Mountain Biking - cracked ribs anyone?

I’m not sure mine are cracked, but they feel like it and I have a bruise on my ribcage about the size of a football arrrggh!! Several other bruises, scrapes and contusions to go with it.

I’ve been coaching my son the last few months, going from easy trails to harder and harder ones. He’s pretty good for his age for everything except technical downhills. Today I was riding behind him helping him pick lines on a particularly rough section. He started going a little faster than I was comfortable with so I squeezed in closer to him to try to slow him down. About that time he started to biff, and while trying to avoid him I biffed right over my bars. I flipped and rolled a few times then came to a stop. I’m not sure what he thinks of my coaching abilities now, especially after he had to witness me whine and moan like a schoolgirl hehe. And this happened about 8 miles from the Jeep. So I had to contend with this pain all the way back.

Here’s a pic of part of a hill on an old fire road on this loop. It is really steeper than it looks here, in fact it’s so steep that I’ve never been able to climb all the way to the top without spinning out. There are about 20 sections like this on this hill one right after another, lots of turns and switchbacks, very cool and fast. My crash took place earlier on the hill that you see across the canyon. I think I’ll go take a handful of Advil now and go to bed…

I'm not sure what a biff is but I am sure you son thinks you rock. Kids ALWAYS enjoy their parents in pain more than the parents do. Besides you have humanized the trail :D

Wow - posting the pic makes me feel like I actually saw the crash! Anywho, I've done the cracked ribs thing, and if that's the case, you are going to hurt for a month or so. During this period, try not to:

- sneeze
- laugh
- cough
- have sex - I guess Republican sex would be okay (sorry, I couldn’t help myself :D)
- fall down
- breath hard

Seriously, keep your ribs wrapped until they feel better. This will really help with getting through the day. Also, keep up the Advil. Good luck with the ribs – I hope it’s not too bad. Your son should be proud of you for taking one for the team. You may have just upped your coolness level! :cool:

Originally posted by bac

- have sex - I guess Republican sex would be okay (sorry, I couldn’t help myself :D)

LOLOL! Now what makes you think I'm a Repub?? I'm a moderate Independent, I think everyone is wrong but me!!

The ribs aint so bad, only hurts really bad when I blink my eyes or breath :eek:

Ah man.. that sucks!



Tuck and roll man, tuck and roll!




:D

No, thank you.

Crack ribs SUCK, thats for sure! (Have suffered cracked ribs on each side of my Sternum, thankfully not all at the same time). The last time it happened was on a pheasant hunting trip out in South Dakota. Was out drinkin and hell raising with friends, when on the way back to our motel we thought it would be fun to stage a free for all style wrestling match! I don't remember all the details, but I do remember a figure from my left with his head down coming in for a tackle. I got it right square in the ribs! The beer that evening kept me from feeling to much pain, but the next day was a different story... The guy who planted his head in my ribs? Greg LeMond...

Hey bac, ya forgot about sleeping! :D

Doing much better now but man, I thought MX was rough! This is the worst injury I've ever had on a mtn bike.

Cipher- I went pheasant hunting up there one time. We drove all night to get there, then hunted all evening. The farmer who was letting us stay in his house made us a deal. We would get up and work until noon for him, then hunt from noon on. He made us get up at 5:00 AM every morning, worked our bobo's off until mid-day, fed us lunch, then we hunted the rest of the day. The knotheads I was with stayed up until 1:00 - 2:00 AM every night playing cards, then the next day we did it all over again. After 4 days of this we drove all night to get back home. I'm sure it was fun, I just can't remember any of it since it is all a blur now...

We hunt out by Barrister S. D. (Approx. 120 Miles S.W. of Mitchell) on farm land owned by the Hetterites. (Sp? Amish community). Talk about a culture shock when you show up at their huge farm complexes with your birds for cleaning! You talk with no one but the head of the group, with all the rest of them standing around in small groups pointing and whispering to each other about you... Interesting experience! ;)

So Mike, were ya on that new rig of yours? Sorry to hear about the ribs but the more important question, did the bike get hurt?;)

Hope you are not out for too long. And remember, pain is all relative:D

Slainte:beer: :beer:

That was the first thing I did, hobble over to check if the bike was okay LOL. Still riding the DB, I'm watching the UPS tracking site for the last batch (hopefully) of parts due to come in this week.

I hate this stinkin' DB, it's way too big for me and I've crashed on the dumb thing more than any other bike I've ever had. I can't wait to get a better fitting bike rolling...

And when I get that one finished, I'll be starting a new project. I'm building a 24" BMX bike :D . Yes, I will be the only tubby 40 year old dude at the park, and no, I'm not having a mid-life, I've already had mine ;) .

I hate this stinkin' DB, it's way too big for me and I've crashed on the dumb thing more than any other bike I've ever had

Sounds like rider error.;)

My next build are going to be a 24"dj and a light xc bike. I am going to give the 24hr race thing a shot next season.

Slainte:beer: