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First, does anybody else mountain bike? I really enjoy it, and ride easy/moderate trails in my city in the woods (the woods that are left, with all the development happening). I enjoy riding and use it for cardiovascular exercise.
I had an accident a couple times, but the last one yesterday was rough. I went riding through a path dropping through a culvert of stones and going fast in the rain (foolish) crossed into the stones and wrecked. Cut up from the stone (I was in shorts and short sleeve shirt), bruised badly and cuts from the stone, bruised hip, left hand is inflamed and very painful to make a fist. I will heal, and was very thankful I did not break any bones. I saw some videos where mountian bikers where really injured badly and one was paralyzed from a fall in the woods! Cut up, and bloody, I still finished my ride through the woods in pain foolishly.
I mountain bike 2-3 times a week, and love it. I ride in the local foothills and usually on the same trails, so at this point I know where the more dicey spots are and go very carefully over them. Still, I wipe out every once in a while. No serious injuries to this point, just scrapes and bruises.
However, I have had friends who had injuries such as broken collarbones, and one of my friends was out riding when he crossed paths with someone who had just broken a leg and had to be airlifted out. So serious injuries do happen.
Sorry to hear about your crash and glad you weren't more badly hurt. My only advice is to be especially careful in wet/muddy/rocky locations, but you know that already. Consider wearing protective gear (not that I do this myself; I ride in shorts and short-sleeved jersey). Other than that, mountain biking is inherently dangerous. Have to accept that.
Location: As of 2022….back to SoCal. OC this time!
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Originally Posted by Serenity2019
First, does anybody else mountain bike? I really enjoy it, and ride easy/moderate trails in my city in the woods (the woods that are left, with all the development happening). I enjoy riding and use it for cardiovascular exercise.
I had an accident a couple times, but the last one yesterday was rough. I went riding through a path dropping through a culvert of stones and going fast in the rain (foolish) crossed into the stones and wrecked. Cut up from the stone (I was in shorts and short sleeve shirt), bruised badly and cuts from the stone, bruised hip, left hand is inflamed and very painful to make a fist. I will heal, and was very thankful I did not break any bones. I saw some videos where mountian bikers where really injured badly and one was paralyzed from a fall in the woods! Cut up, and bloody, I still finished my ride through the woods in pain foolishly.
My husband likes West Ridge Trail but it closes with rain or storm damage. He has been mountain biking with a couple of friends since way before he met me. He knows a lot of intermediate & more advanced mountain biking trails. I know he is skilled & always wears a helmet, but it doesn’t stop me from worrying about him a little. He has fallen in the past, but he knows what he is doing & tells me he knows how to fall to avoid a bad injury. He has never been seriously hurt. I hope he wouldn’t go as fast in the rain tho…if at all. Ofc the rain probably had a lot to do with your fall O.P.^^
The paralyzed thing is super scary but that sounds like somebody who wasn’t wearing a helmet. That can happen on a regular bike ride too.
I have been a road biker for decades. About 10 years ago, I decided road biking was too dangerous. ( lost a few acquaintances, mostly run over by inattentive drivers) I bought a mountain bike and I just couldn’t get into the sport. I loved the smooth and fast road bike aspect and couldn’t make the switch to the off road ride. Lots of injuries in mountain biking, which bothered me some too. ( I have made the switch in the past few years to just running, now there is a sport I love. Easy, peasy, no equipment, just run out the front door of wherever I am going to spend the night, city or rural)
I have been a road biker for decades. About 10 years ago, I decided road biking was too dangerous. ( lost a few acquaintances, mostly run over by inattentive drivers) I bought a mountain bike and I just couldn’t get into the sport. I loved the smooth and fast road bike aspect and couldn’t make the switch to the off road ride. Lots of injuries in mountain biking, which bothered me some too. ( I have made the switch in the past few years to just running, now there is a sport I love. Easy, peasy, no equipment, just run out the front door of wherever I am going to spend the night, city or rural)
That's cool, but I switched from running to mountain biking! Easier on my knees, but more dangerous too.
MB is dangerous. My husband had a relative who died in a MB accident. Very tragic and sad...
It depends on what you're doing.
I ride on gravel trails that sometimes have some roots or big rocks. It'd be hard to get any more injured than a skinned knee.
if you define mountain biking as bombing down unimproved trails at 25 mph and catching air every few hundred feet, then yeah, that can be dangerous. So don't do that.
The blanket statement "mountain biking is dangerous" is unnecessarily alarmist and overly general.
I ride on gravel trails that sometimes have some roots or big rocks. It'd be hard to get any more injured than a skinned knee.
if you define mountain biking as bombing down unimproved trails at 25 mph and catching air every few hundred feet, then yeah, that can be dangerous. So don't do that.
The blanket statement "mountain biking is dangerous" is unnecessarily alarmist and overly general.
As they say, 100%.
My wife mountain bikes with zero tolerance for risk. It's no more dangerous than road biking for her. Actually less dangerous since there's no risk of a car accidentally running her over.
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