Crashing

[SallyCat]

Holy Zeus! I had my first high-speed downhill mountain bike crash today. Lost traction on a steep pitch that was rutted and loose and crashed face first into a rock. I remember heading VERY fast toward a bunch of big rocks and thinking "Oh, no!!" and then the sound of plastic hitting rock as my full-face helmet took the impact. Nothing but bumps and cuts, thankfully, but my right leg is really banged up and sore; it ended up taking the brunt of the post-face impact and then became twisted in with the bike frame. I definitely thought it was broken for a moment, but it's not.

I'm going to take this as a good excuse to slow down and work on basic slills. Oddly, I'm ready to get back riding as soon as my leg loosens up, but I absolutely don't want to catch air or go fast, both of which I had just started to enjoy.

(Also, I'm a fool for not having the bike park's emergency number on my phone. I crashed near the top of a trail and had to coast down with my useless leg dangling off to the side. Lesson thoroughly learned.)

I know The Ski Diva is confronting this on a much more serious and consequential level. I'm curious if anyone has gone through the process of getting back on the horse after an injury (in any sport). I'm worried that I'll be so tentative and risk-averse that I'll actually be a less safe rider.

 

[ski diva]

Whew! Glad to hear it wasn't more serious. I'm struggling with recovering from my road bike crash right now, so I know exactly where you're coming from. I have all kinds of head stuff going on. I mean, I love biking, but I'm not sure I'm willing to risk messing up my ski season from what I term a peripheral sport. As it is, I've pretty much screwed up the rest of my summer from anything fun. Don't get me wrong -- I know there's risk in any activity. And I certainly don't want to be a bump on a log. And just because I crashed once doesn't mean it's going to happen again. So a lot to sort out. I'm really interested to hear what others have to say about this, so I'll shut up.

(Oh -- one more thing. I don't want to frighten you, but this is heavy on my mind, too; my cousin broke his neck mountain biking about a month ago. He's very lucky. He has a lot of recovery before him, but he's not paralyzed and his prognosis looks good.)

 

[bounceswoosh]

I'm like, the world champion of getting back on the horse after having an injury that takes me out for a while ...

The big ones I remember:
Sprained wrist, mountain biking (when it first happened, I thought I'd lost part of my face - my face didn't have a mark on it, though)

Avulsion fracture of the right middle finger - bouldering in a rock gym. I was hanging from the roof, partly. This was after a day that had already included hiking, mountain biking, and a few hours of climbing.

Badly sprained ankle - mountain biking. Ate the whole summer.

Five stitches in the chin plus shoulder bursitis that dogged me for about six months - mountain biking.

ACL rupture and meniscus damage - skiing

.....

Huh. That's a lot. Funny thing - I never injured myself beyond a minor sprained ankle in years of martial arts. No serious injuries in paintball (lots of awful bruises). Nothing playing ice hockey.

I'm a big fan of the ideas in the book A Conversation with Fear by Mermer Blakeslee. Realizing when to push and when not to push. Realizing that it's okay to take a big step back in challenge and/or risk. Giving yourself challenging tasks on easy terrain, so that you have a bail-out option. (ie, stay in a narrow portion of a wide ski run.)

Also, this season, taking a mountain biking clinic was a great way to up my game. I started out tentatively and ended up kicking serious butt.

I think the sprained wrist was the first time I'd injured myself in a way I couldn't just bounce back from, mentally or physically. I hate not being able to jump right back on the horse - too much time to dwell. I eventually noticed that I wasn't consciously avoiding riding, but somehow it was never a good time. I always had something better to do. I had never been a huge fan of that bike, so I used the fall as an excuse to buy a new one that I absolutely loved. Then, uh, I got in a car accident that affected me mentally, and that messed with my head a lot worse. And then I kept pushing because I had a new bike, and that set me back really badly.

@ski diva - they do make neck protectors for downhill mountain biking, fwiw. I have one, but it doesn't fit well - need to mess with some of the spacers and see if I can make it fit better. The ones that fit well feel amazingly comfortable and reassuring.

Anyway, here are my "lessons learned," so far.

* Don't push. Do what feels comfortable. When you're first getting back into it, go ahead and do something even easier and less scary than you'd be comfortable trying. And maybe stay on that easier stuff until you're champing at the bit for harder stuff.

* It doesn't have to be a constant forward progression when you're getting back onto the horse. Push a little, then draw back. (This from the book)

* If it's important to you, you'll probably get back to your previous level and beyond, but if you don't - it's not the end of the world. You are more than the activities you pursue. You'll find something else that you love.

* Injuries have a way of clarifying the activities that really matter to you. For me, mountain biking and skiing. Probably rock climbing, but I've been unable to do that due to the knee and previously the shoulder (ironically, shoulder was not an injury but a "desk jockey" issue) for so long that I don't even know anymore.

As for your comment about the emergency number - doh, that's a good point! I've ridden alone at downhill bike parks just because I didn't have anyone who wanted to join me - but it's inadvisable. In fact, at Keystone, known for its technical terrain, they specifically tell you that you should ride with a partner.

As an aside - aren't full face helmets amazing? When I first got my downhill bike, I wasn't used to the powerful brakes and managed to endo, repeatedly (something I was told would not be possible with such a slack geometry - hah!). It was scary, but it wasn't painful.

 

[Tvan]

@SallyCat - wow - sounds like a scary crash and I'm glad you were not seriously injured.

@ski diva - we are spending the summer on our new bikes, discovering the lovely, flat rail trails in nearby Dutchess County NY. Maybe an easy ride in the autumn foliage would help you ease back onto your bike? No cars, no hills, and a lovely view of the Hudson River.

 

[Powgirl]

Yikes!! So glad you both are ok...I have a good friend who broke her collarbone and ribs mountain biking...it took her a very long time to heal...

Seeing her injuries really rattled me, so I stick to more flat scenic trails on my Trek.

Skidiva, I love Tvans suggestion...you can enjoy bike riding in many different ways.

 

[geargrrl]

So glad you weren't hurt. I blew my mcl/acl in a bike crash in July and get to have surgery Sept 1. Having survied a few, I'd say just listen to your gut. I spent a lot of time of flat singletrack after a big crash, and revisiting a basic skills course after that. Don't push, don't over analysze. I'd like to think that when I get back on the bike next year I'll be fine. Hope.

 

[nopoleskier]

@SallyCat YIKES!! Glad you are OK!! @ski diva glad you are on the mend.. Ladies be careful out there.. as skydivers say.. 'it's the last inch that'll kill you'

 

[SallyCat]

@ski diva Oh, my, I'm glad your cousin looks to have a good outcome. I am hyper-aware of the possibility of neck/spine injuries, and I always wear a spine protector when I go DH riding. I am going to look into a neck brace as well. Also, learning to jump for me means being able to hit a bike-length table-top on an intermediate flow trail with style and confidence. There's a point beyond which I don't want to go with jumping, because the risks are intolerable (at least, to me).

@Monique Wow, that is a LOT of injuries! I definitely was pushing myself too much today, and there are basic skills I need to work on (manual, bunny hop, etc.) before I go any further. I shouldn't have lost traction today that's for sure; I'm not sure what happened actually, but more balance and control are definitely in order.

I get what you're saying about biking alone. I always figure that since I'm never on any trail harder than a blue, and since most blue trails are wildly popular to people new to biking, somebody will show up to help me within no more than a few minutes. But yes, biking with others is preferable.

YES to full-face helmets! If I hadn't been wearing mine today, no joke: I'd be in the hospital right now having my jaw reconstructed and hoping that somebody located my teeth.

Thanks everyone for reading my post; I think it helped me process what happened today just to write it.

 

[bounceswoosh]

YES to full-face helmets! If I hadn't been wearing mine today, no joke: I'd be in the hospital right now having my jaw reconstructed and hoping that somebody located my teeth.

On my last day of the (downhill mountain biking) season a few years ago, I was riding with a friend and he took me down a black run I'd never ridden before. Very exciting, lots of jumps one right after the other - and on the back side of this one jump, completely hidden, a guy bleeding all over the place in a regular bicycle helmet. I had a big adrenaline spike / anger moment because dang it, he was in a blind spot and I could have hit him!

Come to find out later that he had shattered his orbital socket.

I'll say that I've fallen on my face (literally) several times and thought I'd been damaged badly, but usually I don't even end up with a bruise. When I split my chin open, my first thought was that I was going to lose some teeth for sure - but they were just fine.

I'm not sure how much bunny hops, manuals, etc would help with downhill riding - are there times when you feel they would have helped? That first fall with the sprained wrist, I never did figure out why I lost traction, which was very frustrating. I wanted to learn something from the experience, but I couldn't.

I'll ride blues and greens without a partner, it's true. Of course I have no idea what your blues and greens look like compared to the ones I've been on. There are isolated small jump opportunities on blues around here, but nothing big, and not the kind that are repeated right after each other so that you can't reset between jumps.

 

[SallyCat]

I'm not sure how much bunny hops, manuals, etc would help with downhill riding

I'm told that using a movement very similar to the bunny hop is an effective and safe way to hit tabletops, because (apparently) you have much more control over what the bike does in the air as opposed to just pumping the transition.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I'm told that using a movement very similar to the bunny hop is an effective and safe way to hit tabletops, because (apparently) you have much more control over what the bike does in the air as opposed to just pumping the transition.

Huh.

Meaning something beyond the "CPR" that I was taught? Crouch, Press, Release ...

I'm trying to picture what that means. Lifting the rear wheel while jumping?

 

[ski diva]

@ski diva - we are spending the summer on our new bikes, discovering the lovely, flat rail trails in nearby Dutchess County NY. Maybe an easy ride in the autumn foliage would help you ease back onto your bike? No cars, no hills, and a lovely view of the Hudson River.

I've done that trail! That includes the Walkway Over the Hudson? A very nice ride.

 

[mustski]

Wow ladies- it's the summer for crashes and injuries. I hope you all heal fully and quickly.

 

[geargrrl]

bunny hops etc give you a lot more control over the bike. You can unweighted it, maneuver around obstacles, choose whether to drop or roll...

 

[vickie]

I blew my mcl/acl in a bike crash in July and get to have surgery Sept 1.

Ugh! Sorry to read that. With lots of rehab over the winter, you should be bike-ready next season. Good Luck!

 

[bounceswoosh]

bunny hops etc give you a lot more control over the bike. You can unweighted it, maneuver around obstacles, choose whether to drop or roll...

I didn't learn a drop as a bunny hop ...

 

[Tvan]

I've done that trail! That includes the Walkway Over the Hudson? A very nice ride.

Indeed it is! When you're ready to ride it again, let us know and we'll meet you there!

We've clocked something like 70 miles on that trail so far this summer. Looking forward to upping our mileage on Isle La Motte next week.

 

[ski diva]

@SallyCat , how're you doing?

 

[SallyCat]

Doing well, thanks. Sore, etc., but I did some trail riding up in East Burke yesterday. I was very tentative and got nervous every time my tires slipped on a wet root. I was slow and walked the bike over a couple of skinny-ish bridges. But, I was glad to be biking, so a good start.

How is your recovery progressing?

 

[ski diva]

Doing well, thanks. Sore, etc., but I did some trail riding up in East Burke yesterday. I was very tentative and got nervous every time my tires slipped on a wet root. I was slow and walked the bike over a couple of skinny-ish bridges. But, I was glad to be biking, so a good start.

How is your recovery progressing?

Pretty well, actually. I had the stitches out a week ago, and though it looked pretty bad then, I'm starting to see considerable improvement in the laceration and road rash. The scabs are starting to go away, and the area that was stitched is healing, too. That said, my knee is not where I want it to be; it's still very stiff and tight, and the range of motion I need for walking and bending isn't that great. I have a bunch of exercises and I'm extremely motivated, so I'm sure I'll get there eventually. Tomorrow makes 3 weeks since the accident, so perhaps I'm a little impatient. I'm still feeling very lucky that it wasn't worse, and I'm definitely happy this didn't happen in October or November. I'm used to being active, so this is hard. How hard? I've done two jigsaw puzzles in the past week, and today I'm baking bread for the very first time. So obviously, I'm bored.