Careful Out There, Respect the Power

[mrich]

I mashed my tibial plateau on Friday riding my Levo - I was washing out on a bend, instinctively put my foot down and the energy of the impact and rotation caused a serious injury - on their severity scale of 1 to 6 it was a ...

I was going too fast and it was 100% my fault. I'm not blaming the bike in anyway, but just wanna flag that I think the. extra speed and weight of an ebike were contributory to my misjudgement and the severity of the injury.

Take care out there and be mindful of what can happen even on benign trails when high mass and velocity become involved.

(I will be fine - docs are reckoning full recovery - but it will take months of rehab and I was lucky with the high quality of treatment I received - praise be the NHS).

Lol, i broke a bone in my hand a couple of years ago and it didnt set right and gave me pain for about a year, came of again, hit the same hand and it banged it back into position. Happy days!

 

[boneht]

Four weeks ago tomorrow I had a crash, my handlebars caught in a fence and flipped the bike round which, judging from the bruising, I landed on. Broken collar bone, two cracked ribs and a punctured lung.

Couldn't move for the first week, or think thanks to the codeine, but much better now. It's going to be another couple of months before I can ride again.

Whats worrying is that I can't explain how the accident happened, all I remember is thinking F*ck I'm going to hit the fence but I have no idea how I got in that situation, its a straightforward straight, flattish piece of track, no obstacles, great visibility, I've cycled down it 100's of times.

My comeback will be very cautious!

 

[Penttithefinn]

It is surprising what injuries the body can recover from. My Dad had a hip replacement; the surgeon used Dad's leg as a lever to dislocate the hip joint! Trouble was that he also dislocated my Dad's knee at the same time!! He had more trouble recovering from the knee injury than he did from the hip joint replacement. But within a few months he was ballroom dancing! Which was great because he couldn't do it before!!

When I ruptured my patella tendons (complete severing) having come around from the operation to reattach the patella to my tibia, the consultant said "of course you would have been better breaking your leg" to which I answered " next time I am falling I will remember that", and he laughed !!! to be honest with the amount of Morphine in me, so did I !!!

 

[steve_sordy]

Yeah you watch star trek

Just spotted this. I had that view before Captain Kirk boldly went. I was reading stuff by Patrick Moore in the late 50's. This led naturally into stuff by other better known writers, like Arthur C. Clarke, Van Vogh and EE Smith.

 

[Labrador29]

I was caught out 7 weeks ago.......a combination of speed, new wide pedals and trees landed me in A & E. At 49 it takes way longer to heal. Still in pain but not enough to keep me off the bikes.

I understand completely. The older I get, (75), the harder I push myself as my skill level increases. My biggest danger now is my confidence level has increased, and as a result my cadence rate has also increased. Result is more pedal strikes on narrow hilly tracks. To date no bones broken but more by good luck than good management.

 

[daju]

Rock on Labrador

 

[Labrador29]

3 Weeks ago clipped the bars on my very new Giant Stance Pro 29 on a tree at the end of a section of North Shore so a long way down to the ground, landed on the top of my shoulder via my face. Broken glasses which poked into my cheekbone, always impressive to have blood streaming down your face, makes people think you've really done some damage. The shoulder was very painful and concerning as I have been treated for a torn rotator cuff for the past year, thought I'd really done massive damage. When I did venture back to the physio she looked at the bruising (spectacular) and my description and diagnosed ruptured bicep tendons. Turns out it was probably tendonitis in those tendons that was causing me the trouble all the time!! We think I may have cured myself if somewhat painfully, time will tell, at 70 repairs take a lot longer.

Lol! Wait another 5 years, when arthritis in the hips and hands and degenerative spinal disc disorder worsens. Drug up on painkillers to get through a ride, only to find your balance and concentration is affected. It's a cruel world, but at least we are still out riding with our geriatric mates. Long may it continue

 

[Labrador29]

At some point most of us take it to the edge. Besides the bumps, bruises, cuts, breaks, twists, and embarrassing moments, it can be a lot of fun. But besides a helmet …safety glasses are so important. I’ve had a small injury to my eye and have since avoided several more thanks to glasses. It doesn’t matter if they’re $10 or $500, you may only get one chance.

I had a good 'off' on the 4 March. Grade 4 track with very little elevation which indicates it was probably a Grade 4+. ( A riding mate a year or so earlier, had a bad fall from a track into a creek bed 3-4 metres below track (landed on his back). all that saved him from more serious injuries, was a day backpack with a ton of cushioning. IMO it saved him from a broken back/neck It was bad enough with cracked ribs and 2 cracked vertabrae).
Since my friend's bad fall, I have always ridden with a similar day pack, full-face helmet and safety goggles. Anyway, back to my fall. This track was a difficult 9km out and 9 km back, tree roots everywhere and at all angles, rocks and tiny rivulets crossing the track at regular intervals. I don't know what I hit, but one minute I am in the middle of the track, nek-minit, I am off the track at 45 degree angle, sailing through the air still on the bike. It happened so quick. "This is going to hurt' flashed through my mind. I must have pushed the e-mtb away. I was aware of landing on my back, and it felt like something was trying to rip my full face helmet off. Long story short, I was saved by my back pack and full-face helmet (damaged and since replaced) My only injury was a dislocated finger and some minor bruising. I don't really care what I look like to other riders, it makes sense to me to take these safety precautions as well as wearing knee and elbow protectors. Finally, not only do the goggles stop my eyes from streaming in the winter, on more than one occasion, they have deflected pebbles and small stones thrown up by riders I am following.

 

[ilostmypassword]

Could be a lot worse. I know a guy who hacked a 2M drop wrong and broke his neck. He's now paralysed. Take it easy and ride within your limits guys!

 

[Labrador29]

Could be a lot worse. I know a guy who hacked a 2M drop wrong and broke his neck. He's now paralysed. Take it easy and ride within your limits guys!

Was this the adventurer and his mate, who the week before, ran around the base of the 3 mountains in the centre of the North Island?

 

[Stihldog]

Could be a lot worse. I know a guy who hacked a 2M drop wrong and broke his neck. He's now paralysed. Take it easy and ride within your limits guys!

That’s a tough lesson. I hope they’re able to find something that is as enjoyable or better than Emtb’ing.
On another note; can I share/show your username to my wife. It could help me out.