Derek Yates
Soul Rider
Hey All, I just checked out NSMB today to find another notice of a rider who has injured themselves to the point where they will be left with serious and permanent damage to themselves. With the increasing number of Pro riders from Australia, Canada, Europe and the US becoming involved in serious accidents that they are not walking away from, do people think that we are reaching the limits of safety and what is possible on an MTB?
Every time I see a new video/photo shoot I am blown away by how far we have progessed as a sport and how big the moves riders are pulling. This is obviously pushing the envelope at the Pro level, but I think we all realise that it is raising the bar for the rest of us. I have been amazed at the skills of a lot of young riders, but are we pushing riders to ride in ways that could potentially endanger lives?
I'm not making a call to dumb down and bubble wrap our sport, but I'd be interested to hear what people are thinking about when they hear that another Pro MTB rider has potentially ended thier riding careers and put thier lives at risk. I know for myself it does make you think twice about what you do on a bike. I'm all for progression and going bigger and better than before but I'd like to hear if it affects how you ride or makes you think about trying something HUGE (even if it's only huge for you).
For me, half the draw of mountainbike riding is the fact that there is danger involves and the risk of injury is what makes you feel extra stoked when you do pull a new move without axing yourself. I'm not riding at even half the level of Pro riders, but I know a bunch of people who are damn good and pulling big moves. Even events like Red Bull seem to have gone right to the edge of what is possible and spit out bikes and riders broken and injured.
When a large number of the best of the Pro's are comming off second best trying to push the envelope on a bike does this mean we are reaching our limits as a sport? If not how will we know when we do? Do people have to die? It's a scary thought, but the next step beyond the types of injuries people are getting now is pretty serious stuff.
It's easy to write this stuff off as someone elses problem and not relevant to your life but in the end it could be you. Do we take the risk too lightly?
I'd be really interested in hearing what people think.
Every time I see a new video/photo shoot I am blown away by how far we have progessed as a sport and how big the moves riders are pulling. This is obviously pushing the envelope at the Pro level, but I think we all realise that it is raising the bar for the rest of us. I have been amazed at the skills of a lot of young riders, but are we pushing riders to ride in ways that could potentially endanger lives?
I'm not making a call to dumb down and bubble wrap our sport, but I'd be interested to hear what people are thinking about when they hear that another Pro MTB rider has potentially ended thier riding careers and put thier lives at risk. I know for myself it does make you think twice about what you do on a bike. I'm all for progression and going bigger and better than before but I'd like to hear if it affects how you ride or makes you think about trying something HUGE (even if it's only huge for you).
For me, half the draw of mountainbike riding is the fact that there is danger involves and the risk of injury is what makes you feel extra stoked when you do pull a new move without axing yourself. I'm not riding at even half the level of Pro riders, but I know a bunch of people who are damn good and pulling big moves. Even events like Red Bull seem to have gone right to the edge of what is possible and spit out bikes and riders broken and injured.
When a large number of the best of the Pro's are comming off second best trying to push the envelope on a bike does this mean we are reaching our limits as a sport? If not how will we know when we do? Do people have to die? It's a scary thought, but the next step beyond the types of injuries people are getting now is pretty serious stuff.
It's easy to write this stuff off as someone elses problem and not relevant to your life but in the end it could be you. Do we take the risk too lightly?
I'd be really interested in hearing what people think.