughing at yourself it works wonders. I fall or stumble like the rest, but I've adopted a "giggle wtf" attitude to it all now, even racing mates. Also if I'm feeling a bit "subdued" when out I adopt the "chill and enjoy the view" mode.

In comclusion then:

1) Laugh at any mistakes, serious or not
2) Back off and enjoy the view

[i]I'm currently having to sit with my knee above my head[/i]

Does your GF mind that you still post on here while practising your [i]Yoga[/i] ?.

Yes, the road crash. I am now into the serious bike withdrawal phase, not helped by the fact that I have foresaken all alcohol until Xmas.
I'm already starting to have thoughts about clandestine, cycling fixes this weekend.

Being broken [b]SUCKS ![/b]

[img] [/img]

[i]Laugh at any mistakes, serious or not
[/i]

Yes, we did stand and laugh, briefly, at the puddle of my blood in the road at the time.

But then I had to get on with the 12 mile ride back to [i]civilization[/i] and A n E.

[b]bullheart[/b]

That's amazing.

Solo - I can only do headstands at the moment... my knee don't bend.

[i]my knee don't bend[/i]

Eh ?.

Don't tell me you're injured too ??.

*hesitates*

What have you been upto ?.

I've been crashing 🙂

I have a differnet attitude though, as soon as I can ride I'm going to go and do the very thing I crashed doing. I don't know why... maybe because I want to beat the thing that's beaten me! Maybe I'm just a little stupid.

[i]I've been crashing

I have a differnet attitude though, as soon as I can ride I'm going to go and do the very thing I crashed doing. I don't know why... maybe because I want to beat the thing that's beaten me! Maybe I'm just a little stupid.
[/i]

Right, so this year, the latest fashion, is to crash.

Strangely, I know exactly what you mean about going back to beat that which initially beat you.
I have the same attitude.
Perhaps we're [i]stupid[/i] together then.

I hope you're injuries aren't too serious and I wish you a speedy return to two wheels.
😉

i've ridden everything i'v crashed on apart from one particular hill, but that was the hill that i was on a spinal board for 4-5hours on so i'm in no rush to look down it again!

at least none of us are this guy!

[img] [/img]

I know you have Phil... use the day to confirm what you did wrong... berate your stupidity, because it's not incompetence if you know what you did... go and attack it like an angry badger!

[i]EDIT: Speaking of rubbish, I've just spent 35 minutes trying to work out how to change the pedals on Susan the Commencal[/i]

SUSAN!!!!

you call your bike susan! really? Do you introduce 'her' to people?

I ride very slowly and I still fall off. 😳

[i]i've ridden everything i'v crashed on apart from one particular hill, but that was the hill that [b]i was on a spinal board for 4-5hours[/b] on so i'm in no rush to look down it again![/i]

😯

Eerrr. No. We'll let you off that one.
Don't go killin yourself dude.

[i]go and attack it like an angry badger! [/i]
The mind boggles.
🙂

[i]I ride very slowly and I still fall off.[/i]

If you have to fall off. then going slow at the time is probably a good strategy.
😉

last nights surprise drop will be ridden again but on the FS (after i've slammed that stem yeti, dont worry) in daylight, after i've walked that section and firmly placed in my mind what i need to do to clear it cleanly 🙂

something i learnt when i used to own classic minis... never name something you rely on for transport a girls name, they're bound to break down once a month for no reason! a mode of transport with a chaps name is much more reliable 😀

Or learn to roll..

I think it was either Jason McRoy or Rob Warner who said,
"how do you know where your limits are if you never find them"
It sounds like your quite analytical about your reasons for crashing, so you should be able to sort out the problems and compensate.
As others have said, ride well within yourself for a while, until you feel happy about pushing harder again.
Again as mentioned, it supposed to be fun
😀

EDIT: Speaking of rubbish, I've just spent 35 minutes trying to work out how to change the pedals on Susan the Commencal

SUSAN!!!!

you call your bike susan! really? Do you introduce 'her' to people?

Ahem...

Well I might sometimes call her... Susan... 😳

She knows I'm punching way above my weight with her, so she demands regular shiny bits to keep her happy... 8)

TSY - no better then? What's the prognosis? What happened and was it road or mtb?

Love the girlie names for blokes bikes. 😀

Little bit better thanks C_G. Inter-muscular haematoma... aka a really big bruise... mtfu etc. It was mtb and happened on some northshore.

How are you?

I guess you just have to be positive - you rode brilliantly at the TP and what an achievement to complete it. Has your haematoma been changing colour daily? Any idea how long you'll be out of action for?

I'm OK thanks. Scabs have just about all dropped off, apart from my face! Been quoted 3-4 months wait for surgery. 😯

Still intending to ride a bike again. 8)

3-4 months??!! Blimey, what a nightmare. I was hoping to be riding by the weekend but going to work on Monday (not having my leg in the air) has definitely set me back!

The colour moves up and down my leg depending on how / what angle it's being rested at. My aim now is to be back in the pool, gym (and at work) on Monday then riding next weekend.

The irony is that I picked my Dad up from the hospital on Saturday and gloated that it was normally the other way round and that I hadn't seen the inside of A&E for at least 2 years 😀

Phil commiserations and I hope that you get your mojo back soon. FWIW, I am relatively knew to mtb and am currently on a 100% crash track record, plus cut/grazed shins every ride.

I quickly find myself on ground that is beyond my technique and experience - hence probably time for some skills coaching. Then I could buy a nice bike.

But isn't mtb meant to be painful?!?

90% of my crashes are when I wimp out on something technical - hence the need for proper advice on technique so that I can build confidence to let it rip.

Tight bombholes, rooty lips and off-camber wet roots - trouble ahead!!!

teamhurtmore - where are you based? I know a man...

i'd definitely recommend the skills coaching, i know exactly what i did wrong each time its gone wrong and as a relatively new rider myself i'm very glad i went to see jedi before i learnt loadsa bad techniques that would be hard to mentally step away from after years of riding!

Southern Yeti - Surrey Hills are where I do most of my riding. There are two well known companies there, I think but happy to take recommendations, thanks.

I recently watched a video of mtb techniques and then went for a ride on Leith Hill. There was a mini berm and I thought hard about foot position and pushing into the corner, only to miss the hidden root. CRASH and mega painful bruise/dead leg 🙁

I think spd's are an issue because they add to the slight trepidation on steep stuff. I have a terrible habit of unclipping and then I am really in trouble. Plus the bloody spd eats my shins for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!

Go and see Jedi.

TSY - blimey, I bet you're like a bear with a sore head not being able to exercise! Do hope it's not for much longer and you'll be back getting your fix. 😉

Another vote for jedi. 8) Frankly, after all the money I've spent on bikes over the years would have been put to better use having regular coaching with jedi.

spd's are not compulsory - I ditched them and am so much more relaxed on flats.

I used to crash a lot!

Er, but that was because I liked crashing.

Busted neck put paid to that, now I try to stay on.

Maybe you like it really eh Phil?

i dont like crashing 🙁 it hurts!

if you're suggested i'm some kind of weird sex pervert then i'm offended.

C_G - apparently I'm gonig a little crazy, not angry crazy but sort of delirious... little things are funny. Oh and the fact that it's 25% off on 6 or more bottles of wine at Waitrose is helping. That's 1.5 bottles free you know, a lot of little things seem [i]really[/i] funny when you drink the free part 🙂

TSY - did you have a head injury as well??!! Alcohol is an essential part of the recovery process but unfortunately due to my having been concussed and stupid, I was drinking beer whilst swallowing super-strong painkillers. What a bimbo. 😳

PS Anything decent at Waitrose?

i know exactly what i did wrong each time its gone wrong

phil, you answer your own question. crashes happen. confidence or lack of can be effected by our own actions and our equipment . when i tried new brakes i hated them (esp when due to not doing the caliper up it locked my front wheel in the air) i went back to my lovely v2's and all is well again 🙂

OHHHH YEAH. a bad workman always blames his tools 😛