Only a year after a big smash left me with two crushed vertebrae and a broken collar bone, I’ve gone and bashed myself up again. Literally dropping into the car park yesterday, the last 10m of trail were fast and greasy and a school boy error snatched my front wheel and I went down hard enough to snap my humorous.

Proper break as well, near the top just underneath the ball joint. I’m likely to need it screwing back so just waiting to hear if this will go ahead.

None of this would be so bad if we didn’t have a three week old baby at home 😯 oh and a three year old and a wife who had a c-section three weeks ago.

Really feeling guilty now for the position I’ve put my poor suffering wife in!

I know the feeling mate. It sucks. Worth making the point at the hospital to try and get the repair that gives you the most use of your arm as soon as possible. My wife forgave me – and for missing the family holiday we were going on the following week – on the condition that I didn’t let it happen again. It fits in with the thread about when to slow down a bit. Having said that, the last time I hurt myself I was just riding along.

I hope you heal well and get some sympathy at home. Say sorry and do what you can.

GWS. You’re a Surrey rider IIRC – which drop to which car park? (Let me guess – Walking Bottom from the left?)

ps got a 700mm-ish flat bar you won’t be needing for a little while? 🙁 (I want one to try for sizing on my new 29 before I buy.)

and a wife who had a c-section three weeks ago.

that is bad 🙁 I can understand you feeling guilty!

I waited until my daughter was 3 months old before I broke my hip and had to have my leg screwed back together and I felt pretty bad then.

That’s crappy bad luck. Wife might be miffed but she knows you didn’t do it on purpose. Is the bike okay?

Healing vibes mate.

Sorry to hear GT! And congrats with the three week old baby. I bet the missus ain’t pleased a out crash!!
I can assure the people of STW that the OP does not mince about on his bike. I met him once when myself and a mate was looking for the trails around Pitch Hill. He showed us around and we learned quite a bit about how the trails there link together .
Hope you heal fast.

Thanks guys. Kind words and gratefully received.

Matt the drop is really something or nothing. It’s a newish trail that drops to the carpark on the holmburry side where little playground is with the building behind. It nothing technical but I was going a bit quick and in checking speed just snatched the front wheel.

Bol your point about getting the treatment that will get me up and running quickest is spot on. I said as much to the orthopod yesterday. We will see at 9.30am when he calls me.

Sputnik good to hear from you. Hope you’re dried out from your wet ride back from Brighton! I do love meeting people and showing them around. For me it’s what riding is all about. Hope to meet up again when I’m patched up.

Onzadog wife is pretty miffed but being very gracious about it.

Waswas man that sounds like a very bad stack! Couldn’t get much worse than that. How long ago was it?

Funny thing in the a&e department was the number of cyclists there. I counted four including myself which caused some amusement for the staff. Apparent the other three were roadies in a race where there had been a mass pile up. One poor guy had a broken left clavicle and broken right radius plus broken fingers. He was musing it might be time to get voice recognition software! 😆

The things we do to ourselves eh!

ps got a 700mm-ish flat bar you won’t be needing for a little while?

😀 kick a man whilst he’s down.

OK I think I know where-ish.

I spent some time in East Surrey A&E/ortho a few years ago from a nasty biking injury, the docs told me that MTB was the third biggest business generator for them in younger patients (after motorbikes and football).

Careful out there folks.

ps got a 700mm-ish flat bar you won’t be needing for a little while?

LOL i’ve got a whole bloody bike I won’t be needing for at least 6 weeks! Although the bars are 750mm not 700mm.

Seriously anyone who wants to demo a very nice Nicolai Helius AM in the Surrey Hills area is welcome to try mine.

healing vibes. my mate broke his humerous in 3 places in august and only needed a sling as it was all in line. fingers crossed for ya. healing vibes

I went down hard enough to snap my humorous

No, I wouldn’t find it funny either.

Jedi – thanks mate. My wife has bought me a day with you for my 40th but I think that might have to wait a while now!

Was really looking forward to it as well!

ta, I have a 750mm riser but it’s not quite right for me for the new build, it’s a flat and wide-ish I’d like to try for fit before I drop a chunk on new ones.

if anyone local has something in the spares bin, I’d appreciate a scrounge

really when were you coming?
hope you dont need pinning etc..

LOL i’ve got a whole bloody bike I won’t be needing for at least 6 weeks!

6 weeks? You really think your wife is going to let you out again that soon? You’re going to be in the doghouse from here to baby’s 18th birthday mate!

🙂

(Get well soon!)

geetee – was mucking about at the local bmx track and didn’t have a clue what I was doing, tbh. Came down hard after attempting a jump.

this was the result;

In the end the fact I couldn’t do much more than sit on the sofa for a month or so was actually ok. Babies that age don’t need much more than holding up and playing with. I could change nappies without standing up and my wife was chest feeding so it was ok. Got to spend a lot more time with my daughter than I would have done otherwise and my wife got a lot more time to do other stuff than if I’d just been at work.

I’ve still got a memory of phoning my wife from the back of a 4×4 ambulance saying ‘I’ve just got a really bad dead leg but once I get my breath back I’ll come on home.’ The paramedics gave each other ‘a look’ …

was 10 years ago now – had the bolts out about 2 years after they were put in and don’t really get any gyp from it other than I’m more likely to get cramp in that leg around the scar tissue than the ‘good’ one.

Man that’s a big injury!

Jedi date is not booked yet. Officially I haven’t been ‘told’ that I’m doing it but its an open secret that showed up on the bank statement.

Oh bugger. hope you heal quickly. and learn to ride before trying again 😉

Oh my word.

You riding too fast – never 😉

Mend soon.

Bunnyhop x

Heal quickly and commiserations on the injury geetee. I too imagined that it was down from the graveyard to WB CP from your OP.

My cousin has just paralysed himself in a fall so all this injury news is making me a wuss – ok even more of a wuss!!

Best wishes from a local rider.

TH

Graveyard, that’s it.

Dreadful news about your cousin, sorry to hear.

I’m pretty wussy nowadays, I’ve served my bike-related hospital time in abundance, used up a chunk of luck, and have sworn never again.

Being injured is very over-rated.

Healing Vibes , I broke my collarbone then on my first ride back at Glentress tore some ligaments. Ended up buying a road bike and going in the huff about my shite mtb bike skills.
Slowly getting back into it now though.

Thanks for all the positive comments. The trail is called Nothing Special and doesn’t go near the graveyard which I pressume is the one on pitch?

My problem is that I don’t like riding at 8 or 9 tenths. I always end up going ten tenths and sometimes turn it up to eleven! I HAVE to learn to ride a few notches back. Turning Strava off may be a start!

Ended up buying a road bike and going in the huff about my shite mtb bike skills.

IMO road riding is way more dangerous. At least my injuries on my MTB have been my fault.

which I pressume is the one on pitch?

y .. was just guessing from “last 10 metres of trail dropping down to the car park”

It’s fairly rooty, slippy and unpleasant the bit I’m thinking of. (The mile of trail to get there is all good fun).

Healing vibed Geetee. 😀

If the weather is like its down here,you wont miss much.

My wife has bought me a day with you for my 40th but I think that might have to wait a while now!

that makes two of us that have had to delay because of broken bones.

Jedi do you have many cancellations because of injurys?

Oh and I just got a road bike too to get my fitness back up by the end of the year. I can ride but I keep getting carried away on my MTB, I keep trying to jump things when I’m supposed to be riding gently. It’s not doing my ankle any good at all.

Get well soon GT.