Post here when you fall off your bike

Let's talk about crashing here. Get detailed with where what when why and how. Maybe you even had the GoPro running. At best we'll get some good stories, warnings to look out for on the trails, and some sympathy.

I've been pretty lucky this season, but crashed on Expresso on Friday. It was in the final third of the trail, after all the woodwork and the rock rolls. I came over a little hump and my wheel was on the right side of the trail, but on the other side of that hump the right side of the trail had eroded and there was a sort of 6 inch deep one sided rut. As my wheel attempted to travel back to the middle of the trail it lost traction trying to get out of that rut and slid out. No harm, no foul, knee pads saved the day. But my shin hit my top tube decently hard, and there is a stripe on my leg where there is no hair now. Neat.

Side note: If you hadn't ridden the shore in the past month you would almost never even be able to guess it had rained, but the difference on the trail was night and day. Glad it came back for Saturday too.

I had a nice one on Monday of the Labour Day long weekend. 

I was camping in Squamish with a group of friends and there was this massive log ride beside our campsite. I had been eyeing it up for 24 hours and we were now leaving the camp site. The log was not part of a trail or anything so, being from the north shore and riding and growing up on the shore i took it as an opportunity to get "sendy" and "freeride" my way into the history books of my non biker friends. 

Short version of the story: I climbed onto the log and easily rolled all the way down it (i don't know exactly how long but it was pretty damn long). It was not that skinny so balance was no prob. After you dismount the log at the end, it's a short steep bank with a small 1ft ledge. I cleanly get off the log, begin my descent down the short pitch, and as I went to hop off the ledge and continue to "send it" (gotta boost off everything am i right?) I lost my balance mid hop/takeoff and and that's where it all went wrong. I stuck out my left foot as I was falling but it all happened so fast that I was on the ground almost immediately. In the blink of an eye I was on the ground with a mouth full of dust. 

Damage: sprained left ankle, and nice road/gravel rash on my left arm and knee. Irony: I brought knee pads but didn't wear them since they were "all the way out at the truck" in the campsite parking lot. I did have my helmet on though, I don't really fuck around with out that piece of equipment.

I have video of it! but I don't know how to share it on this forum. I also did this move twice. Nailed it clean first try then went back for round two and went down. Lesson learned. Hit it clean first try? Move on! 

Now here I am, one week later. The x rays came back with no indication of a fracture! Just bad bruising below the ankle so that is great. Road rash is scabbed up nice and is a joy to pick at. All in all the damage wasn't too bad. I learned to not be such a show off annnd that I still got it. Oh and that I also am more fragile in my old age and don't heal as fast as when i was a teenager. 

Can't wait to get back on the bike next week!

Haha great, thanks for sharing. Glad the damage wasn't too bad, but these incidents always sting a bit more when they don't occur on an actual trail. And yes, always quit while you're on top. It's why you never call last lap.

I went down pretty hard on Lower Severed today, right at the last drop before you get into the flowy section. Not sure what happened, I think that I hit the brakes, and with brand new pads on the front, and almost finished ones on the rear, the front locked up and I went full Superman OTB. It wouldn't have been that bad, but my elbow caught a rock which peeled back a good sized flapper and left couple of good divots as well. It was bleeding a lot, but I was able to wrap it up with a handkerchief and ride the 20 min back home. Then off to the ER to get it all scrubbed up and a stitch which may or may not hold the flapper down while it heals up.

I was having a great ride too... had just come down Forever After almost entirely clean, had a fast climb up Penny Lane, and got through the bigger drops on Lower Severed without any problems. I was pretty happy how everything was flowing after having only ridden once in the last 2.5 weeks, so I think I got a bit cocky on the last small drop and hit it a bit faster than I should have, which led to reflex braking. Will be changing out those rear pads ASAP to get the lever stroke matched up.

Click here for close up pic of the damage.

I'm super embarrassed but I had the biggest most disgusting crash of my life (riding MTBs for 30 years!) on Bobsled of all places. I finally said it! Ive been withholding the trail publically since the first weekend in May due to shame!

Heading onto the larger of the two ladder drops, my dog magically appeared right in front of me. She cut the corner through the woods and there she was. My OTB experience began before I even left the wood - I launched over the bars and was well over by the time I crested the end of the drop.

Hit HARD. Obliterated my Fox Proframe. Bad separated shoulder (AC). Separated a bunch of ribs that kept dislocating for many weeks every time I bent, coughed or hiccupped. I would have to reduce them manually each time it happened. I tore my left hamstring so badly I couldn't lift a foot off the floor laying on my stomach for almost 3 months. My left legs girth was over 4 inches larger than the other. It was an incredible feat that I was able to get out of the woods without professional help. A very nice rider on a yellow Evil heard my crash and came down to assist. He helped me gather everything - I couldn't stand up at first due to the hamstring. I knew my AC was f'd so I only had one arm, and any twisting or bending sent ribs in all directions. I hobbled out and the Ranger was waiting for me at the road. I refused to allow the fire to be called as I was not going to be the latest tweet from North Van Fire re "responding to an injured mountain biker of Fromme". F' that. Super stubborn, I refused a ride to the parking lot and I inched my own way up. My head was fine so I got myself to the hospital. Probably not one of my more brilliant moments.

I was completely off the bike for over 3 months. Now, almost 5 months later my hamstring doesn't hurt, but it is so weak. Ive spent probably 100hrs at Physio. My shoulder is super loose - we probably made a mistake by taking it out of the sling so quickly - a frozen shoulder would at least have given me something to loosen up because tightening it up is now a challenge. The ribs are fine!

Now, I only bring Penny my Vizsla riding on Cypress where I'm not likely to see another person. I love riding with her but Ill never risk that she f's up someone else like she did me again. I don't like riding nearly as much without her but I don't plan to bring her back to Fromme or Semour. She's a great trail dog but she's still a dog that will do unpredictable stuff sometimes.

There you go - the easiest trails can result in the worst injuries - you're going way faster than on the sketch.

Wow, sorry to hear that. Despite everything else I'm glad to hear your head was okay. How would you rate the Proframe did in the crash? I know it was obliterated, but I guess it saved your head? Would you have been in much worse shape had you only been wearing a half shell?

Is that dog in your avatar the culprit?

PS - no judgement on the fact it happened on Bobsled. Firstly it had nothing to do with your skill, and secondly that's a fast trail that with it's ridership can get very loose and gravelly. I've seen lots of people lose traction and throw their shoulders into berms.

I thought that the Proframe did everything that I could have asked of it. Ive only riden with full faces for the last couple years exactly for this reason. If I had a choice of a full face or a half at the top of B'sled, Id have grabbed the half because it was "just Bobsled!". The Proframe (and S2R, which I also have) don't bug me at all in full face config anywhere, and when the stupid stuff happens in asinine locations, Ive got face protection for when I never expected to need it. I don't see a reason not to have face protection with these new helmets.

The helmet has a crack all the way through the Styrofoam from just above my right eye all the way back to about 2 inches above the top of the back of my neck. Its almost broken in two. I still have it of course!

I hobbled into Norco John Henry a few days after my crash, completely busted up, in a sling and obviously off the bike for at least many more weeks, and bought another Proframe.

Yes, that pooch is the culprit. I was mad at her for about 1 second.

Wow that bobsled incident sounds nasty! Glad you are doing ok now. That trail got me too. It was a Damp day, and I was pedalling past the two drops you mentioned on the left of the trail. my chain snapped just as I crested the little downhill. Left foot slipped off the pedal and smashed into the ground and I barely didn't go otb. Foot was numb from the cold already because it was march. Got home and noticed my big toe nail was blue/black. Yada yada yada it eventually fell off and a new one grew in. Pretty awesome! 

Recounting my crash stories and hearing others is very liberating!

Sometimes it's the small ones that get you.

So I thought I was pretty bad ass as I non-stop flowed down in sync with the trail and my bike....started at the top of 7th Secret, into Leppard, continuing through Crinkum...doing all the tough lines, and not a single dab.

When I got to Kirkford, where one of the switchbacks is somewhat blown out (#17?), I lean a bit far back (at low speed) to avoid a rock and a hole and the bike pops out from under me...I flop backward onto my ass and knock the back of my helmeted head on the ground. Again...not very fast, so the crash was minor. My pride hurt, I had some dust on my ass, and if there had been anyone in eye-shot, whatever cool factor I thought I had, was quashed.

For as good as that whole route has been running, there is one switchback that is super blown out compared to the others. Was this recently?

Was in the bike park for a couple days this weekend. Slipped a pedal and just barely grazed my shin on Upper CDN Downhill, but otherwise the weekend was great and injury free.

I decided to change my bike park warm-up lap on Saturday from the usual B-Line/Funshine/Blueseum to Fantastic/CIU/C-More/Family Cross. Two turns into Fantastic I somehow manage to wash the front tire out and slam my heel and elbow into the rock resulting in nice bruises. Usually when I crash first lap the day is a write-off, but somehow managed to get back into it and have a great day. Minor crash compared to others in this thread but it definitely had me shaking my head.

Posted by: fun-house

For as good as that whole route has been running, there is one switchback that is super blown out compared to the others. Was this recently?

I noticed it a couple of weeks ago...so it's been that way at least that long. What's the protocol? Stop and do remedial work? Or leave it to the pros? I expect I'll be back there in a few days.

Posted by: grambo

I decided to change my bike park warm-up lap on Saturday from the usual B-Line/Funshine/Blueseum to Fantastic/CIU/C-More/Family Cross. Two turns into Fantastic I somehow manage to wash the front tire out and slam my heel and elbow into the rock resulting in nice bruises. Usually when I crash first lap the day is a write-off, but somehow managed to get back into it and have a great day. Minor crash compared to others in this thread but it definitely had me shaking my head.

Crashes happen on the first lap!  It's the prophecy the signs under the lift foretold.  

I had a fairly low speed crash on Kirkford on the weekend.  The alternate line with a wooden steep into a right hand turn into a second wooden feature that's much less steep.  Half pedaled out of the first steep and caught my foot/pedal on the tall root that's there.  Sent me off the side, half over the bars.  No real injury, but I ripped my new Sugoi waterproof shell.  :-\

Posted by: idle

Crashes happen on the first lap!  It's the prophecy the signs under the lift foretold.

I had a fairly low speed crash on Kirkford on the weekend.  The alternate line with a wooden steep into a right hand turn into a second wooden feature that's much less steep.  Half pedaled out of the first steep and caught my foot/pedal on the tall root that's there.  Sent me off the side, half over the bars.  No real injury, but I ripped my new Sugoi waterproof shell.  :-\

Funny enough, I have crashed on my warm-up lap once last year and later that day I had my biggest crash ever (separated shoulder). I definitely pay more attention to how I am feeling focus wise now.

I've also crashed on that exact feature on Kirkford earlier this summer when it was raining. The first of the two ramps was a bit wet and I washed the front end out, and my tire dropped to the ground from the wood... luckily managed to not go OTB.