Broken radius. Shattered thumb. Broken elbow. Fractured vertebrae. Broken ribs. Separated shoulder. Concussions. Stitches. Abrasions. Bruises. My tally of cycling-related injuries over the last twenty years keeps growing, and I'd be willing to bet there are plenty of mountain bikers out there with similar or even more painful-sounding lists. I don't consider myself particularly accident prone, it's just that when you ride as much as possible every week, year after year, eventually gravity catches up and delivers a knockout punch. And it's not as if those injuries are the result of an Evil Knievel-like disregard for my body's limitations – most of them occurred on trails I'd ridden dozens of times before, until a little extra speed, muddy conditions, or fading daylight conspired to smack me to the ground.
I've become a little superstitious after all of these beatings, and nowadays I start to get worried if I haven't crashed in a while. The way I see it (a way that isn't statistically correct, but that my brain still believes) is that a crash is likely to occur every X number of rides. Each ride past that mystical number is a dance with the devil, and eventually the statistics win. Emerging unscathed from a crash still resets my imaginary inevitable-crash counter, and means I won't need to worry about eating dirt for a little while. This superstition sounds slightly crazy, and it probably is, but it's best the way I've come up with to push aside worries about injuries and focus on the ride.
After an injury occurs (and they will – even the most timid mountain biker is guaranteed to get a scrape or bruise at some point in time), the next step is the hardest – finding the patience to deal with the healing process. I'm used to the slightly disappointed look on my doctor's face when I try to get him to form a cast around a bike grip, or when I accidentally admit that I've been riding off-road weeks before getting the official green light. I like to think that I've become better at waiting the recommended amount of time before hopping back on my bike, but I'm still never going to be in the running for the title of 'World's Most Obedient Patient.'
Trying to explain to non-cyclists why you have a cast on your wrist or a brace on your knee can be frustrating at times – for much of the world, the idea of willingly plummeting down a mountain aboard a bike seems crazy, or at least something that's best left to energy-drink addled preteens. For the non-indoctrinated, mountain bikes are still seen as toys, playthings best left behind once a driver's license is obtained. It's easy to forget how silly the sport that many of us hold near and dear can seem to those who haven't experienced the pure, unfiltered joy that comes from rocketing through the woods at full speed, railing through perfect corners and blasting off of immaculately shaped jumps.
As the oft-quoted Hunter S. Thompson once wrote, “Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming 'Wow! What a Ride!'” Carpal tunnel syndrome from too much time on the computer? A body shaped by the office chair it resides in? No thanks – I'd rather have scars with stories behind them, battle wounds earned from a life shaped by mountain biking and all the adventures that accompany it.
Ill take A. I cant stand the "here for a good time not a long time" mentality, im here for both.
Having to change Jobs for not being able to attend work for at least 3 months might be another downside...
I got a friend who crashed himself out on literally EVERY bike park visit and Enduro race over the last two years, not talking about crashes in the local woods, to a point where nobody wanted to take him for a weekend. Now he is out for at least half a year with multiple shoulder and wrist surgery ahead of him for never getting that stuff to heal properly. One way to go through your life but I'll stick to the other way when I am back on my bike.
It is usually hesitating, second guessing and too much brake that cause most crashes...assuming you are not doing something stupid / high risk.
If Dad is paying your medical bills. I would have thought that way when I was a teenager, too.
You just don't know what you don't know.
Gets to bike park and realizes was statistically supposed to crash last trip. Hops on bike and tips over in parking lot. Yells out "that counts" and thinks to self, "whew that was close".
I think going balls to the walls constantly is for youths. I prefer to ride at 80% of my abilities most of the time.
^this!
www.pinkbike.com/video/398562
buy the ticket, take the ride.
the self righteous MTB monoculture gets old when the author has to put down others to convince himself of the importance of his own time, expense, effort, and dedication to something that is becoming an "industry" more than a counterculture/alternative pursuit of leisure and pleasure
MTB is just as much faked brand loyalty, marketing, advertising, unethical and questionable production processes, short termism, retail hell, disposable purchasing, support of third world labour abuses, questionable environmentalism, and much more
too much time fully immersed in the world of MTB denies you an objective view of the world
tL;dr not to MTB is not "bad"
Then comes the archetype of a hero. Another unreal object in our MTB lives. Since I understood how it works I have developed alot of compassion for "fans of the sport" and at the same time a certain level of disregard to pro athletes, because they no longer inspire me and I truly believe there is very little water in their job of "inspiring" and "entertaining" people. The fact that someone can do onething very well no longer impresses me, because how much less impressive is a combination of skills? I learned to appreciate what I do at the office, and what I have learned. I serve humanity on so many levels, almost everyone does.
As to crashing, that's very impressive and interesting to a kid but sorry, get kids yourself Mike. As much as I learn from these pitiful crashes and unimpressive injuries, I don't fkng care if I go with a bang or not. When you have a 4 and 2 year old at home you really appreciate lack of injury or any form of sickness. When you walk around house on painkillers with limited movement and two monsters crave for your attention you feel like you are dying, like they are sucking days off your life, tearing the very fabric of what keeps your heart beating. And then you watch your spouse getting tired and wasted for having one more kid at home. It's a very high price to pay and saying that it's worth it, is only a way of dealing with it. No medals will ever be given as the Pale Blue dot flies through the universe. Make whatever you want from it, but hell, the idea that there is dome universal law making someone's way of life worth more than anothers is as delusional as it is common. Someone has to do the grind, someone has to make the light bulbs shine and chain lube come into the bottle and their lives have little to do with inspirational, cheesy "factory visit".
All we can do is to enjoy the ride and the first crime against it, is feeling like you'd like to be in someone elses shoes. I said it numerous times - I value lady cleaning toilets at my ofgice higher than World Champ in DH. Because she affects my life. Everyday. I have no intention to save her from this supposedly horrible existence, by becoming FB friends with her and sending her some motivational bullsht from a Yoga teacher like: it's not about errors of yesterday but possibilities of tommorrow. I'm just saying thank you to her. That's the best thing I can do. Or would she be happier in a promo with GT racing team?
We all have injuries, some are sustained by hitting the ground, and some by a deadline at work, or by disease of our family member. It's just a fkng hobby of a life form on the surface of a Pale Blue dot.
I try to calm down my riding as much as I can but when I get in the state of mind (concentration level that is) that I ride best I forget everything, kids, wife, work, problems.
I suppose that is the best thing with action sports and that is the factor that clears your brain every time you have a good ride.
What I try to do is ride wisely that is not taking jumps, drops and risks on trails that I havent checked the same day but even this is hard to me....
Maybe i'm just a fool....
OK there you have my morning psycotherapy...
Thanks again man!
Note on "yolo" : only one life means as much "do crazy stuff or you will regret it" as it means "be careful because this is your only life". Life is too short to spend it in a hospital!
As for the riding. Be smart. Meaning make you comfort zone bigger by extending it from inside as you put it down already. Get fit. Stretch as much as you can. And take small steps. You're 30 yo, so you must have some "riding wisdom" already. You know what to do and when.
This article strikes a chord with me too having had my last big crash 2 weeks ago and statistically it was due. My stats say I crash big twice a year. I rationalise this by saying to progress you must push and pushing your limits often involves crashing. It’s a price I’m prepared to pay to keep improving as getting better, going faster, riding gnarlier lines, hitting bigger jumps is what I love about Mountain biking. Let’s face it “if you aren’t crashing you aren’t trying” some ride “safe” and within their limits and still enjoy their biking, it’s just not the way I ride. I’ve made it to 55 and am riding harder than ever, I hope I have another 10yrs of hard riding ahead but I am all too aware that shredding is age limited. I intend to make the most of the next 10 years and continue to push my riding accepting the crashes ahead. As others have said not being able to ride is way more painful than the injuries but I have learnt not to get back on the Bike too early. I assess new jumps and trail features to minimise the risks but accidents will always happen.
Life is for living, get out and try something new and challenging on your bike, crashing isn’t failure is all part of progressing.
Came off yesterday at Antur trying a new line and at 51 should have known better and stuck to the easier one!
But like you,I'm riding harder than ever,wouldn't have it any other way,I'd get bored,lose concentration and crash even more!
Sore hand today,so a lot of ice should do the trick so i can go racing on Sunday!
Heal up soon! the sun is still shining in Gods own
Injury list, if anyone cares, is: broken elbow, humorous, tibia, fibula, the 4 big bones in my foot, cracked a rib, bruised a rib, broke a toe, dislocated my hip, separated my shoulder, separated a rib from my spine, lacerated my spleen, 2 hernias, 3 concussions, and more. Always forget the whole list. Countless stitches and cuts but I don't tend to count those.
Then later the with the soreness come the flashbacks come of the tibial plateau fracture, smashed patella, fractured ribs, clavicle, wrist, and all the other injuries associated with the daily beatings; and what you gonna do? Tomorrows long ride day!
I've been MTN Biking for over 20 years now and the one thing I've learned well is that the more I ride the better I get. Crashes come when you feel you dominate one stage and you want to pass into the next. In the real world (that real boring world of everything else rather than MTN Biking) they call it "learning from the experience".
So... if you wanna get better, learn from your crashes and take your time to step onto the next stage.
Cheers,
Yeah you play the game long enough, sure enough sooner or later it kicks your ass! Ive been riding for the best part of almost 2 decades now as well, i've had my fair share of big offs small scrapes and such, its all part of the game, its all a drawn out risk assessment, yeah you can do all you want to mitigate the inevitable but sooner or later it'll catch up the odds are forever against you.
Few days ago, I was riding the same old trails flat out as usual, that same jump that i've hit and cleared 100x over, but this time for some reason my right foot slipped of the pedal and the crank dug into the take off of the jump and catapulted me into the air landing me unceremoniously on my head/back/ass, yeah i'm seriously stiff, sore, bloody, bruised and swollen, but like every other knock down, i'll do my time i'll let the wounds heal, and then i'll get right back at it, its just one of the many prices we pay as riders, sometimes we pay with blood and pride not just money, sooner you realise that the stronger of a rider you will be.
Yup, just had a crash a couple of days ago on the most benign part of the trail (washed out the front end because I couldn't perceive the absence of a bank during a turn... that's what happens when your depth perception is worse with age). Anyway, I've got road rash in places I shouldn't, and my body aches, but nothing's broken.
But what I got out of that crash was as long as I stay within 100% (or much lower), and barring any freak circumstance, I shouldn't worry too much about consequences because consequences will ALWAYS be a part of riding, especially when you ride responsibly and take measured risks.
Rubber side down, bros. =)
That being said, I still crash, but usually it's just scrapes and bruises instead of broken bones. At least for the last couple years anyways... "superstitious knock on wood"
The down time is very painful and very hard. Plus the fact that once I'm mostly healed Ill have lost a ton of fitness that ill have to work to regain.
All I know is, however shitty the first climb will be, the descent will be hella sweet!
Longest 2 months of my life!
When the dr tells you "there's a chance you may never have full and proper use of that foot again" it really makes you sit back and ponder if this wild world of mtbing with the mud, the blood and the beers is worth the risk.
But then I see my bike sitting there parked up in my room looking all sexy and dangerous, teasing me to ride her again, that slaps me back to reality quick smart.
Can't wait to rider that buckin b*!ch again!!
Luckily, I never had any serious crash. Most of my falling happened on familiar tracks, I think this is because my awareness lowers when confidence increases. It's important to always focus on the path, since it's never exactly the same.
I can break bones and be a happy 80 year old with shitty joints & f*cked up x rays, but I can't get to that point if I end up like my father, with a form of dementia at 55 & being completely incapacitated at 58. While there's no evidence his was caused by head injuries (of which he had many) it very well may be related to the many chemicals he was exposed to growing up & working around (of which, there were also many).
As much as it seems like some crashes arent a big deal, when you ring your bell well enough, youre putting your future self at risk. Which is why that even though it hurt my wallet I dropped some cash on a new MIPS helmet when i had a bad enough spill.
With the connected world we live in & the adored athletes we spend our time following well into retirement, we will see these people become afflicted with these mental disabilities in a way that was not possible before. It's going to suck.
That said, I dont think my Dad would have wanted me to have fewer scars. Just better gear & maybe a little more fear.
Not sure what its like in other parts of the world, but when theres too many injuries on one trail it either gets dumbed down or closed for good.
In my younger years I used to ride with some real kamikaze pilots, I'm glad I dont anymore.
Ride with what feels natural even if that is pinned and your skills will work in your favor.
I've still got two long purplish scars going up my left arm from getting aquainted with a tree this summer. They're fun to show off every now and then.
*Writes in notepad, "try harder, crash more"
keep on keepin on.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jes-iZzy_Tk