Off road riding without injury

andy_welch

Just wondering whether it is possible to enjoy riding off road without doing yourself and injury.

Reading these pages (and the various MTB mags) it would seem that crashes and fairly serious injuries are just a fact of life when riding off road. Everybody seems to have a tale to tell of some nasty injury or other. OK, there is bound to be a bit of boasting about such things. I mean, you've had to put up with the pain anyway so might as well use it to show how tough you are (even if you did cry like a baby at the time ). But it's probably pretty off-putting for newcomers to the sport and does leave me wondering whether anybody has ridden for any decent amount of time without crashing.

I've spent most of the last dozen years riding on the road., OK, you get some pretty horrible crashes on the road and probably more deaths than you get off-road, but I never had the feeling that a crash was an inevitable price to pay for my riding enjoyment. Rather I felt that, as long as I didn't do anything silly, I could cut the risk of crashing down to an almost negligible level and still have fun.

Similarly with skiing. It has its risks and the odd fall is inevitable, but I've never felt the need to don protective gear to hit the slopes any only personally know of one person who seriously hurt themselves (and they were skiing like an idiot and hit somebody else). All the other folk I know have racked up many years on the slopes with nothing more than the odd bruise. But it does seem with MTB riding that you have to accept that sooner or later you are going to get hurt, which takes some of the fun away (for me).

Cheers,

Andy

Majski

Mountain biking is always going to involve a level of risk. But if you know your levels then the risk is calculated and it becomes up to you how much you want to push it. Accidents, however, are just a way of life with every sport.

Yacoby

I wouldn't say mountain biking is any more risky than anything else. I have been riding XC for a year or so and got a few cuts and grazes. But then other sports have the same thing, take dingy sailing. I have seen people get stuck under boats, seen people end up face down in the water unconscious and most weeks of sailing I would come away bruised and often with a couple of cuts. You get the adrenaline kicks but that comes from risk.

If you were always within your limits, you probably wouldn't have any problems at all. But where is the fun in that?

But it does seem with MTB riding that you have to accept that sooner or later you are going to get hurt, which takes some of the fun away (for me).

Crash /= Hurt

Every crash I have had I have got up and laughed about it. If I had been wearing knee pads I wouldn't even have anything to show for it.

Bikehawk

Sorry but I'd have to say yes and no. If you ride well within your capabilities then you are very unlikely to get hurt bar a few minor spills :? . Unfortunetly when out MTB'ing the adrenaline gets pumping and before you know it you're hurling yourself around corners, over stuff and along fairly narrow rough tracks far faster than prudence dictates as being safe but that's the joy of it . As has been stated in other posts "if you're not falling off then you're not trying hard enough". Seriously though MTB'ing is like any other outdoor activity with it's inherent dangers but they should not stop anyone from enjoying themselves.

andy_welch

Yacoby wrote:

I wouldn't say mountain biking is any more risky than anything else. I have been riding XC for a year or so and got a few cuts and grazes. But then other sports have the same thing, take dingy sailing. I have seen people get stuck under boats, seen people end up face down in the water unconscious and most weeks of sailing I would come away bruised and often with a couple of cuts. You get the adrenaline kicks but that comes from risk.

But do dingy sailing magazines have a section to glorify these accidents and award a prize for the most horrific looking injury? Of course all sports (and all of life for that matter) has its risks. But Mountain Biking seems to glory in it like no other as far as I can tell, which I'm not sure does much to encourage newcomers.

Cheers,

Andy

Majski

andy_welch wrote:

Yacoby wrote:

I wouldn't say mountain biking is any more risky than anything else. I have been riding XC for a year or so and got a few cuts and grazes. But then other sports have the same thing, take dingy sailing. I have seen people get stuck under boats, seen people end up face down in the water unconscious and most weeks of sailing I would come away bruised and often with a couple of cuts. You get the adrenaline kicks but that comes from risk.

But do dingy sailing magazines have a section to glorify these accidents and award a prize for the most horrific looking injury? Of course all sports (and all of life for that matter) has its risks. But Mountain Biking seems to glory in it like no other as far as I can tell, which I'm not sure does much to encourage newcomers.

Cheers,

Andy

I seriously wouldn't worry about hurting yourself. Just take it easy and have fun. If you're worried buy some shin pads + elbow pads and you'll be reet.

As for the bits in the magazines, just ignore them?

warpcow

So read a different magazine? There's only one I know of that has the feature you describe, all the others manage to fill their pages with something more interesting. You should also take into account that people who ride bikes for a living are more likely to have more, and maybe more serious, accidents; same with skiing, road-riding, etc.

ilovedirt

andy_welch wrote:

Yacoby wrote:

I wouldn't say mountain biking is any more risky than anything else. I have been riding XC for a year or so and got a few cuts and grazes. But then other sports have the same thing, take dingy sailing. I have seen people get stuck under boats, seen people end up face down in the water unconscious and most weeks of sailing I would come away bruised and often with a couple of cuts. You get the adrenaline kicks but that comes from risk.

But do dingy sailing magazines have a section to glorify these accidents and award a prize for the most horrific looking injury? Of course all sports (and all of life for that matter) has its risks. But Mountain Biking seems to glory in it like no other as far as I can tell, which I'm not sure does much to encourage newcomers.

Cheers,

Andy

You might as well laugh about it, otherwise it's like some sort of taboo... I love watching a good crash, and I usually end up laughing about my own. There's no point trying to deny that crashes happen, it's a part of riding. I tend to crash probably every 3 or 4 rides, some times more seriously than others. I know that if I'm not pushing myself, then I'm much less likely to crash, but where's the fun in that?

Anonymous

Most of it doesn't require loads of protection and you can happily MTB away with no more than a lid for protection just as with skiing (okay, loads still don't wear lids skiing, but depends where you go. Nearly universal now in North America where I mainly ski, in part because kids are required to wear them and that's encouraged adults, and more with the snowboarders who now see it as trendy).

You still get the odd 'offs' in less adventurous MTB, with some OTB moments much like you have the odd fall skiing. It's just the ground is harder and the fall often bigger than on the snow. Though with snowboarding you get more of an OTB effect when you catch an edge (bust my wrist doing that. Friend of mine bust his collarbone this year doing the same). With skis you have a relatively stable position to avoid falls that cause much damage. Though when things go wrong at speed they can be nasty. Head into a tree (saw someone killed this way, even with a helmet), into someone's head, or more typically leg twists, spiral fracture nastyness, bust ribs (done that a few times).

But even walking can be risky. Parent does group walks, slipped on a walk, came down hard on the shoulder and needed surgery to pin it back together. A few others in their group have had the odd tumble I believe.

What MTB does though is encourage risk taking as you get addicted to it. After a while doing tame little rides, you want more or get bored, then ride with more adventurous people and the trails get more technical and serious, and you find it an experience and fun, and it builds up from there. Next thing you know you're doing steep twisty DH descents, jumps and big drops. That's when you do something beyond you ability and end up in hospital

Skiing just generally doesn't give you these opportunities. Many can go year after year on trips and just do tame little jaunts around well groomed gentle slopes and enjoy the apres. The snow equivalent of going out for pootles on fireroads and bridleways and beer after

andy_welch

ilovedirt wrote:

I know that if I'm not pushing myself, then I'm much less likely to crash, but where's the fun in that?

deadkenny wrote:

What MTB does though is encourage risk taking as you get addicted to it. After a while doing tame little rides, you want more or get bored, )

Is this true for everybody? Can you only continue to enjoy riding off road by taking bigger risks?

Cheers,

Andy

mar_k

The urge to go bigger and higher is always there for me,
Im only just getting back into MTBs after a huge break from my teens and already I am
trying to go bigger and harder.

Its just so addictive

ilovedirt

andy_welch wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

I know that if I'm not pushing myself, then I'm much less likely to crash, but where's the fun in that?

deadkenny wrote:

What MTB does though is encourage risk taking as you get addicted to it. After a while doing tame little rides, you want more or get bored, )

Is this true for everybody? Can you only continue to enjoy riding off road by taking bigger risks?

Cheers,

Andy

You tell me?!

andy_welch

ilovedirt wrote:

You tell me?!

Well I can't tell you whether you can only enjoy it by taking bigger risks But since you asked, personally, I've always been as inspired by a technical (or just a tough) climb as a technical or steep descent. Guess that's just the roadie in me. I suspect that there are others for whom all technical challenges take second place to the scenery (in fact that's me too on some days). Maybe others are motivated by other things and I've certainly got nothing against those who like to take risks. It just seems that the risk taking technical side tends to dominate on forums such as this.

Cheers

Andy

ilovedirt

Not everyone on here is a downhill demon, but I guess wanting to do bigger/gnarlier stuff comes with the sport. There are plenty of people who are perfectly happy pootling around at a moderate pace though as you say. If you don't want to take risks, you don't have to, that's the beauty of it!

Anonymous

Technical climbs result in injuries too. Had an embarrassing tumble climbing Whites. I blame those big long bars . Wiggling the bike round a rock corner, lost balance and next thing I knew I was tumbling down the drop to the side of me.

Stu Coops

Bikehawk wrote:

Sorry but I'd have to say yes and no. If you ride well within your capabilities then you are very unlikely to get hurt bar a few minor spills :? . Unfortunetly when out MTB'ing the adrenaline gets pumping and before you know it you're hurling yourself around corners, over stuff and along fairly narrow rough tracks far faster than prudence dictates as being safe but that's the joy of it . As has been stated in other posts "if you're not falling off then you're not trying hard enough". Seriously though MTB'ing is like any other outdoor activity with it's inherent dangers but they should not stop anyone from enjoying themselves.

This post nails it

Yacoby

andy_welch wrote:

ilovedirt wrote:

I know that if I'm not pushing myself, then I'm much less likely to crash, but where's the fun in that?

deadkenny wrote:

What MTB does though is encourage risk taking as you get addicted to it. After a while doing tame little rides, you want more or get bored, )

Is this true for everybody? Can you only continue to enjoy riding off road by taking bigger risks?

Cheers,

Andy

No, the risk of messing up is always the same. You just get better, go faster and so when you come off you hit the ground harder.

cooldad

I am quite old compared to most here, and when I come off I don't bounce anymore, I splat, it hurts and takes longer and longer to heal. But saying that, I rarely come off on serious stuff (probably because I am wise, and TBH ride like a pussy)
My worst accident over the last few years, which got the paramedics out, and a trip to A&E was a stupid lapse of concentration on a fireroad, just pootling along between fun bits, hit a root and ouch.
I just try and ride within my capabilities and my mates just wait for me at the bottom. If the guys want to do heroic jumps etc I just have a smoke break and spectate. Just have fun and don't try and prove anything.
But you will fall off. I'd rather do it on the trail though, than the road.

felix.london

The buzz, thrill, whatever of the ride for me (and this goes for snowboarding too) is finding the really challenging runs, that push me to the limits of my ability (a little bit of fear is good for the soul ). This can be hiking with my snowboard on my back along a ridge or climbing up to a 2000m+ col on the bike but neither of these things touch the feeling I get when I come down again! And searching for this feeling will inevitably result in the odd tumble. But I'd say it's a price worth paying.

Whenever I fall on bike or board it's because I'm not concentrating.

I try not too take too many risks (these days)...2 kids and a slightly wiser head will do that to a man.

YeehaaMcgee

andy_welch wrote:

Just wondering whether it is possible to enjoy riding off road without doing yourself and injury.

Reading these pages (and the various MTB mags) it would seem that crashes and fairly serious injuries are just a fact of life when riding off road. Everybody seems to have a tale to tell of some nasty injury or other. OK, there is bound to be a bit of boasting about such things. I mean, you've had to put up with the pain anyway so might as well use it to show how tough you are (even if you did cry like a baby at the time ). But it's probably pretty off-putting for newcomers to the sport and does leave me wondering whether anybody has ridden for any decent amount of time without crashing.

If you're worried about hurting yourself, then go find something else. The risk of crashing it what gets the adrenaline pumping.

gezebo

Of course its possible to enjoy mtn biking without injury. You ride at a speed which you enjoy and can control. It doesn't matter what other people do, you may be faster or you may be slower. Who cares?

On a side note coming to any sport in later life generally means that your level of proficiency will not be as high as if you started at a younger age which may suggest why a lot of middle aged people end up hurting themselves!

ilovedirt

This pinkbike article seems relevant btw (and a good read).

JayMartin333

When i used to go dirt jumping I would push myself past my limits everyday a lot of the time resulting in a tumble, 95% of the time I got back up without a second thought, most crashes don't hurt to the point where you should seriously fear them, that's the exciting part! The rare occasion of bad pain was usually forgot about in a few days, worst being two cracked ribs which lasted a good few weeks, when I was no longer in pain got back on the bike an nailed what I messed up last time, can't beat that rush!

YeehaaMcgee

ilovedirt wrote:

This pinkbike article seems relevant btw (and a good read).

Ha, that sums it all up perfectly

smack148

i like the fact that falling is just part of MTB'ing. nobody looks down there nose if you face plant, we all fall off. most spills aren't too bad in terms of injury. Part of life. smoking kills 50% of participants. doesn't stop Cooldad having a smoke break. when you're late for a ride you might push the speedo on the car up a bit (a lot). crashing above 70mph doesn't stop us, although it will undoubtabley kill you - stone dead. So go with it, whats the worst that could happen. you do'nt crash and slowly instantly & die piece by piece anyway......let go the brakes

delcol

i call it progression.. to progress at any sport you have to push your self and leave your comfort zone.. this will result in cashes and will lead to injuries at times.. i bet there's not a pro out there that's at the top of their game that has not had some kind injury as a result of crashing...

in 4 years of riding i have had my fair share of offs, but i only suffered 2 nasty injuries, one was totally my own fault being a knob and jumping in near 20mph gales which resulted in me breaking my clavicle and dislocating my shoulder.
and the other was a accident were i dislocated my finger,,, both accidents were last year. i'm sure i was jinxed last year...

andy_welch

Thanks for the responses folks. It's interesting to hear other peoples' experiences. A couple of you do seem quite keen to dictate how others should enjoy themselves, which is quite funny. When you consider how easily accessible and varied the act of riding your bike off road can be it seems strange that anybody would want to define it so narrowly. But you come across that in all areas of life I guess. Those who will say "do it my way or you are doing it wrong" or who simply can't comprehend that the world isn't made in their image.

Another assumption that is relevant here is that everybody rides with "their mates". I'm sure I'm not the only person who likes to ride natural trails on their own. Obviously you are going to take more risks with a group to egg you on and if it goes wrong at least there is somebody there to scrape you off the trail. If you are out on a natural trail on your own then you have a whole different set of questions to ask: do I know this trail ? (you can't assume that what is just out of sight will be ridable); is anybody else likely to come along before it gets dark? how far will I have to go to get help (or even a signal on my phone)? does anybody know where I am? will anybody take care of the kids if I don't pick them up tonight? can I afford a few weeks off work? do I care ?

Mind you, I've been enjoying riding bikes (on and off road) for 40 odd years now and can only recall three crashes that caused more than a scratch or bruise. All on road as it happens. So I guess I'm managing the risks pretty well so far.

Happy riding.

Cheers,

Andy

cooldad

smack148 wrote:

i like the fact that falling is just part of MTB'ing. nobody looks down there nose if you face plant, we all fall off. most spills aren't too bad in terms of injury. Part of life. smoking kills 50% of participants. doesn't stop Cooldad having a smoke break. when you're late for a ride you might push the speedo on the car up a bit (a lot). crashing above 70mph doesn't stop us, although it will undoubtabley kill you - stone dead. So go with it, whats the worst that could happen. you do'nt crash and slowly instantly & die piece by piece anyway......let go the brakes

I have now switched to electronic cigs, so I'll live forever.

YeehaaMcgee

andy_welch wrote:

A couple of you do seem quite keen to dictate how others should enjoy themselves, which is quite funny. When you consider how easily accessible and varied the act of riding your bike off road can be it seems strange that anybody would want to define it so narrowly. But you come across that in all areas of life I guess. Those who will say "do it my way or you are doing it wrong" or who simply can't comprehend that the world isn't made in their image.

Isn't that, precisely what you're doing as well?

andy_welch wrote:

Another assumption that is relevant here is that everybody rides with "their mates".

Now you're making assumptions. Some of us are arseholes, and have no friends to ride with.

you have a whole different set of questions to ask: do I know this trail ? (you can't assume that what is just out of sight will be ridable); is anybody else likely to come along before it gets dark? how far will I have to go to get help (or even a signal on my phone)? does anybody know where I am? will anybody take care of the kids if I don't pick them up tonight? can I afford a few weeks off work? do I care ?

And yet, some of us it appears, enjoy the risks, and don't drive ourselves mad worrying about things before they've happened.
Everybody dies eventually. Some die sooner than others. You mught die of exposure after a bad crash, or you might get run over by a truck whilst crossing the road to pick your kids up.
Quit worrying about it and just live your life.

Of course, CD will never die. Well, not anymore anyway.

ilovedirt

andy_welch wrote:

Another assumption that is relevant here is that everybody rides with "their mates". I'm sure I'm not the only person who likes to ride natural trails on their own. Obviously you are going to take more risks with a group to egg you on

Riding for me is very much a social thing, so you're right. I'm always riding with mates egging each other on to do things and be faster than each other. At the end of the day though, the british MTB scene is very race oriented, particularly downhill (which I've gotten more and more into over the last year), and it would be daft to ignore that.

But as Yeehaa said; surely you're dictating the way we should ride our bikes as well? I'm happy to ride my bike and push my limits, and occasionally (frequently) I'll crash and hurt myself. But if you're happy to just pootle along at your own pace, not pushing your limits or whatever, I'll not look down my nose at you. It takes progression and people going bigger and faster to progress the sport though, it's the same in every extreme sport. The fun for me is the fact that I'm pushing myself, riding sections faster, hitting new things and generally progressing my riding.

andy_welch

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Isn't that, precisely what you're doing as well?

I don't think so. Or at least not intentionally. I try to avoid making statements such as:

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

Quit worrying about it and just live your life.

without at least adding "in my opinion it's better to" or something.

But just to be clear. If you enjoy taking bigger and bigger risks and are happy to live with the fact that sooner or later you will get hurt. That's fine by me. There are no doubt those who would say that heading out to a remote trail without telling anybody where you are going and attempting things beyond your comfort zone is irresponsible. But it floats my boat and truth be told I probably push my envelope as much as most folk (I've just tended to get away with it so far). I just wondered whether there was an alternative i.e. whether anybody had found a way to enjoy this great pastime in such a way that it wasn't inevitable that sooner or later they were going to hurt themselves.

Cheers,

Andy