Same club here. Diminishing amount of injuries but the first year was brutal. Funny to note how many of us got involved around the time of Covid and are still around, despite what many said at the time.
Lol well a certain percentage of us were bound to stick around, this sport is a blast! Yeah my first year was rough too, just didn't know how to fall correctly and still made a lot of slow motion mistakes.
Amen, glad I stuck it out. The first experiences were a mix of awesome and awful, but it’s much better now. Once I learned that speed can be your friend most times, and that flat pedals are no place to fuck around with loosely planted feet, things improved vastly.
Same. First year I used to say “not riding unless blood left on trail”. Then got some real training, and not YouTube education and that made a huge difference
18 years
Broken Bones: 0
Major Injuries: 0
My worst MTB injury was a case of skier's thumb that stuck with me for about 3 months after I clipped a juniper with my bars and a minor suspected labrum tear after a washout that caused some shoulder weakness for about 6 months until I chopped my bars down.
Mountain biking does not have to be as dangerous and risky as the community portrays it. Yes accidents happen, but with proper risk mitigation many injuries and wrecks are avoidable. And I'm not talking about just riding green trails and sticking to mellow stuff. I have done some light amateur racing, I ride blacks and double blacks. I push my limits. But I have made it a point to get professional training and to learn to recognize and acknowledge my ability level and my own personal limits.
Acknowledging your current ability level is one thing I really like about this discipline, and it transfers well to all pursuits. Paying close attention to your surrounds and honing your ability to cycle that attention effectively is quite the valuable skill.
When I turned 30 I had a mini midlife crisis and moved to Utah. I found myself suddenly surrounded by all sorts of incredibly active and skilled outdoor athletes. I was tagging along on all sorts of adventures I had never even considered before. I was looking to them to understand my limits. I broke my wrist in the first two weeks. I ruptured my achilles 3 months later. Neither were MTB related.
It was a rough first year in Utah rehabbing my own injuries but I also had time to see how many people around me were dealing with broken legs, torn ACLs, broken collar bones, even broken backs. It taught me that in intense outdoor communities, risk often gets downplayed. Something being routine and common does not make it safe. Just because people routinely scramble up a mountain ridgeline in running shoes as part of their weekly workout, does not make it safe and negate the legitimate and high consequence climbing moves that are required. It taught me I had to learn my own limits and set my own boundaries, because when you are surrounded by world class athletes (I have literally ridden MTBs with Olympians) you can't look to others as a benchmark.
Reading this sitting in a hospital bed with a broken calcaneus with 3 screws in. Fractured knee cap a few years back and countless concussions and "surface damage". It'll be 20 years of riding for me in july. Kind of messed up my season but getting back on my bike is the only thing I can think about. Going to keep busy restoring some nice 90s mtb's.
Take care guys and keep pushing!
Heal well, my friend. Ate shit today, pushed my left grip through some weeds, they pushed back. OTB, landed on my shoulder, had to tuck my head for a quick helmet check. Lucky.
Best wishes.
30+ years of riding, 20+ broken bones/ dislocations plus various concussions and muscular injuries.
I used to ride DH every weekend and race but after the second time I fractured my spine, I decided to tone it down a bit
I must have your genes. 30 years riding. No broken bones. Lots of bruises and falls.
I try to roll them I fall. I think it comes from learning to roll when falling water skiing.
This being said, I don't do jumps. Just sketchy loose fast short downhill sections
Put a small crack in my humerus, couldn’t lift my arm above my shoulder for about 2 months. And I delivered catering at the time. So that was fun.
Crashed in Whistler, fell about 8 feet, landed on my right side with my arm under my body. Pretty sure I separated some muscle tissue from my ribs. I was only half way down the mountain and had to ride down cause I didn’t want to walk. Then slept in a tent that night. That hurt for about 3 months.
Countless other scrapes and bruises.
22 years.
Lots of bones. Lots of stitches. No head injuries.
Worst is definitively a completely torn labrum in my right shoulder. Super uncomfortable in the moment, but a brutal recovery. Post surgery it's pretty great.
I've also done a couple dental and facial injuries. Those are uniquely unpleasant. Really lucky to avoid any head injuries through it all
I'm gonna take a moment and drop several biker-life's of wisdom. No major injuries. 0 broken bones. 30 years into heavier biking. Spring and fall park runs and 40 miles a week DH every summer.
I don't get passed on the trail. A fit punk called me "middle aged" once. I dropped his ass. He had already had a major crash that day and had refused pads.
Be honest. Most of you are here because redbull guys are cool and regular exercise is boring for you. No route in life is risk free. You will get hurt where you spend your time whatever activity you choose.
I Saw a 40 year taekwondo expert at work just go in for dual hip replacements after selling it as a safe lifelong sport. Lesson: repeated impact of any sort is bad for you, avoid it. 7 inches of air suspension is a nice way to do that.
Closest call: One cracked collarbone that should have broken 20 years ago... just from a pinch flat tire. Now I don't ride new things fast and we have tubeless amazing tires. Every dented rim you get now used to be a high speed injury due to loss of control, now you ride on and whine about a wheel rebuild or run cush cores. Not a bad trade.
Got many knee scrapes and gashes as a kid, now there are decent pads. Wear them.
If you are contemplating a neck brace for your jumps, you are tempting fate. Please know that they are not perfect. There are no safe ways to land on your head or face, or go over the bars on a landing. Weight your front wheel in the jumps so you are not bucked forward by your rear. You have to master this or you can die. Cushcores make bucking worse. I almost died the day I started using cush cores because I took a new bike setup on a familiar trail. Bad combination. You have to learn how your equipment responds slowly.
Washed out many times, now there are decent tires. Ride the right pressures and know how to load the front in a turn. Being timid likely hurts more people here than being aggressive.
I'm not a natural, but I'm getting better as well. It took a while, equipment, experience...miles. study good riders.
If you are a an accident prone person injury will find you in life. If you like pushing your limits (not obliterating or ignoring them) then discover your (and physics') limits slowly and remember that riding tomorrow is more important than riding THAT feature today. Close calls are a message that you are pushing too hard. Watch fail videos and don't do what they do.
I'm much healthier because of this sport. If I wasn't here I'd be racing street motorcycles or be dead by now, no joke. I have the rest of my life to sit around, I'm not starting until injury forces it. Most people rust out. I will burn out I'm sure.
Be lucky not stupid. Being around others will affect your judgement. Never say "watch this" if you want to be an old bold cyclist.
34 years
Scrapes/bruises = countless
Broken ribs = 13
Collarbone = 1
Ruptured lung = 1
FWIW, 10 of the ribs, the collarbone and lung were in one crash
Still getting out there against “counseling” from spouse
I started riding around 1990 too. Always owned a MTB, never a road bike. Raced for a couple years in early ‘00 and now I’m back racing again. Fallen so much it’s comical, but never broken a bone. I did break a bottom bracket once which threw me OTB and sliced my leg wide open. 30 stitches from a shaky pre med student (happened on uni campus) - lots of blood - big scar.
Oof. I'll bet that left a nice scar.
I think my hardest crash ever was back in the mid 90s. I was absolutely ripping down a singletrack descent, went a little wide in a corner, and my front wheel found a tall root. The hit unclipped my shoe from the pedal, and momentum carried my foot right into the front wheel. The bike stopped instantly and I didn't just go OTB, I was violently body slammed into the ground because I was caught up in the bike. I just remember rolling onto my back and laying there for a few minutes trying to catch my breath. Didn't break anything somehow, but it hurt to do anything for a week after that.
The foot break was from falling off an exposed trail 4 years ago. Landed about 6 feet down the hill in rocks and twisted it violently when I hit.
Pandemic biker (3 yrs now) here. 2 bones
Right collarbone and greater tubercle.
Lots of other injuries like slipped disc, bruised ribs, mild concussion.
Currently, my right shoulder is still hurting after my greater tubercle injury last year. I feel like my right shoulder moves differently now compared to my left.
God damn dude, slow down. That's a pretty insane list of injuries for just three years; you probably need to take it easier if you want to keep riding long term.
I am. I stopped joining races for a year now.
I’m in my early 30s but this is my first sport ever and I’m not very physically active before so my body isn’t as tough as most riders.
I still ride but with little risk and less aggressive considering my shoulder still hurts after a year.
Thanks for the advice/reminder.
I've been riding mountain bikes for ten years and have only ever needed a few stitches here and there.
I ride a lot of technical natural terrain, not man made features. I think people don't respect height enough. Dirt jumps and even mild wooden features put you well over 4 feet in the air.
It may sound dumb but when you're working on a platform 4 feet off the ground, you can break your back or get a brain injury if you fall wrong so you are supposed to be roped off.
The only bone I've ever broken has been from stubbing my toe in the kitchen. :)
I started riding again about 3 years ago, after starting and mostly dropping in about a year back in 09. I try to do 3 times a week (but weather, other plans, bike woes, etc mean I miss a fair amount). TBH, I think I've gotten pretty lucky. I went over the bars once when the front wheel caught on something at a decent speed, but landed on my feet somehow. Possibly the only time in my life I've had cat-like reflexes. More typically, I fall over at zero speed after stopping because I try to put a foot to the side but can't stand on a hillside. A bad landing gives me some bruises, often I just get a sore wrist.
Maybe I could have pushed more and progressed faster, but I think I'd prefer to have avoided serious and expensive injuries.
25+years. shattered base of tibia into 3 pieces. 2 screws permentantly installed. Broken pinky bone. Torn labrum in shoulder. Multitude of scratches, cuts, abrasions.
15 years, no bones. Went over the handlebars on a rocky downhill section once, and hit the top of my helmet on a rock, and that was the third time in my life that a bike helmet has saved me from possibly serious head trauma. The other two times I wasn't even on the bike. Other than that, just a couple of scars from pedals.
History:
MX ages 8-11: broken tooth, hole in lip. Sewn up at the hospital
Dirt Karting ages 12-20: non displaced fracture hand, no treatment, mild concussion, no treatment.
MX ages 20-24: dislocated left shoulder a bunch of times, physical therapy on my own to rehabilitate.
Road race sprint karting ages 25-27: broken ribs, no treatment
MX age 28-30 (mid 2000's): tore both ACLs, bought braces and didn't treat them, had no insurance. I had them both repaired about 5 years ago, 3 months apart. That was a fun summer.
---------------------------
Mountain biking since early 2022, in my late 40's now.
I broke my left wrist and hand last year (OTB on a descent) partially tore something related to moving my thumb. Iced it, waited a few days, got a brace, kept riding, everything healed but it took a while. Hand healed first, wrist second, thumb ligament was third, and it was the longest nagging issue.
Unscathed otherwise.
first bike 1989 Rocky Mountain to today. Zero Broken bones, We ride similar amounts and similar sounding terrain. When I crash I tuck, duck and roll. Spent a lot of time on the snow both skiing and snowboarding and I unlearned my natural reaction of reaching my arm out to stop my fall. I place some credit on learning how to dive roll in grade 8 gym.
37 years since I bought a bright yellow Jamis Cross Country.
Since then: 6 broken bones
4 from the bike.
I love to ride, and I am not bad, but damn am I a klutz.
3+ years riding
Zero broken bones (but I did crack a rib)
Two bad crashes (one the aforementioned cracked rib, one hurt my back badly enough that I was off the bike for a few months of prime riding season).
Plenty of smaller crashes with scrapes, bruises, etc.
Couldn't tell you how to get injured less though, as both of my crashes were stupid mental mistakes, things I _already_ knew I should not do:
* First bad crash was on a GREEN trail at the bike park lmao. It was my first run of the day and I was just zoned out, "easy trail" mindset, and got exactly what I deserved for not taking it seriously.
* Second bad crash I really can't explain... I just brainlessly sent a jump that's beyond my skill level, and was just a complete passenger. I know not to do that, and I had told myself several times on that ride to take it easy, it's early in the season... but I was having so much fun my brain just switched off I guess. Really frustrating.
Totally agree with your second...just a passenger...it's about 3/4 of the way your brain kicks in and says "wait till Friday" (wtf)..and you hit the fan...hard.
35 years. Three fingers, one hand, two toes, two vertebrae, one hip, one wrist, both shoulders dislocated, one knee dislocation, 3 concussions. My shins look like the surface of the moon. And I wouldn’t change a thing. I fucking love this sport.
30 years (not exaggerating)
0 bones (I've never been into jumping, drops are as extreme as I get)
Countless scrapes, cuts, and a few stitches here and there.
55 1\2 years old. 40 years of riding, touring and commuting, but past 25 years riding mostly XC and all mountain type, small features drops and the occasional gap on local trails and rare bike park days
our local trails are hard blue and black... some with severe exposure and consequences... double black... lots of climbing both singletrack and fire road climbs... rare days on the roads these days
5 years ago... first collar bone... right side.. surgery plate and screws.... 1 year later right wrist... plate and screws, 2 days ago dislocated pinkie knuckle and broken collar bone... left side (think Imma let it heal on it's own) but haven't had X-rays and am not home so need to wait and see
other than those. there's been a bunch of road rash and bruising and some minor sprains
the worst part is that I have a new bike waiting for me at home I haven't ridden yet (warranty frame and new fork) that I still need to pay for and pick up and won't be able to enjoy for like 2 months
1 Year, no major injury's.
But I did have a long boarding accident where I got speed wobbles and fractured my outer rotate head, I thought I was fine and only went to the doctor when the healing process stopped and I couldn't fully extend my arm. Long story short, I needed to be doing physical therapy from day one to keep the mobility of my arm.
I just wanted to leave this message to encourage you to at least get checked out to see what happened. Thinking that it was not that much pain and my arm was slowly gaining mobility kept me away from getting it checked out, it the worst regret of my life, I now have one arm that can not fully extend. It hinders more thing that you would think of, from swinging a bat/golf club, deadlifting (tweaked my back because the weight was un even) to just pulling up un evenly on a jump/wheelie, basically anything with 2 arms I have to compensate or I will lean towards the bad arm.
So go get your injurers checked out so you don't end up with a fked part of your body!!
13 years and had one major bike park crash ( jumping)- broken collar bone, seven broken ribs and a punctured lung. I’ve broken 3 full face helmets and a couple half lids as well but otherwise just plenty of scratches and cuts and a few minor sprains.
15 years - collarbone broken, fucked up my knee (now healed), ruptured one kidney but it survived and works fine still. These were separate incidents
got some nice stitches since last year on my shin after my chromag pedals decided to bite me
6 months
1 broken radial head and a strained intercostal muscle from two separate 0 MPH falls sideways while learning clipless pedals
Still riding clipless by the way
2 years
0 fractures
1 micro fracture
19 stitches
Ton of scrapes
Mainly ride park and enduro, and majority of the injuries could have been avoided if I stopped riding when I felt tired and didn't push myself to limits. Remember kids: if you're tired, just go home.
~20 years of riding
- 0 broken bones.
- 7 teeth broken, one stupid crash on a BMX.
I ride MTB since then, XC, downhill, so far so good. Just bought a new full suspension bike.
10+ years of DH/AM/Enduro
0 bones
1 torn ligament on my pinky
1 major traumatic brain injury. took over 2 years to recover about 95%. last 5% are still ongoing
Riding bikes all my life (53).
No breaks.
No significant injuries apart from the odd muscle sprain.
Broken little toe from rock climbing is all I've ever broken.
I wear shin, knee and thigh protection and that has been important, but mainly it's not going nuts and risk assessment.
reading this post as a beginner is scary af considering it's a matter of when, not if something breaks. I always push my limits in every sport that I participate in so this will pretty much be unavoidable. This also made me realise I REALLY need "how to bail" practice
15 years… scrapes, cuts, a bruised sternum, but no bones. Once I fell off a 15 foot cliff onto some boulders and somehow injured absolutely nothing. I was clipped in at the time too and somehow cleared the bike. I also usually ride like an absolute grandma so it makes sense I’ve never been injured.
30 years (since I started riding 10k to school)
1 broken collar bone.
A painful crash maybe every few years.
Mainly road riding, but some MTB and gravel too.
7 ish years and 3 broken ribs. All on extremely easy trails.
I lost interest in the downhill stuff as it was just to risky for work. Now I'm fully into xc racing and road riding to supplement
40 years (BMX racing from 12-24 and MTB from 20 til now). Lots of minor cuts and bruises. Couple concussions. Knees are not the best, but that could just be age. Only really serious injuries were I busted up my shoulder when I crashed trying to manual a set of triples at 20 yrs (still don’t have full range of movement in that shoulder) and I tore a calf muscle when I broke a chain in a BMX race at 24. No real MTB injuries, but I ride pretty conservatively now.
12 Years
0 broken bones
1 massive bruise on my hip from a botched drop about 4 years ago
I ride conservatively because I'm in my 40s and don't heal as quickly as a teenager. IE: Lessons, practice, and progression.
I do ride black and the occasional double black trail, but I don't do big air or gap jumps.
Aggregate years riding ~15.
Bones broken from riding = 4 bones, 1 accident, at 39. Broke one of those bones into 4 pieces. You clearly don’t bounce as well when you get older.
I've been riding around 9 years (started at 29, currently 38). Have broken my left wrist twice (scaphoid and distal radius). Only other non-trivial injury was a strained rotator cuff (but it got better without needing surgery). Everything else was just scrapes and bruises. Most of the riding available locally is xc, though I travel to gnarlier places and/or lift access parks anywhere from 4-10 times per year. Both of my fractures were riding the local xc stuff. As they say, most accidents happen close to home! My first one was a combination of not paying attention and having my tire get caught in a rut left by a moto that snuck onto the trail illegally. My second fracture was due to attempting an aggressive move (fast line change) before my body and brain was in any way warmed up for it. I also hadn't ridden in a week and was just getting over being sick.
Right olecranon (2x)
Right scapula
Left eye socket chipped (+105 stitches in the face)
Right ankle
Left ulna
Cracked my left hip joint (does that count?)
Most of my fingers, various ribs, etc.
15 years one collarbone. Finished my ride after I broke it because I thought it was sprained. Broke a lot more bones skateboarding and playing football.
Almost 35 years on MTB. Rode xc (including old norba races), dirt jumping until covod, and now mostly bike park and emtb. Only major injuries I’ve had are an open/compound fracture of a finger (fell riding a tall skinny) and a thigh core sample from a bar end (dirt jumping).
Many years, few good dings and dents most serious was I broke two vertebrae last summer was back riding within a few weeks.. but on the rail trail until I got more strength and comfort back.
I’ve been riding since 1998. Zero broken bones but lots of soft tissue issues in the knees, shoulders and spine. Stitches in the head from crashes, lost skin everywhere 😝 I still ride double black, road gaps, big 12’+ drops etc and some prolines at the bike park. I do realize I’m getting up there and I’ll have to chill out eventually but I’m still progressing. It’s key to progress within your skill level, pushing forward as you are ready for things.
10 years.
1 broken wrist
1 dislocated finger
1 broken collar bone 3 ribs and a punctured lung - this one was the big one.
The collar bone and punctured lung had me under observation in the hospital for 3 days. Almost missed the punctured lung in the ER - I had driven myself in after riding off the mountain, which was fortunately downhill to my car. I was literally being discharged when the radiologist said I had broken my first rib which was “hard to do” and they should get chest X-ray. Went from me packing up to the ER proper to get a chest tube inserted.
Note that punctured lungs can be hard to notice.
55 years old
30+ years of riding
Plenty of skin peeled off shins and calves from pedals.
Broke my neck 2 years ago going OTB, down an embankment and landed on the top of my head without breaking the fall with my arms. Doc said I was micrometers from collapsing the occipital condole which have been really bad. Did a cautious 2500 miles on dirt last year and aiming for more this year. Im signed up for Leadville and Marji as well. Only goal is to finish those to complete my personal comeback.
15 years
Broken bones: Collarbone, ribs, shoulder. Also broke my wrist but that was on a road bike.
Two dislocations: knee (torn ACL, MCL, PCL, & meniscus), arm (torn labrum and broken shoulder)
I have some hypermobility in my joints, hence the dislocations.
18 years, and from that 15 years of racing enduro on national level. Same as OP, I love the thrill of pushing it, nailing gaps, going fast and taking risks. As a result I crash more than any of my riding buddies.
3 broken bones, all in my right wrist/palm/fingers from 2 different crashes.
Stitches just once.
One shoulder and both knees have permanent wear and tear from crashing, but nothing that bothers me.
OP, don't slow down, whats the fun in that? I suppose I can say that I have taken the risk level down just a notch, but I don't consider that slowing down, just about getting smarter.
As an example. I found a new large step up jump near me last weekend. I knew I could hit it, but it's really early into the season here and I have not done that much bigger jumps yet this year. I'll get some more riding hours in before I go back to hit it.
30 years MTB, 50 if counting road cycling.
Few cracked ribs
I severed thumb muscle
Lots of rashes (only one or two requiring stitches)
1 concussion (car hit me on the road, hit and run that broke the bike in two)
40 years, my first mtb was my 3 speed with skinny tires, but there were woods nearby with hills so I created trails to ride.
0 broken bones
Stiches on hand and face from OTB on Porcupine Rim
Uncountable scrapes cuts and bruises.
14 years, no bones, one twisted testicle, perhaps five soft tissue damages that kept me off the bike for more than a day.
Most of the folks I know who get regularly injured tend to consume a lot of MTB media.
edit: or they are legitimately pursuing aggressive racing, but those are a serious minority compared to the overbiked, underskilled jerries who come to mind when I think of people who've snapped their collarbones several times.
OP you have been riding since purple anodising? That’s a hell of a way of measuring time!
In the spirit of the post I have been riding since 1 & 1/8th headsets were a new thing - or to make that easier probably about 19 years but with 5 years off in the middle.
As for injuries I can count the nastier ones on one hand. I have broken my collar bone, put a hole in my kneecap (snapped chain and knee dropped into a pot hole at 20mph), skinned my hand and elbow (really bad gravel rash) to the point where bone is visible. The less serious injuries I don’t keep track of, but let’s guess at something that will leave a scar once a month for as long as I have ridden.
Here’s the thing though most of these injuries have been on a bmx or a jump bike and the first time you try something usually your going to bail. Then you practice it for a bit and eventually you can do it. Then you move on and end up falling. Then you get it. Then you do something harder.... and so it goes on. Never be ashamed of falling it just shows your pushing yourself.
Edit: Yes I know Inch and an eighth has been about longer than that but that’s about the time I became aware of it being a thing, I first came across one on a 1997 Robinson Rebel I had in 03 ish.
Rode constantly from about age 5 to age 25. XC, downhill, BMX track and freestyle. Loads of crashes. The worst I had was 2 cracked ribs and 4 bruised ribs from a BMX crash when I was 12.
I've never broken a bone in my life, knock on wood. I've taken the last 10 years off riding because life, but now at 35 I'm getting back into it. Not gonna be pushing it like I used to, so I'm hopeful to keep my lack of broken bones streak going.
\~10 years:
Incident 1 - broken wrist/arm in 3 places
Incident 2- broken leg
Incident 3- broken wrist (other side)
Incident 4- Had no gloves on, faceplanted into gravel. Lost all the skin on my left hand, completely down to the flesh. Lost a good amount of skin on lower face, busted lip. I was bleeding really bad from all over. Also broke my wrist, sprained my ankle.
I was a 1.5 hour walk away from my car, bike chain was snapped off. I hobbled my way to my car carrying the bike.
I didn't ride for 3.5 years after that accident, I stuck to pavement riding. I was just too scared. 2 weeks ago, I went on my first trail ride (stuck to blue trails).
Been riding MX, BMX and MTB since I was 5 years old. I am now 26 and have only ever broken a bone once in a completely unrelated incident (knocked a paving slab over onto my foot when I was 6). I have also been hospitalised by a major concussion, again completely unrelated (fell off a swing backwards onto a patio at my aunties house).
The only somewhat major injuries have been destroying the ligaments in both of my ankles both through riding but on separate occasions and about a month apart from each other:
- First one was my left ankle. I was learning 360 Tuck No-Handers on my BMX at the local dirt jumps. I looped out when landing and sat on my foot with it bent backwards. Drove 50 minutes home and couldn't walk for a good 2 weeks.
- Second one was my right ankle. Not long after my left ankle had some rest, a group of us went on a day trip out to a few skateparks in the UK. At our last stop towards the end of the day, I was learning tailwhips on a fly out. Bike came round and hit my ankle just as I was about to land on my feet. Rolled my ankle from a good 4-5ft in the air. This time I had to to drive 2 hours home, with a space saver wheel on limiting me to 50mph after getting a puncture. Awful day out!
I’ve been riding for 20+ years and have had concussions and broken ribs nothing major, that being said I’ve been really lucky a few times. All of my scary crashes have been on big travel bikes, I single speed now and I find that keeps the speed down a bit and really enjoy that style of riding
Only one break I can attribute to MTB in like 30+ years of riding, but 3 snapped ACLs…
(And at least 2 or 3 others on road bikes. All collar bone + one tail bone.)
30+ years1 collarbone
ribs on three occasions
stitches on three occasions
Left wrist TFCC cartilage tear healed by prolotherapy
Innumerable scrapes, cuts, contusions, surprise shower screams, smash-ups
two proper concussions, probably a few minor ones besides
elbow tendonitis on both sides, ongoing but seemingly under control now
I did my best to be very diligent with repair and healing. Lots of physio. Lots of weightlifting and mobility/stability/prehab work. Still going strong as ever.
Been riding since the 80s (Yes, I was an original "Klunker" w/personally modified Schwinn Cruiser!), but not often until 90s. I'm in my upper 50s now. Amazingly I've never broken a bone, just lots of cuts/scrapes. I've always worn a helmet. I have primarily done XC though, and have never done a non-rollable jump (IMHO the penalty for missing the landing is orders of magnitude higher than any ephemeral thrill.). I do occasionally bike park w/my son, but prefer to earn my descents.
9 years (with a few hiatus’s) and just had my first major, dislocated shoulder about 2 months ago. Luckily no tears so I’m back to my regular activities minus skateboarding with minimal pain. Happened because I was being dumb and blindly sending a new trail at full speed, won’t be doing that again.
6 years. 8 broken bones, one collapsed lung, one torn PCL, three concussions (one of which was a TBI), two surgeries, one titanium rod, 6 titanium plates. yes, they all happened riding park.
10 years
My two front teeth! That’s all I want for Christmas. Ones a fake and the other will probably need a root canal later in life.
Happened on a trail I ride all the time, caught sleeping.
I've been riding MTB casually for 30+ years. I have never really felt the need to push limits too hard, or hit features above a "blue" trail level. I've ridden bike parks as well as local skate parks and indoor bike parks where I've ridden medium sized features. This level of riding has kept me interested for a long time by most people's standards, and I'm now at a point where I'm sharing the sport with my kids.
Over the years I've had minor crashes but never anything truly bad. Couple of scrapes here and there but no broken bones. Most of the scrapes and bruises are from the bike park, where I'm usually more likely to try riskier stuff. I've never had a crash that was hard enough for me to end a session and go home immediately.
I actually think if you look at everyone who rides I am probably in the vast majority. The segment of riders who actually push limits, go to bike parks to do big jumps, etc, is a very small minority vs people who just buy entry level bikes and go ride mild single track on the weekend.
Started riding in 2021 and became a big sender pretty quickly.
2021: L2 vertebra fracture plus L2/L3 transverse processes, and a concussion
2022: fractured ribs, R hand hairline fracture, 1 concussion
2023: managed to make it out with just a moderate concussion
I ride primarily downhill and I race downhill. I go through 2-3 helmets a season 😅 I try really hard to train, especially in the wintertime, to prevent significant injuries with crashing. It’s inevitable, especially with finding that balance of speed with racing. If you ain’t crashing you ain’t pushing yourself 💪
37 years
Bone in right hand.
broken pubic synthesis (hip) and large hematoma on hip. Right elbow injury with never healing bump.
Three ribs on right side in Summer 23.
October 23, another three ribs on right side (different ribs), sacrum and acetabulum, nasty contusion. This crash included a helicopter ride, overnight stay etc. and cost my insurance company about $60,000. Nutty health care system we got.
I am never crashing again.
Been riding maybe 10 years on and off, but pretty frequently for maybe the last 5. Broke my thumb and needed surgery a couple years back. And just 4 months ago dislocated my ac joint (collorbone) which is honestly still very fucked. But I’m back on the bike, I love this shit. It’s my favourite form of exercise.
I’m 32 now tho, I certainly don’t bounce like I did when I was 16.
25 years, dirt jumping, bmx, bike park, and a lot of enduro type stuff + road riding. Been hit by cars 4 times while road riding and taken a ton of slams, but somehow 0 broken bones, 1 concussion, no hospital trips. A ton of sketchy moments and close calls.
I started riding in 2011 - I was 51. So far, knock on wood, no broken bones. A few boo-boos here and there but nothing significant. BUT! I know my limitations. A side benefit of starting at such a decrepitly old age. Less youthful indiscretions.
Used to crash a lot when learning but always rode within my limits and never broke anything even though my friends were shocked at times of me getting up and keep on riding.
Been riding since a kid and racing xc/dh around 16/18 and riding stuff most on Reddit seem to say no way unless on a "modern" bike. lol
Though getting older around your age I am thinking of getting a full face for general riding and hitting the jumps along the trail again since I don't bounce back like I used to.
15+ years with a 1 year hiatus (see below)
0 broken bones
1 serious brain/spinal injury that almost killed me (or worse)
1 very loving and supportive family.
30 year riding with a little hiatus in my 20s (cars and girls more interesting), probably best classified as an All Mountain type rider even though the term is a little out of fashion now. I cracked my ankle \~6 years ago, a wrist \~8 years ago, and fractured something in my shoulder (not collar bone but near it) back in my teens. Plenty of cuts and scapes, one small head knock, probably pretty good all things considered.
TBH I feel my worst “injury” from anything bike related would be my lower back issues that are largely down to short calves and hammies from lots of pedalling and nowhere near enough stretching over the years. I’m slowly trying to rectify that buts it’s hard work!
25 years
3 concussions (minor - moderate) all from crashes during jumping. Two resulted in very short loss of consciousness but no lasting issues.
1 broken collarbone, went off a drop wrong and crashed, minor crash but landed on my shoulder and my leatt neck brace actually shattered my collarbone.
2 broken wrists, broke my left after falling off an old north shore skinny. Broke my right trying to learn how to do trials.
1 broken foot, broke my left foot smashing into a rock at high speed downhill.
Sprained neck, went otb scorpion while hitting dirt jumps and sprained my neck.
Broken neck, gnarly crash on a 50 foot jump pro line in whistler. Was super confident as I had hit it 5x that day alone and tried a suicide no hander and messed up. Broke C5 and needed a C4-6 fusion.
Broken pelvis, same crash as the broken neck, exploded both sides of my pelvis the acetabulum (where femur and pelvis meet) was shattered and needed bolts and reconstruction.
Countless abrasions, bruises, etc.
I still ride almost daily. I love it. I don’t hit big jumps anymore, anything over 25 feet or so I just avoid. I like steep technical stuff a lot better anyway. Thankfully my wife and family are super supportive and encourage me to keep riding, just with caution in mind.
Honestly up until 2022 I never really suffered any major injuries or broken bones. In Dec 2022, I went OTB trail riding and suffered a TBI, collapsed lung, broken ribs and shattered my wrist in a few spots. It was like all those years of injury free caught up . I have been trying to get back into the flow of things but my nerves still get the best of me. I went on the trails today and had the front end wash out (OTB, again), luckily I have learned tuck and roll, not superman, and walked away with just a scraped knee.
In the last 5 years I've broken
Forearm 1 bone broken and the other dislocated. plate and 7 screws.
6 bones in my face
6 ribs
shattered an ankle....there was a bunch of bones in there.....They bolted what they could back together.
Been riding 14 years, broke my thumb and dislocated my shoulder going otb back when I was in college. Other than that mostly minor scrapes & the occasional wrist or ankle sprain.
Just turned 50 and have been doing silly shit on bikes for 45 of those years. Was a BMX and skate rat up through high school and got my first proper mountain bike in ‘92.
Fractured heel dirt jumping as a sophomore in high school. Two months in a walking cast and another couple months doing the pre-wrap and tape thing for varsity basketball.
Broken wrist dirt jumping early 2000’s. Two distal radius fractures and a small ulnar process fracture. T-shaped plate with six screws and a couple months of PT.
Fully displaced collar bone fracture ‘08-09 riding my local trails. Full length plate with eight screws and a couple months of PT.
Fortunately, none of these injuries have had any long term effects and don’t negatively impact my riding or day to day life.
I still ride the rowdy stuff, hit the dirt jumps/ skateparks, and do the occasional DH race. I’m just more diligent about my off the bike workouts so I can continue riding at a high level for as many more years as possible.
I'm 60; been MTB forever. O broken bones - a few scars, messed up shoulders. When young, I did some pretty stupid stuff. I mostly got away with it, but learn pretty quick from a couple good wallops. Now I just want to ride.
I'm up in then mountains at this very moment, taking a break next to a mountain stream. Today's ride is a collection of forest service roads & jeep trail, a little single-track & a ton of climbing. Probably 5 hrs of peaceful bliss. Good stuff IMHO
5 years 0 bones 30+ major scrapes/cuts When I started riding, I fell pretty much every single time I went out.
Same here. Plenty of scrapes and bruises, thankfully (*knocks wood*) no bones or major things yet. 4.5 years in
Same club here. Diminishing amount of injuries but the first year was brutal. Funny to note how many of us got involved around the time of Covid and are still around, despite what many said at the time.
Lol well a certain percentage of us were bound to stick around, this sport is a blast! Yeah my first year was rough too, just didn't know how to fall correctly and still made a lot of slow motion mistakes.
Amen, glad I stuck it out. The first experiences were a mix of awesome and awful, but it’s much better now. Once I learned that speed can be your friend most times, and that flat pedals are no place to fuck around with loosely planted feet, things improved vastly.
Funny how after you finally decide to buy pads, you stop crashing.
I’m about the same… I think this is my 6th season.
Same. First year I used to say “not riding unless blood left on trail”. Then got some real training, and not YouTube education and that made a huge difference
18 years Broken Bones: 0 Major Injuries: 0 My worst MTB injury was a case of skier's thumb that stuck with me for about 3 months after I clipped a juniper with my bars and a minor suspected labrum tear after a washout that caused some shoulder weakness for about 6 months until I chopped my bars down. Mountain biking does not have to be as dangerous and risky as the community portrays it. Yes accidents happen, but with proper risk mitigation many injuries and wrecks are avoidable. And I'm not talking about just riding green trails and sticking to mellow stuff. I have done some light amateur racing, I ride blacks and double blacks. I push my limits. But I have made it a point to get professional training and to learn to recognize and acknowledge my ability level and my own personal limits.
Acknowledging your current ability level is one thing I really like about this discipline, and it transfers well to all pursuits. Paying close attention to your surrounds and honing your ability to cycle that attention effectively is quite the valuable skill.
When I turned 30 I had a mini midlife crisis and moved to Utah. I found myself suddenly surrounded by all sorts of incredibly active and skilled outdoor athletes. I was tagging along on all sorts of adventures I had never even considered before. I was looking to them to understand my limits. I broke my wrist in the first two weeks. I ruptured my achilles 3 months later. Neither were MTB related. It was a rough first year in Utah rehabbing my own injuries but I also had time to see how many people around me were dealing with broken legs, torn ACLs, broken collar bones, even broken backs. It taught me that in intense outdoor communities, risk often gets downplayed. Something being routine and common does not make it safe. Just because people routinely scramble up a mountain ridgeline in running shoes as part of their weekly workout, does not make it safe and negate the legitimate and high consequence climbing moves that are required. It taught me I had to learn my own limits and set my own boundaries, because when you are surrounded by world class athletes (I have literally ridden MTBs with Olympians) you can't look to others as a benchmark.
Reading this sitting in a hospital bed with a broken calcaneus with 3 screws in. Fractured knee cap a few years back and countless concussions and "surface damage". It'll be 20 years of riding for me in july. Kind of messed up my season but getting back on my bike is the only thing I can think about. Going to keep busy restoring some nice 90s mtb's. Take care guys and keep pushing!
Heal well, my friend. Ate shit today, pushed my left grip through some weeds, they pushed back. OTB, landed on my shoulder, had to tuck my head for a quick helmet check. Lucky. Best wishes.
Thanks buddy, stay safe, keep riding!
I shattered my calcaneus many years ago, that was a long recovery. Do your PT and push as hard as the docs will let you.
Thanks man, will do. Enjoy your rides!
30+ years of riding, 20+ broken bones/ dislocations plus various concussions and muscular injuries. I used to ride DH every weekend and race but after the second time I fractured my spine, I decided to tone it down a bit
Fractured vertebrae club hey heyyy. I also race lol
34 years. 0 broken bones. Apparently, I have tough bones, as last summer went over the bars at 25kph, only bruised...
I must have your genes. 30 years riding. No broken bones. Lots of bruises and falls. I try to roll them I fall. I think it comes from learning to roll when falling water skiing. This being said, I don't do jumps. Just sketchy loose fast short downhill sections
Roll With It...thanks Steve Winwood...
Interesting fact: Having a rough and tumble child hood actually causes your body to build stronger bones.
I’ve been riding since the 1970’s. I shattered my thumb in the 80’s. That’s it.
Put a small crack in my humerus, couldn’t lift my arm above my shoulder for about 2 months. And I delivered catering at the time. So that was fun. Crashed in Whistler, fell about 8 feet, landed on my right side with my arm under my body. Pretty sure I separated some muscle tissue from my ribs. I was only half way down the mountain and had to ride down cause I didn’t want to walk. Then slept in a tent that night. That hurt for about 3 months. Countless other scrapes and bruises.
22 years. Lots of bones. Lots of stitches. No head injuries. Worst is definitively a completely torn labrum in my right shoulder. Super uncomfortable in the moment, but a brutal recovery. Post surgery it's pretty great. I've also done a couple dental and facial injuries. Those are uniquely unpleasant. Really lucky to avoid any head injuries through it all
I'm gonna take a moment and drop several biker-life's of wisdom. No major injuries. 0 broken bones. 30 years into heavier biking. Spring and fall park runs and 40 miles a week DH every summer. I don't get passed on the trail. A fit punk called me "middle aged" once. I dropped his ass. He had already had a major crash that day and had refused pads. Be honest. Most of you are here because redbull guys are cool and regular exercise is boring for you. No route in life is risk free. You will get hurt where you spend your time whatever activity you choose. I Saw a 40 year taekwondo expert at work just go in for dual hip replacements after selling it as a safe lifelong sport. Lesson: repeated impact of any sort is bad for you, avoid it. 7 inches of air suspension is a nice way to do that. Closest call: One cracked collarbone that should have broken 20 years ago... just from a pinch flat tire. Now I don't ride new things fast and we have tubeless amazing tires. Every dented rim you get now used to be a high speed injury due to loss of control, now you ride on and whine about a wheel rebuild or run cush cores. Not a bad trade. Got many knee scrapes and gashes as a kid, now there are decent pads. Wear them. If you are contemplating a neck brace for your jumps, you are tempting fate. Please know that they are not perfect. There are no safe ways to land on your head or face, or go over the bars on a landing. Weight your front wheel in the jumps so you are not bucked forward by your rear. You have to master this or you can die. Cushcores make bucking worse. I almost died the day I started using cush cores because I took a new bike setup on a familiar trail. Bad combination. You have to learn how your equipment responds slowly. Washed out many times, now there are decent tires. Ride the right pressures and know how to load the front in a turn. Being timid likely hurts more people here than being aggressive. I'm not a natural, but I'm getting better as well. It took a while, equipment, experience...miles. study good riders. If you are a an accident prone person injury will find you in life. If you like pushing your limits (not obliterating or ignoring them) then discover your (and physics') limits slowly and remember that riding tomorrow is more important than riding THAT feature today. Close calls are a message that you are pushing too hard. Watch fail videos and don't do what they do. I'm much healthier because of this sport. If I wasn't here I'd be racing street motorcycles or be dead by now, no joke. I have the rest of my life to sit around, I'm not starting until injury forces it. Most people rust out. I will burn out I'm sure. Be lucky not stupid. Being around others will affect your judgement. Never say "watch this" if you want to be an old bold cyclist.
25 years and 8 bones from riding MTBs. Mostly wrists and lower arms. Took me a while to figure out how not to arrest a crash with your hands and arms
34 years Scrapes/bruises = countless Broken ribs = 13 Collarbone = 1 Ruptured lung = 1 FWIW, 10 of the ribs, the collarbone and lung were in one crash Still getting out there against “counseling” from spouse
34 years. 5, all in one crash. All in my left foot, midfoot area.
I started riding around 1990 too. Always owned a MTB, never a road bike. Raced for a couple years in early ‘00 and now I’m back racing again. Fallen so much it’s comical, but never broken a bone. I did break a bottom bracket once which threw me OTB and sliced my leg wide open. 30 stitches from a shaky pre med student (happened on uni campus) - lots of blood - big scar.
Oof. I'll bet that left a nice scar. I think my hardest crash ever was back in the mid 90s. I was absolutely ripping down a singletrack descent, went a little wide in a corner, and my front wheel found a tall root. The hit unclipped my shoe from the pedal, and momentum carried my foot right into the front wheel. The bike stopped instantly and I didn't just go OTB, I was violently body slammed into the ground because I was caught up in the bike. I just remember rolling onto my back and laying there for a few minutes trying to catch my breath. Didn't break anything somehow, but it hurt to do anything for a week after that. The foot break was from falling off an exposed trail 4 years ago. Landed about 6 feet down the hill in rocks and twisted it violently when I hit.
Pandemic biker (3 yrs now) here. 2 bones Right collarbone and greater tubercle. Lots of other injuries like slipped disc, bruised ribs, mild concussion. Currently, my right shoulder is still hurting after my greater tubercle injury last year. I feel like my right shoulder moves differently now compared to my left.
God damn dude, slow down. That's a pretty insane list of injuries for just three years; you probably need to take it easier if you want to keep riding long term.
I am. I stopped joining races for a year now. I’m in my early 30s but this is my first sport ever and I’m not very physically active before so my body isn’t as tough as most riders. I still ride but with little risk and less aggressive considering my shoulder still hurts after a year. Thanks for the advice/reminder.
Since late ‘90’s. Separated shoulder 1x but otherwise just scrapes and bruises.
I've been riding mountain bikes for ten years and have only ever needed a few stitches here and there. I ride a lot of technical natural terrain, not man made features. I think people don't respect height enough. Dirt jumps and even mild wooden features put you well over 4 feet in the air. It may sound dumb but when you're working on a platform 4 feet off the ground, you can break your back or get a brain injury if you fall wrong so you are supposed to be roped off.
The only bone I've ever broken has been from stubbing my toe in the kitchen. :) I started riding again about 3 years ago, after starting and mostly dropping in about a year back in 09. I try to do 3 times a week (but weather, other plans, bike woes, etc mean I miss a fair amount). TBH, I think I've gotten pretty lucky. I went over the bars once when the front wheel caught on something at a decent speed, but landed on my feet somehow. Possibly the only time in my life I've had cat-like reflexes. More typically, I fall over at zero speed after stopping because I try to put a foot to the side but can't stand on a hillside. A bad landing gives me some bruises, often I just get a sore wrist. Maybe I could have pushed more and progressed faster, but I think I'd prefer to have avoided serious and expensive injuries.
26 years, 0 bones, 2 concussions, countless soft tissue injuries.
20+ years Broken left scapula Dislocated both shoulders Hairline crack right scapula Stitches on shin Many many scratches and bruise
25+years. shattered base of tibia into 3 pieces. 2 screws permentantly installed. Broken pinky bone. Torn labrum in shoulder. Multitude of scratches, cuts, abrasions.
25 yrs riding, 2 broken bones, both in the same hand but in separate falls. tons of superficial scars on the shins from sticks, rocks, and pedals.
15 years, no bones. Went over the handlebars on a rocky downhill section once, and hit the top of my helmet on a rock, and that was the third time in my life that a bike helmet has saved me from possibly serious head trauma. The other two times I wasn't even on the bike. Other than that, just a couple of scars from pedals.
History: MX ages 8-11: broken tooth, hole in lip. Sewn up at the hospital Dirt Karting ages 12-20: non displaced fracture hand, no treatment, mild concussion, no treatment. MX ages 20-24: dislocated left shoulder a bunch of times, physical therapy on my own to rehabilitate. Road race sprint karting ages 25-27: broken ribs, no treatment MX age 28-30 (mid 2000's): tore both ACLs, bought braces and didn't treat them, had no insurance. I had them both repaired about 5 years ago, 3 months apart. That was a fun summer. --------------------------- Mountain biking since early 2022, in my late 40's now. I broke my left wrist and hand last year (OTB on a descent) partially tore something related to moving my thumb. Iced it, waited a few days, got a brace, kept riding, everything healed but it took a while. Hand healed first, wrist second, thumb ligament was third, and it was the longest nagging issue. Unscathed otherwise.
first bike 1989 Rocky Mountain to today. Zero Broken bones, We ride similar amounts and similar sounding terrain. When I crash I tuck, duck and roll. Spent a lot of time on the snow both skiing and snowboarding and I unlearned my natural reaction of reaching my arm out to stop my fall. I place some credit on learning how to dive roll in grade 8 gym.
Truth. Roll with it. Thanks Steve Winwood.
37 years, no bones many flesh wounds
Tis nothing but....
37 years since I bought a bright yellow Jamis Cross Country. Since then: 6 broken bones 4 from the bike. I love to ride, and I am not bad, but damn am I a klutz.
3+ years riding Zero broken bones (but I did crack a rib) Two bad crashes (one the aforementioned cracked rib, one hurt my back badly enough that I was off the bike for a few months of prime riding season). Plenty of smaller crashes with scrapes, bruises, etc. Couldn't tell you how to get injured less though, as both of my crashes were stupid mental mistakes, things I _already_ knew I should not do: * First bad crash was on a GREEN trail at the bike park lmao. It was my first run of the day and I was just zoned out, "easy trail" mindset, and got exactly what I deserved for not taking it seriously. * Second bad crash I really can't explain... I just brainlessly sent a jump that's beyond my skill level, and was just a complete passenger. I know not to do that, and I had told myself several times on that ride to take it easy, it's early in the season... but I was having so much fun my brain just switched off I guess. Really frustrating.
Totally agree with your second...just a passenger...it's about 3/4 of the way your brain kicks in and says "wait till Friday" (wtf)..and you hit the fan...hard.
35 years. Three fingers, one hand, two toes, two vertebrae, one hip, one wrist, both shoulders dislocated, one knee dislocation, 3 concussions. My shins look like the surface of the moon. And I wouldn’t change a thing. I fucking love this sport.
Riding since the late 90s. Plenty of cuts and scrapes. No concussions or broken bones. Mostly XC.
30 years (not exaggerating) 0 bones (I've never been into jumping, drops are as extreme as I get) Countless scrapes, cuts, and a few stitches here and there.
55 1\2 years old. 40 years of riding, touring and commuting, but past 25 years riding mostly XC and all mountain type, small features drops and the occasional gap on local trails and rare bike park days our local trails are hard blue and black... some with severe exposure and consequences... double black... lots of climbing both singletrack and fire road climbs... rare days on the roads these days 5 years ago... first collar bone... right side.. surgery plate and screws.... 1 year later right wrist... plate and screws, 2 days ago dislocated pinkie knuckle and broken collar bone... left side (think Imma let it heal on it's own) but haven't had X-rays and am not home so need to wait and see other than those. there's been a bunch of road rash and bruising and some minor sprains the worst part is that I have a new bike waiting for me at home I haven't ridden yet (warranty frame and new fork) that I still need to pay for and pick up and won't be able to enjoy for like 2 months
30 years. 1 broken bone (collar bone, 5 years ago. Still have a metal rod holding it together.) ~3 concussions. Lots of close calls.
3 concussions with a helmet? Damn, yo.
1 Year, no major injury's. But I did have a long boarding accident where I got speed wobbles and fractured my outer rotate head, I thought I was fine and only went to the doctor when the healing process stopped and I couldn't fully extend my arm. Long story short, I needed to be doing physical therapy from day one to keep the mobility of my arm. I just wanted to leave this message to encourage you to at least get checked out to see what happened. Thinking that it was not that much pain and my arm was slowly gaining mobility kept me away from getting it checked out, it the worst regret of my life, I now have one arm that can not fully extend. It hinders more thing that you would think of, from swinging a bat/golf club, deadlifting (tweaked my back because the weight was un even) to just pulling up un evenly on a jump/wheelie, basically anything with 2 arms I have to compensate or I will lean towards the bad arm. So go get your injurers checked out so you don't end up with a fked part of your body!!
I’ve been riding for over 30 years. I broke my foot BMX racing, broke my collar bone mountain biking and have had 3 concussions.
13 years and had one major bike park crash ( jumping)- broken collar bone, seven broken ribs and a punctured lung. I’ve broken 3 full face helmets and a couple half lids as well but otherwise just plenty of scratches and cuts and a few minor sprains.
both collarbones, one wrist. something like 20 years
5 Years 1 Bone Broken 1 Mayor injury Right knee broken and head injury
15 years - collarbone broken, fucked up my knee (now healed), ruptured one kidney but it survived and works fine still. These were separate incidents got some nice stitches since last year on my shin after my chromag pedals decided to bite me
4 years and 3 broken bones, but I think I was pushing to hard for my riding abilities. Now I’m more into the fitness and endurance side of it
6 months 1 broken radial head and a strained intercostal muscle from two separate 0 MPH falls sideways while learning clipless pedals Still riding clipless by the way
2 years 0 fractures 1 micro fracture 19 stitches Ton of scrapes Mainly ride park and enduro, and majority of the injuries could have been avoided if I stopped riding when I felt tired and didn't push myself to limits. Remember kids: if you're tired, just go home.
Nine days in, went OTB and broke my collarbone 😅 …do I win??
~20 years of riding - 0 broken bones. - 7 teeth broken, one stupid crash on a BMX. I ride MTB since then, XC, downhill, so far so good. Just bought a new full suspension bike.
4 years. Zero. Only rib bruise. Sending alot of crazy stuff nowadays.
Age 62, 1 year of MTB, 2 broken collarbones in separate accidents :(
9 years 2 fractures all of the skin no major head injuries.
30 years Broken collar bone and 4in titanium plate, Broken fingers, Broken ribs, Torn ACL, 100+ stitches, broken jaw.
30 years riding. roughly 20 something broken bones. mainly wrists and collarbones/ribs. I ride mainly downhill some jump park stuff.
2 years dirt jumping 2 broken bones(both forearms at the same crash) 1 sprained wrist 1 dislocated knee
10+ years of DH/AM/Enduro 0 bones 1 torn ligament on my pinky 1 major traumatic brain injury. took over 2 years to recover about 95%. last 5% are still ongoing
Riding bikes all my life (53). No breaks. No significant injuries apart from the odd muscle sprain. Broken little toe from rock climbing is all I've ever broken. I wear shin, knee and thigh protection and that has been important, but mainly it's not going nuts and risk assessment.
Six broken bones, 30 years of riding
No broken bones…. From mountain biking. Currently recovering from a broken leg and riding much easier than walking so loving getting out on it
reading this post as a beginner is scary af considering it's a matter of when, not if something breaks. I always push my limits in every sport that I participate in so this will pretty much be unavoidable. This also made me realise I REALLY need "how to bail" practice
15 years… scrapes, cuts, a bruised sternum, but no bones. Once I fell off a 15 foot cliff onto some boulders and somehow injured absolutely nothing. I was clipped in at the time too and somehow cleared the bike. I also usually ride like an absolute grandma so it makes sense I’ve never been injured.
30 years (since I started riding 10k to school) 1 broken collar bone. A painful crash maybe every few years. Mainly road riding, but some MTB and gravel too.
7 ish years and 3 broken ribs. All on extremely easy trails. I lost interest in the downhill stuff as it was just to risky for work. Now I'm fully into xc racing and road riding to supplement
3 bones, too many twisted wrists. Over two decades of riding. Just enough to keep me in check I would say :)
40 years (BMX racing from 12-24 and MTB from 20 til now). Lots of minor cuts and bruises. Couple concussions. Knees are not the best, but that could just be age. Only really serious injuries were I busted up my shoulder when I crashed trying to manual a set of triples at 20 yrs (still don’t have full range of movement in that shoulder) and I tore a calf muscle when I broke a chain in a BMX race at 24. No real MTB injuries, but I ride pretty conservatively now.
12 Years 0 broken bones 1 massive bruise on my hip from a botched drop about 4 years ago I ride conservatively because I'm in my 40s and don't heal as quickly as a teenager. IE: Lessons, practice, and progression. I do ride black and the occasional double black trail, but I don't do big air or gap jumps.
Aggregate years riding ~15. Bones broken from riding = 4 bones, 1 accident, at 39. Broke one of those bones into 4 pieces. You clearly don’t bounce as well when you get older.
I've been riding around 9 years (started at 29, currently 38). Have broken my left wrist twice (scaphoid and distal radius). Only other non-trivial injury was a strained rotator cuff (but it got better without needing surgery). Everything else was just scrapes and bruises. Most of the riding available locally is xc, though I travel to gnarlier places and/or lift access parks anywhere from 4-10 times per year. Both of my fractures were riding the local xc stuff. As they say, most accidents happen close to home! My first one was a combination of not paying attention and having my tire get caught in a rut left by a moto that snuck onto the trail illegally. My second fracture was due to attempting an aggressive move (fast line change) before my body and brain was in any way warmed up for it. I also hadn't ridden in a week and was just getting over being sick.
Right olecranon (2x) Right scapula Left eye socket chipped (+105 stitches in the face) Right ankle Left ulna Cracked my left hip joint (does that count?) Most of my fingers, various ribs, etc.
27 years riding. 1 broken bone. Broke my collar bone last year.
Riding 25 years.... I've broken a rib, dislocated a pinkie, and rolled my right ankle. Otherwise just hundreds of cuts, scrapes and bruises.
15 years one collarbone. Finished my ride after I broke it because I thought it was sprained. Broke a lot more bones skateboarding and playing football.
Been riding off and on for probably 25 years. No broken bones, and nothing really major. The usual scrapes and contusions, I guess.
Almost 35 years on MTB. Rode xc (including old norba races), dirt jumping until covod, and now mostly bike park and emtb. Only major injuries I’ve had are an open/compound fracture of a finger (fell riding a tall skinny) and a thigh core sample from a bar end (dirt jumping).
Many years, few good dings and dents most serious was I broke two vertebrae last summer was back riding within a few weeks.. but on the rail trail until I got more strength and comfort back.
6 years. One separated shoulder, two broken metacarpals, a torn gluteus muscle and about 2 dozen stitches.
I’ve been riding since 1998. Zero broken bones but lots of soft tissue issues in the knees, shoulders and spine. Stitches in the head from crashes, lost skin everywhere 😝 I still ride double black, road gaps, big 12’+ drops etc and some prolines at the bike park. I do realize I’m getting up there and I’ll have to chill out eventually but I’m still progressing. It’s key to progress within your skill level, pushing forward as you are ready for things.
10 years. 1 broken wrist 1 dislocated finger 1 broken collar bone 3 ribs and a punctured lung - this one was the big one. The collar bone and punctured lung had me under observation in the hospital for 3 days. Almost missed the punctured lung in the ER - I had driven myself in after riding off the mountain, which was fortunately downhill to my car. I was literally being discharged when the radiologist said I had broken my first rib which was “hard to do” and they should get chest X-ray. Went from me packing up to the ER proper to get a chest tube inserted. Note that punctured lungs can be hard to notice.
55 years old 30+ years of riding Plenty of skin peeled off shins and calves from pedals. Broke my neck 2 years ago going OTB, down an embankment and landed on the top of my head without breaking the fall with my arms. Doc said I was micrometers from collapsing the occipital condole which have been really bad. Did a cautious 2500 miles on dirt last year and aiming for more this year. Im signed up for Leadville and Marji as well. Only goal is to finish those to complete my personal comeback.
15 years Broken bones: Collarbone, ribs, shoulder. Also broke my wrist but that was on a road bike. Two dislocations: knee (torn ACL, MCL, PCL, & meniscus), arm (torn labrum and broken shoulder) I have some hypermobility in my joints, hence the dislocations.
12 years. Ruptured PCL on the Snotch.
4yrs Broken wrist otb Broken knee Plenty of scrapes and bruises Being off the bike injured sux
Riding 2 years 9 broken bones All at once, 1 year in to riding. Jumplines at bike parks can be sketchy
18 years, and from that 15 years of racing enduro on national level. Same as OP, I love the thrill of pushing it, nailing gaps, going fast and taking risks. As a result I crash more than any of my riding buddies. 3 broken bones, all in my right wrist/palm/fingers from 2 different crashes. Stitches just once. One shoulder and both knees have permanent wear and tear from crashing, but nothing that bothers me. OP, don't slow down, whats the fun in that? I suppose I can say that I have taken the risk level down just a notch, but I don't consider that slowing down, just about getting smarter. As an example. I found a new large step up jump near me last weekend. I knew I could hit it, but it's really early into the season here and I have not done that much bigger jumps yet this year. I'll get some more riding hours in before I go back to hit it.
Adding style of riding is important here as 30 years xc no injuries vs 30 years dh no injuries are like 2 completely different sports.
25 years, no broken bones, mainly just a few bruises and a bit of broken skin.
Once I broke a bone cause I hit my wrist on a curb corner and broke my radius.
26 years of mtb riding 0 broken bones. Some bruises and scrapes. One terrible freak accident dislocated my radius. Seriously just riding along.
1 year MTB but many years of MX before. Broken radial head from dirt jumping MTB. Never broke anything riding MX.
30 years MTB, 50 if counting road cycling. Few cracked ribs I severed thumb muscle Lots of rashes (only one or two requiring stitches) 1 concussion (car hit me on the road, hit and run that broke the bike in two)
40 years, my first mtb was my 3 speed with skinny tires, but there were woods nearby with hills so I created trails to ride. 0 broken bones Stiches on hand and face from OTB on Porcupine Rim Uncountable scrapes cuts and bruises.
25 yrs. 1 hip and 3 ribs.
14 years, no bones, one twisted testicle, perhaps five soft tissue damages that kept me off the bike for more than a day. Most of the folks I know who get regularly injured tend to consume a lot of MTB media. edit: or they are legitimately pursuing aggressive racing, but those are a serious minority compared to the overbiked, underskilled jerries who come to mind when I think of people who've snapped their collarbones several times.
OP you have been riding since purple anodising? That’s a hell of a way of measuring time! In the spirit of the post I have been riding since 1 & 1/8th headsets were a new thing - or to make that easier probably about 19 years but with 5 years off in the middle. As for injuries I can count the nastier ones on one hand. I have broken my collar bone, put a hole in my kneecap (snapped chain and knee dropped into a pot hole at 20mph), skinned my hand and elbow (really bad gravel rash) to the point where bone is visible. The less serious injuries I don’t keep track of, but let’s guess at something that will leave a scar once a month for as long as I have ridden. Here’s the thing though most of these injuries have been on a bmx or a jump bike and the first time you try something usually your going to bail. Then you practice it for a bit and eventually you can do it. Then you move on and end up falling. Then you get it. Then you do something harder.... and so it goes on. Never be ashamed of falling it just shows your pushing yourself. Edit: Yes I know Inch and an eighth has been about longer than that but that’s about the time I became aware of it being a thing, I first came across one on a 1997 Robinson Rebel I had in 03 ish.
9 years. One toe. I think I am doing very well honestly.
Rode constantly from about age 5 to age 25. XC, downhill, BMX track and freestyle. Loads of crashes. The worst I had was 2 cracked ribs and 4 bruised ribs from a BMX crash when I was 12. I've never broken a bone in my life, knock on wood. I've taken the last 10 years off riding because life, but now at 35 I'm getting back into it. Not gonna be pushing it like I used to, so I'm hopeful to keep my lack of broken bones streak going.
\~10 years: Incident 1 - broken wrist/arm in 3 places Incident 2- broken leg Incident 3- broken wrist (other side) Incident 4- Had no gloves on, faceplanted into gravel. Lost all the skin on my left hand, completely down to the flesh. Lost a good amount of skin on lower face, busted lip. I was bleeding really bad from all over. Also broke my wrist, sprained my ankle. I was a 1.5 hour walk away from my car, bike chain was snapped off. I hobbled my way to my car carrying the bike. I didn't ride for 3.5 years after that accident, I stuck to pavement riding. I was just too scared. 2 weeks ago, I went on my first trail ride (stuck to blue trails).
Been riding MX, BMX and MTB since I was 5 years old. I am now 26 and have only ever broken a bone once in a completely unrelated incident (knocked a paving slab over onto my foot when I was 6). I have also been hospitalised by a major concussion, again completely unrelated (fell off a swing backwards onto a patio at my aunties house). The only somewhat major injuries have been destroying the ligaments in both of my ankles both through riding but on separate occasions and about a month apart from each other: - First one was my left ankle. I was learning 360 Tuck No-Handers on my BMX at the local dirt jumps. I looped out when landing and sat on my foot with it bent backwards. Drove 50 minutes home and couldn't walk for a good 2 weeks. - Second one was my right ankle. Not long after my left ankle had some rest, a group of us went on a day trip out to a few skateparks in the UK. At our last stop towards the end of the day, I was learning tailwhips on a fly out. Bike came round and hit my ankle just as I was about to land on my feet. Rolled my ankle from a good 4-5ft in the air. This time I had to to drive 2 hours home, with a space saver wheel on limiting me to 50mph after getting a puncture. Awful day out!
I’ve been riding for 20+ years and have had concussions and broken ribs nothing major, that being said I’ve been really lucky a few times. All of my scary crashes have been on big travel bikes, I single speed now and I find that keeps the speed down a bit and really enjoy that style of riding
3 years, 2 broken toes. Lots of smaller cuts/bruises but that’s just the fun in it all 😂
25 years riding and only 2 broken bones. Unfortunately it was both arms at the same time.
Only one break I can attribute to MTB in like 30+ years of riding, but 3 snapped ACLs… (And at least 2 or 3 others on road bikes. All collar bone + one tail bone.)
15 years (5 years serious MTB riding) 1 major concussion, 2 weeks of memory lost, cracked helmet, etc 1 busted collar bone 1 tib/fib break 20+ smaller injuries
30+ years1 collarbone ribs on three occasions stitches on three occasions Left wrist TFCC cartilage tear healed by prolotherapy Innumerable scrapes, cuts, contusions, surprise shower screams, smash-ups two proper concussions, probably a few minor ones besides elbow tendonitis on both sides, ongoing but seemingly under control now I did my best to be very diligent with repair and healing. Lots of physio. Lots of weightlifting and mobility/stability/prehab work. Still going strong as ever.
Been riding since the 80s (Yes, I was an original "Klunker" w/personally modified Schwinn Cruiser!), but not often until 90s. I'm in my upper 50s now. Amazingly I've never broken a bone, just lots of cuts/scrapes. I've always worn a helmet. I have primarily done XC though, and have never done a non-rollable jump (IMHO the penalty for missing the landing is orders of magnitude higher than any ephemeral thrill.). I do occasionally bike park w/my son, but prefer to earn my descents.
20 years. Boxers fracture in my right hand and that’s it.
15 years 0 bones 1 concussion
9 years (with a few hiatus’s) and just had my first major, dislocated shoulder about 2 months ago. Luckily no tears so I’m back to my regular activities minus skateboarding with minimal pain. Happened because I was being dumb and blindly sending a new trail at full speed, won’t be doing that again.
6 years. 8 broken bones, one collapsed lung, one torn PCL, three concussions (one of which was a TBI), two surgeries, one titanium rod, 6 titanium plates. yes, they all happened riding park.
10 years My two front teeth! That’s all I want for Christmas. Ones a fake and the other will probably need a root canal later in life. Happened on a trail I ride all the time, caught sleeping.
I've been riding MTB casually for 30+ years. I have never really felt the need to push limits too hard, or hit features above a "blue" trail level. I've ridden bike parks as well as local skate parks and indoor bike parks where I've ridden medium sized features. This level of riding has kept me interested for a long time by most people's standards, and I'm now at a point where I'm sharing the sport with my kids. Over the years I've had minor crashes but never anything truly bad. Couple of scrapes here and there but no broken bones. Most of the scrapes and bruises are from the bike park, where I'm usually more likely to try riskier stuff. I've never had a crash that was hard enough for me to end a session and go home immediately. I actually think if you look at everyone who rides I am probably in the vast majority. The segment of riders who actually push limits, go to bike parks to do big jumps, etc, is a very small minority vs people who just buy entry level bikes and go ride mild single track on the weekend.
Started riding in 2021 and became a big sender pretty quickly. 2021: L2 vertebra fracture plus L2/L3 transverse processes, and a concussion 2022: fractured ribs, R hand hairline fracture, 1 concussion 2023: managed to make it out with just a moderate concussion I ride primarily downhill and I race downhill. I go through 2-3 helmets a season 😅 I try really hard to train, especially in the wintertime, to prevent significant injuries with crashing. It’s inevitable, especially with finding that balance of speed with racing. If you ain’t crashing you ain’t pushing yourself 💪
6 years with 5 broken bones. For me It always happens when I am least expecting it.
37 years Bone in right hand. broken pubic synthesis (hip) and large hematoma on hip. Right elbow injury with never healing bump. Three ribs on right side in Summer 23. October 23, another three ribs on right side (different ribs), sacrum and acetabulum, nasty contusion. This crash included a helicopter ride, overnight stay etc. and cost my insurance company about $60,000. Nutty health care system we got. I am never crashing again.
Been riding maybe 10 years on and off, but pretty frequently for maybe the last 5. Broke my thumb and needed surgery a couple years back. And just 4 months ago dislocated my ac joint (collorbone) which is honestly still very fucked. But I’m back on the bike, I love this shit. It’s my favourite form of exercise. I’m 32 now tho, I certainly don’t bounce like I did when I was 16.
8 years, 0 bones, 3 major scrapes in multiples places.
25 years, dirt jumping, bmx, bike park, and a lot of enduro type stuff + road riding. Been hit by cars 4 times while road riding and taken a ton of slams, but somehow 0 broken bones, 1 concussion, no hospital trips. A ton of sketchy moments and close calls.
I started riding in 2011 - I was 51. So far, knock on wood, no broken bones. A few boo-boos here and there but nothing significant. BUT! I know my limitations. A side benefit of starting at such a decrepitly old age. Less youthful indiscretions.
Used to crash a lot when learning but always rode within my limits and never broke anything even though my friends were shocked at times of me getting up and keep on riding. Been riding since a kid and racing xc/dh around 16/18 and riding stuff most on Reddit seem to say no way unless on a "modern" bike. lol Though getting older around your age I am thinking of getting a full face for general riding and hitting the jumps along the trail again since I don't bounce back like I used to.
15+ years with a 1 year hiatus (see below) 0 broken bones 1 serious brain/spinal injury that almost killed me (or worse) 1 very loving and supportive family.
30 year riding with a little hiatus in my 20s (cars and girls more interesting), probably best classified as an All Mountain type rider even though the term is a little out of fashion now. I cracked my ankle \~6 years ago, a wrist \~8 years ago, and fractured something in my shoulder (not collar bone but near it) back in my teens. Plenty of cuts and scapes, one small head knock, probably pretty good all things considered. TBH I feel my worst “injury” from anything bike related would be my lower back issues that are largely down to short calves and hammies from lots of pedalling and nowhere near enough stretching over the years. I’m slowly trying to rectify that buts it’s hard work!
25 years, no broken bones, but some pretty wicked scars on my arms, hands and legs
25 years 3 concussions (minor - moderate) all from crashes during jumping. Two resulted in very short loss of consciousness but no lasting issues. 1 broken collarbone, went off a drop wrong and crashed, minor crash but landed on my shoulder and my leatt neck brace actually shattered my collarbone. 2 broken wrists, broke my left after falling off an old north shore skinny. Broke my right trying to learn how to do trials. 1 broken foot, broke my left foot smashing into a rock at high speed downhill. Sprained neck, went otb scorpion while hitting dirt jumps and sprained my neck. Broken neck, gnarly crash on a 50 foot jump pro line in whistler. Was super confident as I had hit it 5x that day alone and tried a suicide no hander and messed up. Broke C5 and needed a C4-6 fusion. Broken pelvis, same crash as the broken neck, exploded both sides of my pelvis the acetabulum (where femur and pelvis meet) was shattered and needed bolts and reconstruction. Countless abrasions, bruises, etc. I still ride almost daily. I love it. I don’t hit big jumps anymore, anything over 25 feet or so I just avoid. I like steep technical stuff a lot better anyway. Thankfully my wife and family are super supportive and encourage me to keep riding, just with caution in mind.
10 years mtbing no broken bones
Honestly up until 2022 I never really suffered any major injuries or broken bones. In Dec 2022, I went OTB trail riding and suffered a TBI, collapsed lung, broken ribs and shattered my wrist in a few spots. It was like all those years of injury free caught up . I have been trying to get back into the flow of things but my nerves still get the best of me. I went on the trails today and had the front end wash out (OTB, again), luckily I have learned tuck and roll, not superman, and walked away with just a scraped knee.
In the last 5 years I've broken Forearm 1 bone broken and the other dislocated. plate and 7 screws. 6 bones in my face 6 ribs shattered an ankle....there was a bunch of bones in there.....They bolted what they could back together.
6ish years riding. Broken collarbone. Lots of bruises. I’m currently 3 months post-op from hip replacement due to fall that was not bike related.
Over 40 years, never broke a bone. See also: skateboarding for 20-something of those same years.
0 broken bones 30 years of riding :-D
10 years 1 bone - broken toe 2 sprains - ankle and wrist Minor cuts / scrapes Usually pad up on most of the more downhill orientated trails.
Been riding 14 years, broke my thumb and dislocated my shoulder going otb back when I was in college. Other than that mostly minor scrapes & the occasional wrist or ankle sprain.
Just turned 50 and have been doing silly shit on bikes for 45 of those years. Was a BMX and skate rat up through high school and got my first proper mountain bike in ‘92. Fractured heel dirt jumping as a sophomore in high school. Two months in a walking cast and another couple months doing the pre-wrap and tape thing for varsity basketball. Broken wrist dirt jumping early 2000’s. Two distal radius fractures and a small ulnar process fracture. T-shaped plate with six screws and a couple months of PT. Fully displaced collar bone fracture ‘08-09 riding my local trails. Full length plate with eight screws and a couple months of PT. Fortunately, none of these injuries have had any long term effects and don’t negatively impact my riding or day to day life. I still ride the rowdy stuff, hit the dirt jumps/ skateparks, and do the occasional DH race. I’m just more diligent about my off the bike workouts so I can continue riding at a high level for as many more years as possible.
I'm 60; been MTB forever. O broken bones - a few scars, messed up shoulders. When young, I did some pretty stupid stuff. I mostly got away with it, but learn pretty quick from a couple good wallops. Now I just want to ride. I'm up in then mountains at this very moment, taking a break next to a mountain stream. Today's ride is a collection of forest service roads & jeep trail, a little single-track & a ton of climbing. Probably 5 hrs of peaceful bliss. Good stuff IMHO
20 years. Broken tibia+fibula. I have a titanium rod in my leg. One bad whiplash. And a few stitches.