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The knife edge of pushing the limits riding well and getting injured.

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#21 · (Edited)
I’m someone who likes to push my limits. I pushed (and exceeded) my limits earlier this year and am dealing with a separated shoulder because of it. I cut short the trip on which I crashed, missed out on a Whistler trip this summer, and missed out on a planned fall trip to Moab. My shoulder hurts after simply walking for 20 minutes.

TBH, I regret my decision to send that drop and if I could turn back the clock I’d have made better choices that day. In hindsight the reward wasn’t worth the price I’m paying.

Edit: Oh yeah, I'm going to miss out on skiing/snowboarding this winter too because of this shoulder. Yes regerts.
 
#22 ·
Lee McCormack did a piece on the different types of riders - those that like the steady dopamine of just riding their bike, and those that need a huge surge of adrenaline to enjoy riding. For me, I will do huge hits but its not the thing that drive me to ride... im just as happy riding XC as I am riding 20ft drops or gap jump lines. Its just I know my days are numbered if I keep doing risky ****, but I can do it if I need/want to.

If you are just doing a 45ft gap just to say you did it, and you knew you had a 50/50 chance of making it or going to the hospital... what would you do? For reference, here is a friend of mine who did a gap that I didnt do because I figured wasnt worth the risk. He risked it and ended up breaking his pelvis.
 
#23 · (Edited)
Plummet, I think you may be fooling yourself. While improved skill does reduce risk, it doesn't eliminate it. Big gaps = big energy = big cost for a mistake. Be careful and have fun. Consider those who depend on you outside of biking.

I was at Crankworx in whistler many years ago. What they don't hype in the footage is the number of guys you see in Whistler Village in wheelchairs. We saw so many quad and paraplegics that weekend, it blew my mind. I don't know the skill level of each guy that was in a wheelchair. I don't know if these guys were the top of the sport, or just trying to emulate those who are. But it made me realize how gladitorial it all was. I have not watched redbull rampage or Crankworx since.
 
#24 ·
I think most mortal, normal people likely have the same ready-check as I do:
Leaving aside the potential for an errant pedal strike or other freak accident that lands me in the hurt locker, when I line up to tackle a big piece of terrain that makes me nervous, I always go through this two step flow chart:
1) Am I confident this will go well and I will be successful?
2) If it somehow goes pear-shaped and I crash; can I work on Monday or is it likely that I'm "really" injured?

If the answer is no to either of those questions, it's a hard-pass.

I'm saying 'yes' to things this year that weren't even a discussion 2-3 years ago, so clearly I'm still 'pushing my limits, but for me progression doesn't come with "holy crap I can't believe I pulled that off".
 
#30 ·
plummet said:
At the moment I am at an 20 year high for fitness, zen, skill commitment and flow.
The question I now face is at what point to I push past the safer limit of risk taking and enter back into bigger injury risks?
Click to expand...
I know you are against it for some reason, but a huge benefit of weight lifting is the injury resistance it provides.
 
#31 ·
People randomly crash all the time not taking any risks. If the gap's it's in your range mentally - as in, you won't be so scared and tense that you almost guarantee a crash - then I figure the risk of crashing is minimal.

The nuance with bigger features is that the chance of the crash causing a serious injury is significantly higher. At a certain point it becomes improbable that you will escape without a serious injury. If you're ok with that, then send it.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Krapper2 said:
Plummet, I think you may be fooling yourself. While improved skill does reduce risk, it doesn't eliminate it. Big gaps = big energy = big cost for a mistake. Be careful and have fun. Consider those who depend on you outside of biking.

I was at Crankworx in whistler many years ago. What they don't hype in the footage is the number of guys you see in Whistler Village in wheelchairs. We saw so many quad and paraplegics that weekend, it blew my mind. I don't know the skill level of each guy that was in a wheelchair. I don't know if these guys were the top of the sport, or just trying to emulate those who are. But it made me realize how gladitorial it all was. I have not watched redbull rampage or Crankworx since.
Click to expand...
You'll see more people in wheelchairs at a Supercross race, than you'll any time in your life.

I had my glory days on motorcycles, got hurt a lot (20+ broken bones, 4 ICU visits, multiple surgeries and concussions), and took my own spinal cord hit when I exploded two vertebrae and then told the paramedics I was fine and took myself off the back board and tried to stand and promptly lost feeling in my legs and collapsed. Can hardly believe I was still that stupid at 38! That one was finally the one that had me truly scared when I tried to ride again. Also lost several friends and my best bud (we were sort of the leaders of the pack) is pretty f*cked up these days. Sideways arm and leg, limps badly, looks pretty rough.

It feels really cool to accomplish something at the edge of your abilities, but I walk away from things I can 98% do, nearly every ride. It's because my wife, kid & business depends greatly on me. And yah, I have a fear now that didn't exist when I was younger.

I used to think it was cool to be fearless. After what I went through in my youth, I realize how fortunate I am to now have a healthy self-preservation instinct. Still improving my bike riding btw (I started in my 40s), just at a slow steady pace.

Plummet, it's your call dude. There is a 90%+ chance you'll make it and get epic photos and high fives. But if it all goes wrong, you'll feel pretty stupid afterwards. If you lose your oncoming summer of riding (pretty easy to do) you're going to be pissed at yourself, if you (God forbid) lose the ability to ride altogether, you are going to be miserable.

GL.
 
#34 ·
For me, I like to push my limits. However I've been pushing limits in a more controlled manner. I know what I can handle.

I really want to send some big jumps; but I may end up just sticking with the smaller stuff such as jump lines and what not.
 
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#35 ·
It's a risk vs. reward question. I'm a private pilot and by all accounts, being a private pilot in a single-engine aircraft is filled with inherent risks.

The main difference is that as a pilot, I am reminded of these risks even before I get into the aircraft and prior to take-off and we mitigate them to the best of our ability (i.e. flight planning, weather briefing, pre-flight check, taxi check, engine run-up, take-off check), such that anything that does go wrong is going to be a freak occurrence. There's stuff outside of flying, hourly aircraft checks and annual checks that are also performed to rule out as much as possible the chances of anything going wrong.

In contrast, mountain biking and by extension off-road motorcycling is not regulated or have any barriers to someone saying "I'm just gonna send it." Some of us have a better "checklist" than others, and what I've found the difference is between professionals and amateurs is that pros typically are much more conservative relative to their skill level and will take a more gradual, progressive approach. It just looks like they are "sending it" because they already have a much greater range of skills and abilities than the majority of amateurs.
 
#36 · (Edited)
Loll said:
Some of those injuries OP had shared, it always make me wonder if the shower stings afterward? Or may be skin and lesion don’t hurt as much for tough guys?
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Roadrash (in my experience) hurts like a MF, showering was painful, everything was, l had sleep in a sitting position leaning forward for 2 weeks, not fun at all

EDIT: and chicks dont dig these scars l have 😕
and l cannot forget that crash, every sound, feeling is still in my head, even had "nightmares" about it, at least they're gone now
Road rash (lack of) passion the pics dont show all the probs I had, just the bad ones, but skin on knees and ankles was also ground away, one shoe had a hole ground into it (toes ok thank god), a few fingers were also stuffed, it was all just hell.......
 
#37 ·
Nat said:
Whoa. I know three other people who've broken their finger on the MRT.
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I got a boxers fracture on the MRT. Used to be a janky bridge that dumped right into a rock pile. I went over the bars back when 67° was a slack head angle. I've since broken that same pinky twice. Once falling down the steps on ice Home Alone style and once with this past crash... It's all kinds of bent now.

I'm not sure I've asked you this before but how long are you post shoulder injury now?
 
#39 ·
WHALENARD said:
I got a boxers fracture on the MRT. Used to be a janky bridge that dumped right into a rock pile. I went over the bars back when 67° was a slack head angle. I've since broken that same pinky twice. Once falling down the steps on ice Home Alone style and once with this past crash... It's all kinds of bent now.

I'm not sure I've asked you this before but how long are you post shoulder injury now?
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Wow, who knew that the MRT was so hard on upper extremities?

I'm now 12 weeks post-injury. I just got back from the orthopedist's office and he said that I actually have a grade V separation rather than the grade III that the radiologist called. Therefore, I'm considering surgery. I feel okay riding a bike but just walking for 20 minutes makes everything spasm.

How's your recovery going? Are you on the bike at all?
 
#40 ·
Nat said:
Wow, who knew that the MRT was so hard on upper extremities?

I'm now 12 weeks post-injury. I just got back from the orthopedist's office and he said that I actually have a grade V separation rather than the grade III that the radiologist called. Therefore, I'm considering surgery. I feel okay riding a bike but just walking for 20 minutes makes everything spasm.

How's your recovery going? Are you on the bike at all?
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Grade V, man that sucks. Surgery outcomes have me concerned from everything I've read and friends experiences. 12 weeks out with not a lot of progress I would certainly be trying to find the best ortho I could though.

I can ride at about 50-60%. On some plains my arm is very weak and I get a substantial "twinge". After a while on the bike it travels up into my neck and behind my scapula then becomes substantially uncomfortable. By far my biggest hurdle is sleep. About 4 hours a night then the endless struggle to find a comfortable position.

For what it's worth Traumeel seems to help or maybe it's placebo. Best luck, keep us apprised of your progress please ✌
 
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