Dealing with injury risk

[fjohn860]

I have a healthy aversion to crashing and as a result my speed on the bike suffers.

But I don't let that bother me and I don't try and keep up with the faster guys I ride with (I do try on the up hills).

There is obviously risk in anything we do, especially mtb'ing but I know my limits and I stay well within them.

Sent from my INE-LX2 using Tapatalk

 

[leitch]

@leitch et al, wow, healing vibes.

Being prepared, strong and riding within your limits with managed risk is about as safe as you can get.

Should say that’s not me in the video, but I did find it interesting watching when he posted it up a few months back.

To be honest, I don’t really have much to relate to @ashes_mtb ’s position personally - I don’t have kids, my job isn’t dependent on my physical condition etc...

But @The Reverend ’s approach is my general approach. I had a handful of pretty solid concussions from bikes between 16~22 that mostly stemmed from doing dumb shit without the skills to back it up. Now days my skills are much better developed but I also have a clear sense of what I can and can’t do, it’s very very rare that I’ll line up a jump/trail feature and say “fuck it, we’ll see”.

I find I probably hit higher-stakes stuff more often/ride faster now than I did when I was younger, but with much more control and less unmanaged risk.

That said, head injuries are not something to fuck with. Riding bikes is awesome, and if you have to shift your focus more to XC/gravel/cx/road to protect your noggin and reduce your risk then do it, you’ll find a different sort of fun in it. Better that than not riding at all.

 

[Minlak]

The other problem with risk is even when taking it super easy on a green trail XC ride narrating to the camera about the trail I broke 2 ribs. I would have considered my activity that day to be pretty risk free.

 

[Kerplunk]

I’ve said this numerous times, but I have to be the adult in the room for my kids at races. Most weekends we’re off at races 400+ km away. I want to race as well, but it’s just not an option to be badly injured in a foreign town with no way of getting home and no one to look after the kids if I get stuck in hospital.

A mate went to Bright for a father son (12 year old) mtbing weekend, first time there and first time on high speed flow trails.. The dad is an ok rider on the xc stuff not so much gravity. The boy is fearless and will hit the big jumps.. First run down hero the young fella is gone and the old fella gets bucked on the first set of jumps. Young guy gets to the bottom of shred waiting for his dad when other riders flag him down to let him know his old man is in a bad way. No shuttle day so the kid has to climb 40mins back up the mountain.. The dad fractured back/neck, ribs, and collar bone.. Ambo trip wangaratta where they spent a week then down to royal melb.. Absolute debacle of a weekend..

 

[The Reverend]

The other problem with risk is even when taking it super easy on a green trail XC ride narrating to the camera about the trail I broke 2 ribs. I would have considered my activity that day to be pretty risk free.

There are two other elements I think are important (bound to be more)
Flexibility - so you can cope with impacts and forces on the body.

Focus - so you pay attention and are in the moment. I've been on auto pilot on green trails and ended up in surgery. I've been bombing down double blacks and came out thrilled and unscathed.
Additionally, focus on what you want, not what you don't. "Ride your bike and have fun" vs "don't crash".

One of the best things about MTB is it FORCES you to leave other things in your mind by the trail head.
I find if I don't respect this I'm asking for crashes and injuries.

 

[moorey]

A mate went to Bright for a father son (12 year old) mtbing weekend, first time there and first time on high speed flow trails.. The dad is an ok rider on the xc stuff not so much gravity. The boy is fearless and will hit the big jumps.. First run down hero the young fella is gone and the old fella gets bucked on the first set of jumps. Young guy gets to the bottom of shred waiting for his dad when other riders flag him down to let him know his old man is in a bad way. No shuttle day so the kid has to climb 40mins back up the mountain.. The dad fractured back/neck, ribs, and collar bone.. Ambo trip wangaratta where they spent a week then down to royal melb.. Absolute debacle of a weekend..

Literally, the stuff of nightmares for me, and something that I dwell on a lot....

 

[HamboCairns]

There's two other elements I think are important (bound to be more)
Flexibility - so you can cope with impacts and forces on the body.

Focus - so you pay attention and are in the moment. I've been on auto pilot on green trails and ended up in surgery. I've been bombing down double blacks and came out thrilled and unscathed.
Additionally, focus on what you want, not what you don't. "Ride your bike and have fun" vs "don't crash".

One of the best things about MTB is it FORCES you to leave other things in your mind by the trail head.
I find if I don't respect this I'm asking for crashes and injuries.

This is true when you lose focus and lose momentum because you weren't paying attention to the features ahead. It leads to further mistakes because your head isn't in it.

I find it best to walk or just spin for a while to get it back then tackle the next set of trails.

 

[dirtdad]

Just found out a couple of weeks ago that my Life/TPD insurer excludes MTB. Apparently for everyone. It's the standard one with AusSuper.
Needless to say - I'm looking for a new insurer.

 

[Tubbsy]

Just found out a couple of weeks ago that my Life/TPD insurer excludes MTB. Apparently for everyone. It's the standard one with AusSuper.
Needless to say - I'm looking for a new insurer.

Wow, thanks for the heads up. This affects me also.

 

[Flow-Rider]

A lot of my crashes could have been avoided, it was just my own stupidity bar about 2 times, but even then if I was going slower for the unexpected it possibly may have not happened. I see a lot of crashes and nearly crashes from people lacking skills, they'll spend 5k+ on a bike then nill on learning how to ride it, knowing when you're fatigued and to back off is another contributor. I learnt the hard way years ago trying to ride above my pay grade on Moto's and my outlook today is to ride well with in my ability and to survive another day on the bike. I respect people that want to race but I feel like I've got nothing to prove at almost 50 other than to end up with broken bones, so I take it easy on my rides and if I feel like going fast on good days I just do, no pressure to perform, and it's a more pleasurable ride. Furthermore, I don't really ride for the competing factor, I just like getting out on the trails most days.

Two years after I got back into mountain biking, there was a young lad from WA that came over here to the east to study engineering, he took up mountain biking, came off on a water bar and unfortunately broke his back that caused him to be confined to a wheelchair. A few of us chipped in to help him buy a quad mountain bike powered by hands, he is still getting around AFAIK from state to state and started a support group for others in the same position to get into mountain biking.

Since then there's been another few bad crashes on the same set of water bars as they kick your back wheel up and the fire road drops away fast, so it puts most people on their front wheel and the next water bar flips them, but it's a reminder how things can go wrong so easily.

 

[Mr Crudley]

One of the best things about MTB is it FORCES you to leave other things in your mind by the trail head.
I find if I don't respect this I'm asking for crashes and injuries.

True, somedays when you just don't feel like everything gels together then you are asking for it.

I've seen a few crashes in the carpark in my time usually right after 'I should have adjusted this <<some bike part>> before but I will hurry and do it now'

 

[The Reverend]

True, somedays when you just don't feel like everything gels together then you are asking for it.

I've seen a few crashes in the carpark in my time usually right after 'I should have adjusted this <<some bike part>> before but I will hurry and do it now'

The amount of times I've decided, as I approach a challenging trail feature, that I'm NOT going to ride it this time grows. Even ones I've ridden hundreds or thousands of times.

I'm 50+, I will not submit an edit on Pinkbike or IG / YT and absolutely don't need to prove / validate anything. Live to ride another day as @moorey put it are words to live by.

Sometimes you feel like doing it, sometimes you don't. I no longer wish to force it.

 

[rextheute]

I am cautious - ( i am over 50 ) - but my skill level is far higher than when i was more " rubber " .
The bike is far more capable than me and still surprises me - ( even with the silver -ebike forks )

But there are 2 features on my regular ride that mess with my head
- a log roll , downhill only maybe 30scm high - i crashed on it 2 yrs ago , 2 ribs ,black and blue - broke the handle bars and brakes off bike .
Can hit a rollover 70cms high on another section at high speed - no problems .
- This one messes with my head .

A short sharp, climb out of a creek - narrow and slippery - if you slide off its in the stinky mud / prickly bushes and my stumpy legs can't reach the ground !

So , i walk over these two .

I have recently bought a motorcycle to road ride again - so my appreciation of risk is intensified .

Everything is risk - but i find being focussed and committed to the task at hand - which seems to be the consensus - works best

The silliest accident happened when you 'think' you've got it covered , loose ground , slippy ground , no sighting lap the ensure no tress or branches down .

Be aware and mindful - thats the beauty of mtb - at that point - nothing else matters .

Enjoy the Ride But -

Get Home Safe - Every Time

 

[gregb]

Life/TPD insurer excludes MTB.

But they probably do cover the myriad of ailments that arise from inactivity. Go figure.

 

[HamboCairns]

Just found out a couple of weeks ago that my Life/TPD insurer excludes MTB. Apparently for everyone. It's the standard one with AusSuper.
Needless to say - I'm looking for a new insurer.

MTB and Life & TPD Insurance

As part of a recent application to increase my life & TPD insurance I had to fill out a questionnaire on my mountain biking. One of the questions was in relation to racing, which I do rather poorly and very infrequently. I would say similar to a runner who enters the occasional fun run...

www.rotorburn.com

 

[HamboCairns]

I thought it was a very positive when Yoann Barelli declared he wasn't feeling it when confronted with a particular feature in one his 'Into the Gnar' videos on YouTube.

His colleague cleared it no problem but at no point was there pressure on Yoann to 'just send it' and his colleague was very positive about how there is no pressure to do anything when you're not feeling it.

 

[ForkinGreat]

I think most of us as we have got older and collected more responsibilities in life. I know I have. I have to go to work on Monday and with a 4 year old I am no good to my family with a broken anything. The only I can suggest is be aware your heart is not in it. If you can't give the ride you undivided attention it is time to put away the bike and grab a beverage of choice and a comfy seat. You will make mistakes. try some zippy tracks in the trees or ride under lights. both can make slower speeds seem more exciting. I think you will always be safer on a mountain bike than a road bike as level of danger is in your hands. Heal up and good luck finding your groove.

MTB may feel safer for you, but it's different for everyone, IMO. All the bad crashes I've had were on MTB. Maybe I've just been lucky, and paranoid AF, on the road bike. Always scanning for objects, people and cars that could take me out. avoiding riding on wet roads, especially in autumn with wet slippery leaves in sketchy places near intersections, on corners etc. reflective ankle bands and front and rear lights at night. no black jerseys. and no fucking headphones. People who wear headphones or earbuds blasting their music while riding have got to have some kind of death wish.

I often ride sections of bike path to get to roads with less traffic, and the Yarra trails are 20-30min away via bike path for some XC.

Also I wear the best helmet and pads I can afford.

 

[Chriso_29er]

I see it as a managed risk, I certainly don't push my limits but I still enjoy going a little hard every now and then with the right gear on. I try not to think about it too much to be honest.

I've given up a lot of things over the years for similar reasons, racing speedway sidecars, on and off-road motorbikes. But still need to enjoy life so MTB's not going anywhere for me. My wife did make a few comments after my big off last year! She came around again after I gave some of my suggestions for alternative hobbies

I agree with some of the other comments in regards to minimising situations where possible, especially recognising fatigue and calling it quits or slowing it down before you make a silly mistake. If you're not comfortable doing a feature, no harm in missing it.

IMO a fast flow trail can be a lot worse for a big stack than a slower gnarly tech trail and I've actually had some of my biggest slams on XC trails due to pedal strike!

 

[Haakon]

There are two other elements I think are important (bound to be more)
Flexibility - so you can cope with impacts and forces on the body.

Focus - so you pay attention and are in the moment. I've been on auto pilot on green trails and ended up in surgery. I've been bombing down double blacks and came out thrilled and unscathed.
Additionally, focus on what you want, not what you don't. "Ride your bike and have fun" vs "don't crash".

One of the best things about MTB is it FORCES you to leave other things in your mind by the trail head.
I find if I don't respect this I'm asking for crashes and injuries.

Focus is my big one. I was using a lap of Stromlo as a pick me up when I was feeling down or tired.

My crash was from totally vaguing out, totally shouldn’t have been on the bike.

Im a hell of a lot more aware of fatigue levels before I go out now!!! Don’t get sloppy out there….

 

[Haakon]

MTB may feel safer for you, but it's different for everyone, IMO. All the bad crashes I've had were on MTB. Maybe I've just been lucky, and paranoid AF, on the road bike.

Me too. 10,000kms into my road bike life and not one single crash yet, not even a minor one. The statistical gods are not on my side, its coming and im not looking forward to it...