[Closed] Rider Down BPW 13/12/15

Think someone was airlifted off there the other week too 🙁

Was planning to visit sometime soon, thinking I might take it easy when I go.

One of the guys working there told me Merthyr A&E aren't overly happy with the increase in casualties since BPW opened. Steady away!

They rolled their eyes when I turned up. Well first one look at me and just said "Bike Park?" 😀

They were great though. Friendly bunch and not a horrendous wait in A&E.

Merthyr A&E aren't overly happy with the increase in casualties

Knowing one or two people that work there I'd say they much prefer a wounded biker to wander in rather than one of the local drunk or smackheads that they have to deal with all too regularly.

I was up and down at BPW all day yesterday, but fortunately didnt see any falls/injuries. Must have been out of sync. With the speeds you pick up and the rocks/jumps all around, its inevitable there will be a few accidents.

We were talking about Winter Wonderland ice skating and in both my family session and a mates family session there were serious accidents. Funny how nothing gets mentioned about that - yet an accident at a trail centre often gets big news.

It's probably the management that are unhappy rather than the front line staff

I wouldn't have thought the numbers of riders going to A&E from BPW make a massive difference to be honest. One or Two a week of reasonably straight forward stuff shouldn't cause them any anxiety.

Any major trauma from BPW should bypass Merthyr anyway and go straight to Cardiff via the prehospital service, I really doubt if its having a major attendance affect at Merthyr AE. Nobody minds a few bashed up bikers anyway as has been said!

It's pretty easy to hurt oneself in a bike park hope the rider(s) injured are doing well recovery wise.

Can't find it and not sure if BPW have a safety section on their website?

IMO, BPW should institute a policy similar to Whistler - Full Face, gloves, knee pads as min. protection needed on the mountain.

I couldn't agree more with the comment about it not being front line staff who expressed concern about injured mountain bike riders.

When I was in hospital on a Friday night to have my forearm stitched back together after exceeding my talent, the doc who was doing it seemed to enjoy taking his time to do a decent job on someone who wasn't effing and blinding and threatening to 'do him'.

If we can nullify obesity, drunkenness and people driving like maniacs, then perhaps we ought to look at sporting injuries. However, given the endemic nature of the real problems, I doubt we'll get onto it.

There was a lot of riders at BPW with half lids yesterday. I'd say 1/2 of each bus I was on. They might well have been rolling down the blues all day, but still its very easy to pickup a lot of speed on the blues. In fact I'd almost be inclined to say the blues were more dangerous than the reds/blacks! Up to them I suppose, but I know I'd always use FF if I were getting uplifted.

IMO, BPW should institute a policy similar to Whistler - Full Face, gloves, knee pads as min. protection needed on the mountain

Whistler and BPW are very different places!

Merthyr A&E have been getting bikers in for years what with pre-BPW, Gethin DH track and all the other Dragon tracks around the area, though I'm sure it must have increased with the popularity of BPW for sure.

It's good to see the real melting pot of levels of seriousness there. Folks on BSO's all the way up to folks on Carbon endurognarr bikes. Great stuff.

I raced a Dragon race at Gethin many years ago now, and in practise, went over the bars on the entry to the infamous rock garden that's not really so much there any more.
Broke my leg, had to sit around all day waiting for my mates to finish racing, and then, didn't fancy Merthyr A&E so ended up driving all the way back to Warwick hospital...
I'm nails me.. 😀

Hope all is ok with the injured rider.

+1 on ff being compulsory (saw the guy with the bust eye, he was only wearing an xc lid)
You can get a decent ff lid from decathlon etc for not much or a nice 661 cheap from CRC etc

Personally in getting too old not to ride n body armour and ff at a bike park

CaptainFlashheart - Member
Whistler and BPW are very different places!

Different places, same out of control mincers?

As someone who is relatively new to the entire steep hills and rocks thing (coming from east anglia), I definitely wore pads and full-face when I recently rode at BPW despite keeping entirely to the blue. Still fast enough and there's still trees and rocks in the way if you crash.

Whistler and BPW are very different places!

CFH - I appreciate that but as Super fli mentioned you can generate quite a bit of speed on the blues and before you know it can find yourself in a tangle.

Is BPW on a mountain then? Last time I was there it was a big hill.

As for FF helmets and pads? Im not sure that necessary really. Helmet and gloves minimum, but Im not shredding the gnarr to the max when im there.

Both the guys we helped yesterday binned it on blue trails. Because they're smooth, wide and the least technical in the park they're some of the fastest, less likey to crash, but very high speed if you do.

The guy with an eye's injury wasn't really caused by a lack of FF. His head hit a bit of a log, the helmet seemed to do it's job, at the time anyway, as he pretty aware and walking unaided. Sadly for him there was a small cut off branch on the log that went into his eye and ripped of his eye lid, it looked gory but we were all just 'happy' he wasn't complaining he couldn't see out of it - but I wouldn't put money on it not being damaged. Anyway, after we loaded his bike and that of his mate and sent them down in the bus we carried on, it was only later we heard he took a bit of a turn in the bus and was carried into the Ambo.

The guy we helped earlier had what looked like a new (although not anymore) 661 FF, his mate had already got him sat up when we saw him, but he was very dazed and confused and took quite a while to 'come around' - but we spoke to him later on in the Café and he seemed okay bar a sore head - they were going to drive to A&E later.

I personally always wear a FF, knee and elbow pads at BPW, I know they don't offer total protection, but 1) I've been badly hurt before so I've no intention to spend 3 weeks in Hospital again if I can avoid it 2) I've got existing injuries which don't need to be made worse 3) I already own all that stuff and I'm not the kind of person who worries what others think, nor to I find pads 'uncomfortable' when I'm being pounded riding over rocks.

bigyinn - Member

Is BPW on a mountain then? Last time I was there it was a big hill.

Why don't you find a conclusive way to decide what is a mountain and what is a hill and the rest of us will let you know?

legend - Member

CaptainFlashheart - Member
Whistler and BPW are very different places!

Different places, same out of control mincers?

Yep, BPW is muddier, looser, narrower and less man made. True story.

Whistler and BPW are very different places!

Trees and rocks are made of similar materials in both places.

First few times I went I wore an open face trail lid. Last year a mate who is a lot faster and better than me went down on vicious valley and went face first into a tree stump. His face was badly swollen on one side, black and blue and one eye completely shut and that was wearing a top spec full face and goggles, I dread to think of the outcome if he hadn't been wearing them. I wear my full face there now. Yes it can happen anywhere but on a uplift day it doesn't make sense not to. That said I have Dainese body armour but don't wear it any more as I find it restrictive and that makes me more likely to crash. I'm there on the 2nd Jan so will probably regret saying that now.....

If you are getting an uplift full face and pads are a good idea. I would certainly use them if its DH/Shore/Park fun

Its a misconception that pads will "save you" though. They are good at stopping scrapes, but bones can still be broken even with the best padding/full face. Bike skills are the best safety assets to have. With skills you know how far to push yourself before it gets dangerous for you, and a skilled rider can often get himself out of trouble even if he has to "put the bike down". It can be dangerous with novices padding themselves up and thinking they will be ok and attempting moves beyond their skill set.