On a recent morning ride I had probably my worst crash in over three years. It was a classic mistake of going too fast on a berm and riding it too high. The front tire went over and I fell hard on my right side. So hard in fact that I actually had a hard time breathing for a few moments.
I just laid there and let the pain and anxiety roll over my body. I let the pain soak in and released the anxiety as I laid there looking up at the sky. I think I was almost going to pass out. I felt like I could really use a nap. But when I heard some other riders talking on the climbing section near me, I realized I needed to get up before I got run over.
Now I am no stranger to hard crashes. I’ve had my fair share since I started skiing and mountain biking. I fall hard on my right shoulder while skiing only to do it again a couple weeks later while on vacation. These two incidents lead to a 3rd degree AC separation that left me on the sidelines for a couple weeks after I got from vacation. I skied three days with an AC separation without a sling.
Now I am no stranger to hard crashes. I’ve had my fair share since I started skiing and mountain biking. I fall hard on my right shoulder while skiing only to do it again a couple weeks later while on vacation. These two incidents lead to a 3rd degree AC separation that left me on the sidelines for a couple weeks after I got from vacation. I skied three days with an AC separation without a sling.
So as I started tumbling, the first thoughts that crossed my mind was, protect the shoulder. At that speed I knew the crash would hurt and I didn’t want to put my arm out and further injure my shoulder. So I took the brunt of the crash on my ribs. Knocking the air out to the point I could not feel the right lung working right away.
As I started to felt my lungs working, I felt very calm. I was at peace. I started to do an assessment of the pains I felt and knew they were all spots from old injuries.
My ribs have taken a few hot over the years. When I first started mountain biking I crashed hard while riding at Elm Creek and cracked a rib on my right side. I was riding fast and on a sharp left turn corner I clipped a tree and got thrown from my bike. That crash was a bad one and I went straight to urgent care.
As it turns out, you really can’t do anything with ribs except banagage them up and rest. That crash was a bit of a wakeup call for me and I ended up turning to YouTube for guidance to improve my skills.
My ribs hurt but they didn’t feel like that day at Elm Creek so I focused on the next area of pain. This was my right thigh. I’ve got some strong thighs so my femur is well padded. I keep my phone and keys in my right pocket and have fallen on them in the past.
As it happens to be, that was my last big crash. I was riding an elevated log on the north loop at Theodore Wirth when my rear tire slipped and I fell on my side. The thigh was bruised from falling off the log and hitting the ground. Not sure if my phone helped or hurt the crash but I was walking with a slight limp for a couple days.
This time my phone was in the same pocket and it came out no worse for wear. My thigh is a bit sore but should be fine. I really need to start placing my phone and keys in my riding pack.
One item I never ride with is my wedding ring. Over the years I’ve had a couple falls while wearing my ring that have caused my finger to swell up. I learned how to remove a wedding ring using a ribbon wound around the finger and plan on never repeating that trick. It seems now if I even slightly bang my hand, my ring finger will swell up on me.
Well, that was the case this time. I’m not sure how I hit my left hand on this crash but it happened. The finger will need some ice and time to heal. This injury is just more annoying than painful.
Crashes happen in mountain biking and while I felt pain, it wasn’t sharp pain. I was walking away from this one with some sore ribs, a slight limp, a swollen ring finger and some new found respect for my knee pads. My knees didn’t feel a thing in the crash.
As I started to felt my lungs working, I felt very calm. I was at peace. I started to do an assessment of the pains I felt and knew they were all spots from old injuries.
My ribs have taken a few hot over the years. When I first started mountain biking I crashed hard while riding at Elm Creek and cracked a rib on my right side. I was riding fast and on a sharp left turn corner I clipped a tree and got thrown from my bike. That crash was a bad one and I went straight to urgent care.
As it turns out, you really can’t do anything with ribs except banagage them up and rest. That crash was a bit of a wakeup call for me and I ended up turning to YouTube for guidance to improve my skills.
My ribs hurt but they didn’t feel like that day at Elm Creek so I focused on the next area of pain. This was my right thigh. I’ve got some strong thighs so my femur is well padded. I keep my phone and keys in my right pocket and have fallen on them in the past.
As it happens to be, that was my last big crash. I was riding an elevated log on the north loop at Theodore Wirth when my rear tire slipped and I fell on my side. The thigh was bruised from falling off the log and hitting the ground. Not sure if my phone helped or hurt the crash but I was walking with a slight limp for a couple days.
This time my phone was in the same pocket and it came out no worse for wear. My thigh is a bit sore but should be fine. I really need to start placing my phone and keys in my riding pack.
One item I never ride with is my wedding ring. Over the years I’ve had a couple falls while wearing my ring that have caused my finger to swell up. I learned how to remove a wedding ring using a ribbon wound around the finger and plan on never repeating that trick. It seems now if I even slightly bang my hand, my ring finger will swell up on me.
Well, that was the case this time. I’m not sure how I hit my left hand on this crash but it happened. The finger will need some ice and time to heal. This injury is just more annoying than painful.
Crashes happen in mountain biking and while I felt pain, it wasn’t sharp pain. I was walking away from this one with some sore ribs, a slight limp, a swollen ring finger and some new found respect for my knee pads. My knees didn’t feel a thing in the crash.
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