Crashing & falling off
Discussion
How often do you do it?
This weekend was the first good ride of the year where the trails were dry and dusty - and a lot faster than they have been over the last 5-6 months. Being a little rusty and speeds higher than recently I had a a couple of quite spectacular offs.
Once I find a challenging or particularly technical section I tend to keep trying at higher and higher speeds until the inevitable happens - sometimes I dust myself off and sometime I bleed and hobble around for a week or two.
Is this standard practise - or just me that seems driven to fall off?
Obviously this is specifically related to mtb - if road riders are falling off or crashing with a high degree of regularity then that would be even more worrying than my situation!
This weekend was the first good ride of the year where the trails were dry and dusty - and a lot faster than they have been over the last 5-6 months. Being a little rusty and speeds higher than recently I had a a couple of quite spectacular offs.
Once I find a challenging or particularly technical section I tend to keep trying at higher and higher speeds until the inevitable happens - sometimes I dust myself off and sometime I bleed and hobble around for a week or two.
Is this standard practise - or just me that seems driven to fall off?
Obviously this is specifically related to mtb - if road riders are falling off or crashing with a high degree of regularity then that would be even more worrying than my situation!
I tend to have unintended dismounts quite frequently, of two types. The most common by far are ones where I realise its all gone wrong, try and stop and end up standing over the laid down bike. These happen maybe 2-3 times a ride when I'm pushing my ability.
The rest are the surprising ones that actually count as crashes - ripping along, all well and suddenly you're wearing your bike for a hat. No common theme to these for me, and they'll happen maybe every other ride if im pushing my ability.
If im not pushing my ability I don't tend to have many offs at all.
The rest are the surprising ones that actually count as crashes - ripping along, all well and suddenly you're wearing your bike for a hat. No common theme to these for me, and they'll happen maybe every other ride if im pushing my ability.
If im not pushing my ability I don't tend to have many offs at all.
If you're not nearly falling off you're not going fast enough. I tend to get faster and faster untill I have a biggie then dial it back a bit.
Im currently recovering from landing on my head after giving dirt jumping a go. Started small, got bigger untill I came off, new helmet needed.
Im currently recovering from landing on my head after giving dirt jumping a go. Started small, got bigger untill I came off, new helmet needed.
I had a massive off when I was in my teens and have never got the confidence back to go that fast. Was coming down Butts Brow in Eastbourne. A very steep road hill down from the South Downs. It was windy and I was leaning into the wind, speedy was 35Mph+, suddenly a row of trees blocked the wind and I veered off into the side and went head first into a tree. Bike went flying down the hill and my sunglasses shattered and embedded themselves in my nose. Still got the scar 15 years later!
Since then I stick to a max speed of 25 and haven't fallen off since.
Since then I stick to a max speed of 25 and haven't fallen off since.
944fan said:
I had a massive off when I was in my teens and have never got the confidence back to go that fast. Was coming down Butts Brow in Eastbourne. A very steep road hill down from the South Downs. It was windy and I was leaning into the wind, speedy was 35Mph+, suddenly a row of trees blocked the wind and I veered off into the side and went head first into a tree. Bike went flying down the hill and my sunglasses shattered and embedded themselves in my nose. Still got the scar 15 years later!
Since then I stick to a max speed of 25 and haven't fallen off since.
Same here, big off age 15 down that hill! Mine was straight into a bank when a right hand bend tightened more than I was expecting. Destroyed a helmet, a wheel and a lot of skin if I remember correctly. Since then I stick to a max speed of 25 and haven't fallen off since.
I obviously need to ride faster, can't remember the last time I came off!
shouldbworking said:
These happen maybe 2-3 times a ride when I'm pushing my ability. The rest are the surprising ones that actually count as crashes - ripping along, all well and suddenly you're wearing your bike for a hat.
Ian_sUK said:
If you're not nearly falling off you're not going fast enough. I tend to get faster and faster untill I have a biggie then dial it back a bit.
Kawasicki said:
mtb riding, once every 20 minutes on average, usually just scratches and bruises.
Excellent. Seems I am in good company.My buddy never falls off - but then again he never tries anything which I would deem to be either interesting or exciting.
Not often but I still have the odd crash, almost always painful.
Had a very bad stack years ago - hit a wall, smashed my lid, ripped the arm off my jacket (and shredded my shoulder), gouged a teaspoon sized lump out of my leg. Taken it fairly easy DHing ever since but still enjoy it. My buzz isn't from some crazy drop, it's from doing fast, "flowy" riding and feeling properly dialled in.
Had a very bad stack years ago - hit a wall, smashed my lid, ripped the arm off my jacket (and shredded my shoulder), gouged a teaspoon sized lump out of my leg. Taken it fairly easy DHing ever since but still enjoy it. My buzz isn't from some crazy drop, it's from doing fast, "flowy" riding and feeling properly dialled in.
Never fallen off the road bike bar the comedy "clipped-in" moments
Havent come off the mtb in a good while either, I think I ride in that delta between self-preservation and having fun.
I have seen too many horror crashes and people on the side of the trail with limbs poking in the wrong direction to care about reaching the limits these days.
I've never bought into the "if you arent crashing, you're not going fast enough" debate!.... speed, technique, conditions etc, too many variables...
Havent come off the mtb in a good while either, I think I ride in that delta between self-preservation and having fun.
I have seen too many horror crashes and people on the side of the trail with limbs poking in the wrong direction to care about reaching the limits these days.
I've never bought into the "if you arent crashing, you're not going fast enough" debate!.... speed, technique, conditions etc, too many variables...
I haven't came off the MTB, but tend not to push it. Too scared I suppose.
Like others I have had a couple of comedy errors with the clips on the road bike though, but yesterday I had a big off when out doing a training run with 2 guys who are starting LEJOG on Saturday. We had torrential rain in South Scotland yesterday morning and I was on a flat section of road doing around 25mph, going over a newly tarred railway bridge, when I slid spectacularly on the rubber expansion joints. The front wheel went from under me and I went down and rolled into the middle of the road somersalting a few times. I went out with a new waterproof jacket(first outing) which is holed and scuffed, holed my overboots, holed my cycling top(not the PH one fortunately) scuffed my helmet and surprisingly no damage to the bike. I have various cuts and grazes and my right knee and right shoulder were sore today. Didnt stop me from cycling a further 70 mles from there though.
Like others I have had a couple of comedy errors with the clips on the road bike though, but yesterday I had a big off when out doing a training run with 2 guys who are starting LEJOG on Saturday. We had torrential rain in South Scotland yesterday morning and I was on a flat section of road doing around 25mph, going over a newly tarred railway bridge, when I slid spectacularly on the rubber expansion joints. The front wheel went from under me and I went down and rolled into the middle of the road somersalting a few times. I went out with a new waterproof jacket(first outing) which is holed and scuffed, holed my overboots, holed my cycling top(not the PH one fortunately) scuffed my helmet and surprisingly no damage to the bike. I have various cuts and grazes and my right knee and right shoulder were sore today. Didnt stop me from cycling a further 70 mles from there though.
pablo said:
Havent come off the mtb in a good while either, I think I ride in that delta between self-preservation and having fun.
I have seen too many horror crashes and people on the side of the trail with limbs poking in the wrong direction to care about reaching the limits these days.
I've never bought into the "if you arent crashing, you're not going fast enough" debate!.... speed, technique, conditions etc, too many variables...
I'm the same. At coed-y-brenin at weekend, I keeled over a few times due to lack of momentum and talent on the rock gardens, but thats about all. I'm 41 and had enough crashes to last me a lifetimeI have seen too many horror crashes and people on the side of the trail with limbs poking in the wrong direction to care about reaching the limits these days.
I've never bought into the "if you arent crashing, you're not going fast enough" debate!.... speed, technique, conditions etc, too many variables...
The majority of my injuries seem to come from a situation of 'that section looks a bit dicey - I shall mitigate that risk with more speed'.
Hence why in the last 9 months I have broken 6 ribs, cracked my sternum, lacerated my kidney, punctured a lung, dislocated a thumb and a finger had 7 stitches in my knee and collected a bunch of bumps, bruises, cuts and scrapes on virtually every ride ( 4 of those injuries were achieve in a single crash though)
I seem compelled to keep pushing until I crash - even when I think I have hit my upper limit I shall have another go and invariably crash at bigger speed.
I spent Saturday night picking 47 thorns out of my leg with tweezers after ploughing into a bramble thicket at a rate of knots - the previous 3 runs where lovely, flowing and very well ridden - I wasn't going to improve - and I demonstrated that
Hence why in the last 9 months I have broken 6 ribs, cracked my sternum, lacerated my kidney, punctured a lung, dislocated a thumb and a finger had 7 stitches in my knee and collected a bunch of bumps, bruises, cuts and scrapes on virtually every ride ( 4 of those injuries were achieve in a single crash though)
I seem compelled to keep pushing until I crash - even when I think I have hit my upper limit I shall have another go and invariably crash at bigger speed.
I spent Saturday night picking 47 thorns out of my leg with tweezers after ploughing into a bramble thicket at a rate of knots - the previous 3 runs where lovely, flowing and very well ridden - I wasn't going to improve - and I demonstrated that
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