Many years ago when I was 12, I got my first MTB and I was really into riding in some local woods. One time I went out on a fairly smooth trail and was going as fast as I possibly could (Been on the trail many times) It had rained the night before and where I would normally brake really hard then take a tight corner it was ALL mud. When I tried to brake I didn't slow down at all. My front tire sunk down and straight into a rock. I flew off the front of my handlebars and head first into a tree.
Luckily I was wearing my helmet and didn't have any real injuries, just freaked out for abit. My helmet cracked right in 1/2 so it was a pretty hard hit
After awhile I just got back up and went home. I didn't always wear a helmet before this incident, but now I do 100% because you just never know, even on trails you've been on many times.
More recently(about a week ago) I was trying out a new trail in the area. There was warning signs about sharp turns and to proceed with caution. I was going down hill on a smooth trail around 45 km/h. Everything was awesome until I hit the last turn, bolted straight down it and realized with about 3 seconds left I was going WAAAAY too fast for the last turn. Locked up the brakes then did some threshold braking and slid a good 6 feet off the trail. I stopped inches from a tree. (Slowing down allowed me to avoid 3 trees as I slid into the woods) I had just tuned up my rear brake because it hadn't been working properly the day before. If I hadn't tuned it up I know for sure it wouldn't have been enough power to slow me down, it coulda been REAL bad. A million other stories but an old and a new one is good for now
