I had one of those ‘catching a handlebar when pinning it’ moments last night, with the requisite over the bars tumble (down the trail through a selection of saplings) and bar a mildly bruised shoulder came out of it fine. That got me thinking how when I’ve had one of those ‘unlucky random factor’ or ‘pushing the limits just that bit too far when you’re in the zone’ crashes I’ve come out of them pretty well, whilst when I’ve had an “omg, I’m way out of my depth, aarghhhh” crash it’s tended to result in a far greater amount of pain/damage to my person.

Anyone else noticed a correlation?

Not noticed it but it makes sense. If you are relaxed you’ll usually come off better than if you are stiff and tense.

Luck seems to play more part than skill in my experience. Of course, the better you get, the faster/higher you go, so the potential and kinetic energy of the situation is likely to be bigger than when you are mincing along. However, you can often bounce a long way down the trail and get up competely uninjured, other times, a little fall and crunch, it’s a horror show (says the man sitting typing this with a couple of stitches in his right elbow….. 😉

Not sure – the crashes that stick in my mind are the ones that hurt and cause lasting damage, the ones where I came away unscathed I’ve forgotten about.

Generally the better I’m riding, the faster I’m going if I crash. But yeah, now I think of it all my worst crashes have come at times when I’m taking it relatively easy

Crashes tend to be bigger, the better I’m riding. Always nice to get away withy them though every now & then 🙂

I haven’t crashed properly yet and every time I see a thread like this I start thinking my days are numbered 🙂

I have this – feel like I am riding in the zone, bike and body very dynamic, riding feels smooth and then bang. Normally front wheel wipe out or OTB. Always slight feeling of premonition

Everybody crashes sooner or later, but not everybody gets hurt. Some folk seem to get away with it. Says the man nursing a fractured humerus!

Yes generally if im feeling not tip top or strangely tired I obviously ride slower and take far less risks. Not had a big crash ‘in the zone’ yet though.

yep pretty much all the bad accidents I’ve had is when I’m really not trying to push the bike very hard, just happy to hang on to the bike.

I think partly its down to what Roverpig says, if you’re in the groove, pinning it down the trail, then usually you’re quite relaxed. Also confidence is quite high so I tend to perform actions like I really mean them and end up using better technique too. So when I do crash I’m usually in a stable position and the outcome isn’t so bad.

When I’m kacking my pants down a trail I can start to use bad technique and when it does go wrong chances are I’m not in a stable position and it ends in all kinds of badness.

I haven’t crashed properly yet and every time I see a thread like this I start thinking my days are numbered

You must be doing it wrong!