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Cost of MTB Injuries Worth the Risk? (long-ish post, but I spaced it out)

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#62 ·
for everyone who does not have stellar low cost health insurance look into get spot from usa cycling ride+ for 240 a year. It covered me 3 years ago from a clipped pedal accident requiring er visit, all doctor visits, mri, rotator cuff surgery and 9 months of pt.

That was my most serious accident I had, the other 15 years I had minor stuff cracked rib when handlebar broke in 2.
 
#63 ·
I'm getting up there in age and have been riding for 40 years. So far, not much for any serious injuries over those decades. Maybe I've gotten complacent because of that. I love biking so much that I generally don't want to consider the consequences. There's a reason that I never look at the rider down part of the forum or watch Friday Fails. Ignorance is bliss as they say.

I manage my risk by avoiding high speed jump lines where it seems the worst injuries happen, especially for someone my age. Instead, I get my fix by riding steep technical trails where the speeds are much lower and the consequences of a crash are lower.
 
#64 ·
TandemBear said:
The benefits of knee health due to cycling will offset any of the one-off injuries suffered as a result of "over-biking."
Three orthopedic surgeons on the radio years ago all said, "Cycling!" For injury prevention, knee strengthening and post-surgery rehab, and general knee health, they all couldn't say enough positive about cycling.

I credit my healthy knees about to turn 60 to cycling. 10 years playing soccer without injury. Cycling to soccer practice is just about the best warm up there is.

I'm putting cycling squarely in the "health benefit" category.

Anyone taking major bails is a risk-taker prone to self-mutilation, regardless of their sport of choice. If it's not on a bike, it would be on skis, snowboards, rock climbing, snowmobiling, motorcrossing, paragliding, or any other pro-injury sports out there with major risky downsides. Cycling isn't the problem.
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Knees, sure. The benefits are hardly limited to knees though. Most people can't believe that I'm as old as I am. I look about 10 years younger than my true age. I'm also very thin and have low blood pressure. I credit mountain biking for it.
 
#65 ·
snow snakes said:
I’m in my mid-20s, and I’ve always had a more reserved attitude towards risk than most riders my age. I’m here for a long time AND a good time, so I‘ve embraced the part of my psyche that tells me that being in the air for more than a second is a bad idea.
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You still ride some pretty gnarly tech!
 
#66 ·
Even though my most serious injuries riding bike occurred while either starting or going slow, or along a flat paved bike path while drafting, I am trying to just enjoy more of the single-track rides through nature instead of pushing for a personal record on curved ridgeline. A little more time at a less risky pace seems to have decent enough health benefits while reducing risk of hitting an immovable tree.
 
#67 ·
Yup, mountain biking is absolutely risky.
Along with every other activity that involves getting off the couch.
Best to stay there and have a nice safe diabetes induced heart attack.


Seriously though, risk is not a black box.
One can assess for fatigue, terrain, environment, etc., etc. and account for it.
Appropriately set up, well maintained bikes rarely experience mechanicals, let alone ones that lead to injury.
When I ride within my limits my risk of injury is actually quite low.
While bad luck is alway a factor, it is rarely the one singular factor that leads to serious injury.

The risk of injury, absent crashes, is also very low.
As mentioned, many running sports apply exponentially more explosive lateral force on the knee joints than the very limited normal knee movement that biking requires.
The dynamic all-body movement required for climbing, descending, cornering, technical moves, etc. keeps repetitive use injuries seen in stick and ball sports another rarity in mtb.

And for all the risk of injury, the medical expertise in addressing those issues is unprecedented.
Sport medicine is at a zenith (if you can afford it).
Bumps, bruises, bones- (medical) childs play. ACL/MCL repair- incredibly efficacious, and shockingly routine.
You know what is hard to fix- heart disease. Obesity. Late stage diabetes. Depression. Lack of awareness/appreciation of/for nature.

So the question is not is mtb risky, we know it is.
But risky compared to what? And for what benefit.
And is it boring as hell...
 
#68 ·
I recognize that your post is motivated by social media, and of course this is social media, but why does it matter to you what other people think and feel about risk?

We choose for ourselves, the level of risk we’re willing to take in order to achieve certain ends. My ends are different than your ends, that only makes sense.

The injuries I receive are based on what I do. As I age and incur more injuries, I reflect on these injuries and the risks I take.

It is normal to reduce risk as we age, this is based on wisdom developed through experience.

So yeah, social media :)
 
#70 ·
kevjob said:
for everyone who does not have stellar low cost health insurance look into get spot from usa cycling ride+ for 240 a year. It covered me 3 years ago from a clipped pedal accident requiring er visit, all doctor visits, mri, rotator cuff surgery and 9 months of pt.

That was my most serious accident I had, the other 15 years I had minor stuff cracked rib when handlebar broke in 2.
Click to expand...
I have the $25k Spot from Blister+ for $300/yr plus $100/yr air lift insurance (free heli rides). Should be good enough for sports or catching a bullet at the corner store.
 
#71 ·
Curveball said:
I'm getting up there in age and have been riding for 40 years. So far, not much for any serious injuries over those decades. Maybe I've gotten complacent because of that. I love biking so much that I generally don't want to consider the consequences. There's a reason that I never look at the rider down part of the forum or watch Friday Fails. Ignorance is bliss as they say.

I manage my risk by avoiding high speed jump lines where it seems the worst injuries happen, especially for someone my age. Instead, I get my fix by riding steep technical trails where the speeds are much lower and the consequences of a crash are lower.
Click to expand...

Curveball said:
You still ride some pretty gnarly tech!
Click to expand...
I think of it similarly to the text I highlighted in your first post. I'd rather fall into a rock or a bundle of roots at 15 mph than hit hardpacked dirt at 30 mph.
 
#72 · (Edited)
MTB has always had an issue with the machismo, enduro-bro attitude of “if you ain’t bleedin’, you ain’t ridin’” BS. I even bought into it in my younger days, giving other riders a hard time if they wimped out on a technical feature. Eventually we all grow up. And learn that our family and work get tired of the injuries. And those injuries cost money.

Technical trails and features have their place, but ridearounds aren’t such a terrible idea, either.
 
#74 ·
snow snakes said:
I think of it similarly to the text I highlighted in your first post. I'd rather fall into a rock or a bundle of roots at 15 mph than hit hardpacked dirt at 30 mph.
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This guy nails the tech.
Image
 
Discussion starter · #75 ·
Donkeeboy said:
I recognize that your post is motivated by social media, and of course this is social media, but why does it matter to you what other people think and feel about risk?

We choose for ourselves, the level of risk we’re willing to take in order to achieve certain ends. My ends are different than your ends, that only makes sense.

The injuries I receive are based on what I do. As I age and incur more injuries, I reflect on these injuries and the risks I take.

It is normal to reduce risk as we age, this is based on wisdom developed through experience.

So yeah, social media :)
Click to expand...
Sometimes I like to bring up a well rounded topic to engage the forum.
 
#76 ·
Donkeeboy said:
I recognize that your post is motivated by social media, and of course this is social media, but why does it matter to you what other people think and feel about risk?
Click to expand...
Why did you imply other opinions aren’t of valuable… then feel the need to post your own?

No need for an answer, it’s quite apparent.
 
#80 ·
I often wonder how many people that post on the merits of US healthcare have lived in and had to deal with the day to day realities of healthcare in other countries. I’ll skip commenting on which system I think is better but, having lived in three countries and having to deal with a child that had a condition that had to be regularly, I can only say that I’ve yet to see anything that I considered perfect. Also, I will say that the wealthy have huge advantages regardless of the system from what I’ve experienced.

No idea how to solve it and I don’t have interest in fighting about but those of you so sure one way or the other without having real life experience confuse me. Like all things that are complex, it is far more nuanced than what I could learn by just reading about it. Just saying. Feel free to blast me or whatever. Only stating my real life experience.
 
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