vikz

Well hello folks! so I've been doing a little MB riding and last sunday I experience my 1st ever CRASH that i can remember since i was a teenager! (its been a loooong time).Anyway so my buddy and I did Twin Peaks in Wenatchee,WA , i have done it once before in the same bike minus the knobby tires this time i have my knobbies on and I am just psyche to ride!.So made it to the spot we wanted to go and just started our descent, we hit this spot that's almost like a road , my friend was ahead of me, so I started just going down hill, even kinda screaming a little bit "yah!!" then all of a sudden my front tires hit a rock! next thing I know my handle bars is turned 45 degress to the right and I am falling!!I remember looking down and seeing the rocky road inches from my face! THANK GOODNESS FOR HELMETS!!because it is just the helmet and then dirt! i somehow looked up and saw my bike up in the air upside down about to fall on me, so I shoved away from me.Lying on the ground for a second or two trying to figure out if i'm still alive at this point, got up , which is a good sign, saw blood on my right elbow, my left wrist hurts like a sonnabagun, felt a pain on my left leg saw blood there,"I'm like crap this hurt!". Picked up my bike and saw the handle bars is bent to the right, tried to make it straight as possible so I can let my friend know what just happened to me, caught up with him maybe 300 yards out and told him what happened. We made sure I can ride the bike and I can ride because my wrist really hurts at this point.Anyway finish our ride down with no more incident..the crash happened at mile 5 and we still have 2 miles of all downhill to go..here are some gross pictures of my injuries..








wrist i think is just sprained..

Daspydyr 

Hey Vikz, welcome to the flesh and blood reality of Mountain Biking. Glad you are basically alright and were able to finish your ride.

Mountain biking has weird things happen at the most unexpected times. Its part of the adventure. Chicks dig scars, that's what I hear anyway.

Inhimwelive

My worst wreck I broke my wrist and tore a lot of skin off between my elbows and wrists. But the worst part was at the emergency room when they pored Betadine on it and then scrubbed the stones out with a scrub brush!!!! Ps I thought my wrist was just sprained also. Try twisting your wrist from side to side. I could bend mine up and down easily but when I twisted it there was no doubt I broke something.

Pamestique 

I have had some bad falls, including broken bones, but the worst is when you just get a bad sprain. 2 months ago fell and sprain my left thumb, index finger and wrist (don't know how). My thumb is still a mess which makes it hard to shift gears. Oh well... comes with the pleasure of riding.

2 years ago I had a similar wreck to you... was coasting down a little hill and turned to say something to my friend... =BAM!!!!= apparently front tire hit a rock, wheel twisted amd before I know it, I was slammed to the ground onto my left side, my head slammed into a rock. Knocked all the air out of me and my head was spinning. I cracked my helmet. All you can do is lay there a bit just taking inventory making sure everything is sortof OK... got some cuts on my elbow and kneee but the head ringing (egads...another concussion!?!?!) was the worse.

Anyway was back riding in a day or so... take care of the sprained wrist, again sprains always seem to be the worst.

swampboy62

Not too bad - but bad enough. Welcome to the reality of mountain biking, which is that things don't always go the way you planned.

EX:
broke left leg twice
tore left knee cartilage badly
fractured skull twice

All within first three years of taking up the sport.

Just TRY to be careful - and enjoy yourself riding. People die of heart attacks on the couch, too.

Steve Z

Pamestique 

I explained this the other day to a friend just getting into cycling... cleaning up road rash is not much different than scouring a dirty pan full of burnt meat... the nurse pulls out a "scrubby", an abrasive pad, and some betadine and goes to it. You know it's all clean when all the blood pouring down is a nice bright red color!

vikz

Thanks guys for the "encouragements" and yes the wrist still hurts really bad, and a couple of bruises is just coming out now.I already rode 7 miles yesterday on my road bike and a little bit on MB today just to test the wrist, it works but painful at times..and I DIY this mount for my camera today too, so next time I'm on the mountains I can take some cool vids..not crashing vids though.
.

s0ul_chicken

Nice mount - let me know how it works, I have the exact same camera and was wondering how it would do mounted on the bars. My only concern was the vibration/motion of the trail giving a shaky video.

Feel better, and good luck with the healing process! Trust me, we have all been there.

roccobike

OP, Many of us have had stitches and broken bones with the odd concussion here and there. Me?, numerous bruises, too many to mention, plenty of cuts with lots of blood spilled, broken rib and stitches in the elbow. No concussions.
Just want you to know what's in the coming attractions.
Mountain Biking, Still one of my favorite things to do.
PS, Might want to check your helmet to be sure it wasn't damaged.

Zephyr11

No broken bones here, knock on wood. Just sprains and uh...ruptured organs and internal bleeding. My stories are pretty lame though. Daspydyr has a good one, and kenhill3 may have his eye on the award for worst crash. Anyway, welcome to the club, and replace that helmet if you smacked it hard enough!

escarpment

you cant ride your whole life and not crash

ColinL

I fell off a bluff on an IMBA epic trail where the path went RIGHT to the edge of a (small) cliff beside the lake. There are names of sections with cute little signs, such as Post Rock, where they have upright limestone in sections like fence posts.

The section I fell in is called Bike Wash. There are a few places you could fall all the way to the water, but a sandy beach is more likely. I fell about 4 feet below the trail into a nook and the bike was on top of me. Since I had a riding buddy, I just waited for him to look back and see the upside-down bike and bail me out. It would've been pretty tricky to get out on my own, but doable.

Nothing worse than bruises because I was wearing protective gear: knee and elbow pads, helmet, gloves. I don't wear the knee & elbow pads on easier trails, but for downhill and any rocky singletrack I wouldn't go without. If it's fast and rocky, I wear a full-face helmet.

Carloswithac

The worst injury I've had on the bike was a bruised kidney, lower back after my pedal snagged on a rock.



Lower, right back.


Right side of leg/quad

Could barely walk without pain for a couple of weeks.

Worst injury ever was a slipped disc. I felt so useless. Definitely the worst pain I've ever felt was when it slipped back in. I was out for a month and a half.

s0ul_chicken

Holy bruise batman! That looked like it hurt Carlos!

vikz

carlos OUCH!!that looks painful!...I updated my MB..

s0ul_chicken

Have you tried that mount out yet? I am curious to see how it performs as I have a coolpix as well...

trekker pete

I am a mtb newb as well. Haven't had my cherry popped yet, but, I know it is coming. The extent of my falls so far is spinning out going uphill and not getting unclipped fast enough to catch myself. A few scratches, but, not enough blood to mention yet.

If 10 years from now, I look back and haven't had any sort of serious wreck, I will be a little disappointed. I look at mtbing like downhill skiing. If you never fall, you aren't doing it right. Pushing your limits will result in wrecks when you bump up against them.

Congrats on your new badges of honor.

I am going for a ride this afternoon. I suspect I have just jinxed myself and expect to end up in the ER. C'est la vie. Wish me luck.

Daspydyr 

This Zcut would have made a good tattoo (ZZ Topp) but it faded away. Got 11 stitches and a solid rear chewing from the wife!

vikz

I have and it works but I think I have to design something i can wear on me so it wont be too shaky..the helmet cam works just have to keep my head steadier..

Zephyr11

Looks like a good way to trash a camera...

ColinL

Agreed. There is a reason a gopro is in a tough housing.

vikz

technically the camera is already broken, LCD froze 2 years ago, it still takes pictures and videos just can't see using the LCD..maybe I can just use the gopro housing??..

Leebo

Try some armor.

topher5150

I got a boxers fracture in my left hand, and a chunk taken out of my elbow this June when my handle bar got caught in a chain link fence

Daspydyr 

Is there anyway to mount that below the handlebar? I like Nikons and would hate to see that camera after some of the crap I could put it through. I can also see cracked ribs from bouncing off that sucker!