How much risk?

this thread has to much writing:eek:

it's all about assessing your abilities and how far you want to go. I am in no means close to my peak riding skill but I don't go all crazy and huck anything in site. if I know I can do something I will, whether is be riding a section of trail faster or hitting a new jump. If you don't hve the confidence and skill you will get hurt.

I have never been injured seriously while mountain biking and being at a ripe old age of 16 I can bounce back from a crash in a matter of days, But I realise when you get to be 30 it takes weeks or months.

I find it safer to slowly progress, maybe find something like a trail your very good at and push it a little more, little steps at a time. I found Whistler was great for improving rapidly. Riding A-Line the first day I got worked, But I kept looking at new things on the trail and following faster people. Just changing the way I did things slowly and Eventually at the end of the year I was faster than a buddy that worked me earlier in the summer.

InShane's crash was neither lack of skill or confidence, Just a missjudging of speed. I'm sure he'll go back to doing the same thing as before but now he'll most likely learn from his mistake and maybe think about his speed or the gap more. You can't go through life being perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. When you make a mistake you look back and improve on it for the better(most of the time).

Living in fear of crashing will probley make you crash more because you'll be on the edge or your heals all the time. Relax, have fun, and enjoy the ride. Find your set skill limit and work on it.

Originally posted by synchro
What about the guy that actually checked out last year on Whistler?

ya that was me on whistler!!It tooke 4 months for me to heel and back on a bike!

Originally posted by GIANT BOY
ya that was me on whistler!!It tooke 4 months for me to heel and back on a bike!

I think he meant the guy that died on the crabapple jumps :( rip

I usually go first, I do all the thinking (or lack of) myself. When confidence is high I just go for stuff and hope for the best. Its probably not the best way to go but I have fun, got a bad injury in September and am more cautious now.

I've heard it said that there are two kinds of riders. Those who've crashed big and those who haven't yet. I think you ride differently after a big crash.

Originally posted by usa_hucker
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If you are riding to push yourself and see what you can do then I think the best thing to do is to set goals and progress steadily. If you set goals and limits ahead of time then when your out on the trail and feel the pressure or urge to "just do it" then you can temper yourself and say "in time, in time".

Lastly, wear your armour and keep your bike in shape. I may sound like an old fart, and to be honest I don't really remember how I became a 31yo father with a full time career and all the responsabilities that come with that so quickly, but I do know one thing - You need to protect yourself out there!

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:werd: this man knows what he's talking about.

Originally posted by Dr. Sol
I've heard it said that there are two kinds of riders. Those who've crashed big and those who haven't yet. I think you ride differently after a big crash.

:werd: Thats scarily true!

Originally posted by Diligent_Nose
IMO, if you think there is a good chance of crashing, don't do it.

If I think it can't be done, I want to do it that much more….when you pull somthing that defys all logic you get this crazy rush. I dunno how to explain it but it's hella fun. Like you're first big drop, or your first big gap….just so sweet.

There's a difference between big, and dangerous. If it's big and safe, I'm down with it. If it's small and dangerous, I may be down with it, because the consequences won't be high if you crash. When you combine the big and dangerous, that's when things get scary.

It's great to hit something new, but you hafta assess your risks.

I havent had anything too serious. Just a broken shoulder (2 months out) and now a broken foot (probably another month and a half before I can ride), but I found that after my shoulder broke and I healed I got pissed off and started doing things that were out of my ability. I always crashed so my riding didnt improve.

It wasn't until later on in the summer that I focused on the technical aspects and really started to improve. Instead of just going as fast as I could off a drop…I thought about it, planned it and learned to be smooth. Just ripping a trail…instead of going as fast as I could, I tried to be as smooth and fluid as possible. This past season I went from being one of the roughest riders around (ask IFO! :P ) to actually being pretty smooth I'd say :)

The risk totally comes into play for me in this way as well. Not so much the risk of seriously hurting myself, but instead the risk of simply crashing. During the fall I went really big for me, really pushed myself and had a lot of fun…Everything started coming together…I was smooth!!

Riding is a lot more fun now :) I only wish I could ride right now :(

i know my bikes limits so i dont push 'em. bigger bikes, bigger limits is how i see it. you just need the balls to match ;)

Originally posted by synchro
If there is any doubt and there is no out then take a pass.

then you dont mountain bike. All of biking involves risks.

anyways i read something a while ago that was a theory on why people do extreme sports. but i can't remember it to well.

But basically most people know the risks they take. and you do pay the price sometimes. If you don't wanna go big then don't, but some people do and just let that be.

Personally i am always trying to push my limits but i don't think i go past them very often.

Pushing limits is okay, if you never pushed your limits you would never drop anything over 1 ft or ride a skinny more than 1 ft off the ground. The big question is where does it end? Something like bender trying the Jaw Drop is just plain stupid. The fact he tried like four or five times and didn't seriously get hurt is almost unbelieveable. There has to be a point when the risk becomes too high. I think the problem is that for some people a greater risk produces a greater reward. Because we tend to be greedy, we are always looking for that bigger high or more "respect" (and I use that term loosely) from other people.