First trip to A&E, will it be my last?

Stu 74 · November 2008

Well its been a few months since my last crash and as I'm driving to Penmachno yesterday afternoon I'm wondering whether I'm going to hurt myself on the ride. I do this on the way to every ride because deep down I know that at some point riding a mountain bike fast over rough narrow terrain is going to end in tears.

While it was a lovely afternoon for riding, the trail was quite wet with a few small patches of mud scattered about. Had a few twitchy moments on the first bits of singletrack but soon got into my rhythm.

Got to the first decent downhill section and started attacking the drops and humps with confidence and lots of enjoyment. Had a bit of a sketchy moment when I tried to clear two drops at a time but nothing that was going to stop me hammering the next section.

Started on the next section which consists of fast flowing narrow singletrack full of humps which I normally like to get air off. Just had my Pike forks 'Pushed' which seems to make the forks more efficient at soaking up the bumps and hence makes the bike faster over the rough stuff.

Was thinking to myself "sh!t I'm going fast" but the demon in my head was saying "keep going you are in control". Was just lining myself up to get air off a hump next to a tree stump when the next thing I see the front wheel sliding out under me and immediately afterwards I'm flying through the air thinking to myself "oh f%ck this is going to hurt!".

It did!

Damage to Bike - handlebars and seat post rotated (fixed OK), will inspect rest when I get a chance.

Damaged to me - grazed left arm and shoulder. grazed leg. Soon to be a big bruise on my thigh and an even bigger one on my arse and to round it off some severly bruised or cracked ribs. Going to be confined to the house all weekend as even walking hurts my ribs

I think I know what caused the crash - as I took a wider line to get maximum pop off the hump, my front wheel just strayed into a patch of slippy mud on the side of the trail as I was turning. The front wheel then slid into the path of the tree stump which sent me over the bars. I landed a good 10- 15 feet from the tree stump.

Fortunately I knew of a shortcut which allowed me to ride back to the car in about 15 minutes, every small bump that my bike went over caused sharp pain in the left side of my chest.

Won't be riding for at least a few weeks but what I'm asking myself is how I'm going to approach my riding in the future. I don't get a buzz unless I'm going fast but at the same time I don't want to cause myself a serious injury or worse in the process.

Would be interested to hear how people deal with this dilemna?

I love mountain biking but yesterday reminded me just how dangerous it can be.

Stu

stubs · November 2008

Dont know what bike you ride but if your worried about going too fast downhill get your self a hardtail with short travel forks that will slow you down a bit

Wont stop you crashing but the crashes might not be so bad.

I had a Saracen Zen long travel hardtail bike and I was taking way too many risks and having too many crashes. My last near miss I bounced head over heels down a steep slope missing all the big rocks and just lost some bits of skin and chipped 2 teeth. I didnt realise how lucky I was till I scrambled back up the slope and saw it from the top. My legs went very wobbly. I decided I was too young to die and too old to crash.

I have sold the Zen and gone back to my On-one Scandal.

steve_1981 · November 2008

I think crashing like that is all part of the game we're in to be honest.

I beleive that we learn by making mistakes. I would keep riding the way you are (you obviously enjoy it a lot!) but when you get back out there just try and remember your stack and learn from it

It'll take you a little bit of time to get back to full confidence after a crash like that anyway.

Hope you heal soon!

steve_1981 · November 2008

I think crashing like that is all part of the game we're in to be honest.

I beleive that we learn by making mistakes. I would keep riding the way you are (you obviously enjoy it a lot!) but when you get back out there just try and remember your stack and learn from it

It'll take you a little bit of time to get back to full confidence after a crash like that anyway.

Hope you heal soon!

steve_1981 · November 2008

I think crashing like that is all part of the game we're in to be honest.

I beleive that we learn by making mistakes. I would keep riding the way you are (you obviously enjoy it a lot!) but when you get back out there just try and remember your stack and learn from it

It'll take you a little bit of time to get back to full confidence after a crash like that anyway.

Hope you heal soon!

Stu 74 · November 2008

Yes you might have a point there when you look at my crash / bike history.....

Rockhopper 100mm travel hard tail - 0 crashes in 6 months.
Rift Zone 100mm full suss - 1 crash in 12 months.
Wolf Ridge 140mm full suss - 4 crashes in 5 months!

I love my Wolf Ridge but it does make me ride faster. I think the biggest problem though is psychological, if I don't ride a particular section as fast as I have done in the past I feel like I am letting myself down somehow.

One of the reasons I bought the Wolf was to make riding rocks, jumps and drops safer but instead I'm just riding them faster!

Stu

steve_1981 · November 2008

Doh! :roll:

Why does this forum do that!?

grantway · November 2008

Best try some of the Trail centres has the routes are maintained to a degree
and get some pads etc and maybe a carbon full face

Speedy recovery

Northwind · November 2008

Do you get your buzz from outright speed, or from difficulty? If it's the former I don't think I've got anything to add, just be selective in your trail choice and try and keep the red mist down. And maybe better protective gear... But if it's the latter, then you can increase the challenge on any technical trail with a less competent bike. I know it sounds daft, but when your ride is giving you the confidence to do daft stuff, you'll do daft stuff, if it doesn't then maybe you won't. You mentioned the fork upgrade there as giving you that extra push, so it seems like the hardware is what's letting you push the safety margins.

Raymondavalon · November 2008

Stu,

Sorry to hear about your off, but as Steve days - all part of the sport
MTBing is all about calculated risks and seeing how hard/fast we can push ourselves.
Crashing tells us we've exceeded our capability or done something that's plain stupid

I had a nasty off in April this year on my Kona Kula HT that resulted in me being rewarded with 11 screws and plate in my lower right leg
As a personal reward for my efforts, I've now got myself an all mountain FS bike whiich I've ridden harder and faster than the Kula. So far, so good, the new Felt has been good to me, but I've had a few falls on it.

Stu, soon enough you'll be riding again, it's a great sport and there's nothing more rewarding than tacking a section that scared the crap out of you, setting a personal best time or a personal best distance.

Get well soon :¬)

dave_hill · November 2008

Stu 74 wrote:

Fortunately I knew of a shortcut which allowed me to ride back to the car in about 15 minutes, every small bump that my bike went over caused sharp pain in the left side of my chest.Stu

Did you actually go to A&E?

I know someone who cracked his ribs falling off his motocross bike. He thought that the shortness of breath was down to a broken rib and pain it was causing him breathing. His wife demanded that he go to A&E - where they found two broken ribs and a punctured lung!

If haven't been, go and get yourself checked out. Better safe than sorry!!

Larok · November 2008

I think you need to work on your expectations. They are the root of all disappointment!

Steve_b77 · November 2008

Mucho speed can often result in mucho pain.

There was a big group of us who rode the Syfydrin Trail on Saturday, out of the 13 only 2 crashed and one of them was a kinda comedy moment when you look back, the other could've been far worse.

ONe lad hit a rock drop and split his front tyre on the landing resulting in a big was out and falling onto the very rocks that cut the trye and inner tube, not good.

The other was caused by following too closely and a bit of pratting about, the lad just fell off into the stream running down the descent and was fine.

Longer travel does make you ride faster, but then again, speed on the down sis proper fun in my opinion.

At the weekend it was uber wet and the rocks were slippy but it still didn't stop me staying off the brakes on the rocky descents, getting off the back picking a line and going for it, if I'd come off it would've hurt lots, but thats part of the risk you take IMHO, I do wear a proper mountain helmet (Giro Hex), gloves with finger protectors and Kyle Strait Knee pads, but it'd still hurt.

downhillholty · November 2008

have you tried body armour !

Belphegor · November 2008

If I had ever come off my bike often and hard enough to remember it over a period of 2 years I would probably have bought some decent armour by now!

getdownmonkeyman · November 2008

Accidents happen!

Tootling down a bridleway scooted off to a bit of a mound. Wasn't hammering it, pothole covered by grass front wheel locked up straight over the top, one number sprung shoulder.

As I said, nothing more than an evening tootle.

Stu 74 · November 2008

Thanks for the support, advice and encouragment everyone - I appreciate it!

Well I'm feeling much better today than I did on Friday and Saturday. I'm getting about OK without too much pain but I think I will be sleeping on my back for a few more nights yet.

Dave HIll: Yes I did go to A&E where they checked my breathing etc. Wanted to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong.

I think the worst bit about the crash was the absolute horror of being thrown over the bars, at such high speed, without knowing why. All of my previous crashes followed a few seconds after the intial loss of control of the bike, thus giving me time to brake and prepare for the 'off'.

I don't think this crash was caused by poor bike control as such. It was caused by going too fast for my brain to process information about the dangers ahead - I didn't even see the mud patch until after the crash.

I've been telling myself that I'm going to slow down when I get back on the bike but I'm scared that I'm not going to be able to.

I just don't get the same buzz unless I'm pushing my limits.

However I've got a plan - less aggression, more finesse. Instead of going for pure speed and airtime I'm going to try and ride smoother with more style 8) Hopefully this will give me the enjoyment that I seek without the dangers!

Or maybe I should just go back to a hardtail?!

Stu

PS Just incase I change my mind

, can anyone recommend any body armour suitable for trail riding i.e not too bulky and very breathable (I get very hot!)