B
B. Sanders
Guest
I'm just going to say it: Mountain biking is dangerous. I hate falling; but it's usually not too
bad. I just hop off the bike on sections that I'm not ready for (the ones that say "Danger!
Extremely Technical Terrain!"). Eventually I'll learn them; but at my own pace. I've ridden every
trail at least 5 or 6 times, but some of them were white-knuckle rides, and I biffed several times.
Learning to fall is part of this sport, isn't it?
I've been trying to get my wife to ride some of the technical MTB trails for years. Last year, she
finally went with me. The trails had more whoop-de-doo's cut into them than in previous years, and
were much more difficult than I remembered. She did OK, but was petrified and not having any fun at
all. We were in a pretty easy flat, winding singletrack section in a wooded area and she biffed on a
root. She fell hard and hit her head (with helmet on, thank goodness). The fall twisted her neck,
apparently. This happened at about a walking pace; but she was in pain for a week! She thought she
had a concussion from it. I was worried. There was a little bit of trail rash; but nothing bad.
Again, this happened on a flat trail at a walking pace.
I'm Mr. Safety Conscious, and this kinda shook me up. I really didn't expect this. We had dismounted
and walked all of the trails that were too hard for her - just to make sure that she didn't feel
intimidated. She has sworn never to return to the trails. That's it - once out, and she's done. I
can't really blame her. She could give a damn about MTB'ing in the first place (but loves road
riding). I tried my best to make sure that her bike, clothing, pedals, shoes, etc were trail-worthy
(they were fine).
I wish I had more time to ride trails, so I could get used to them. There are still quite a few
sections that I won't ride (washed-out, deeply rutted babyhead creek crossings; cliff-edge
singletrack that is eroded to nothing, etc) Hard core riders think I'm a wimp. I don't care. I have
insurance; but don't feel like bleeding for my sport. I respect the more skilled riders. I just wish
they'd respect me for choosing not to be reckless.
-Barry
bad. I just hop off the bike on sections that I'm not ready for (the ones that say "Danger!
Extremely Technical Terrain!"). Eventually I'll learn them; but at my own pace. I've ridden every
trail at least 5 or 6 times, but some of them were white-knuckle rides, and I biffed several times.
Learning to fall is part of this sport, isn't it?
I've been trying to get my wife to ride some of the technical MTB trails for years. Last year, she
finally went with me. The trails had more whoop-de-doo's cut into them than in previous years, and
were much more difficult than I remembered. She did OK, but was petrified and not having any fun at
all. We were in a pretty easy flat, winding singletrack section in a wooded area and she biffed on a
root. She fell hard and hit her head (with helmet on, thank goodness). The fall twisted her neck,
apparently. This happened at about a walking pace; but she was in pain for a week! She thought she
had a concussion from it. I was worried. There was a little bit of trail rash; but nothing bad.
Again, this happened on a flat trail at a walking pace.
I'm Mr. Safety Conscious, and this kinda shook me up. I really didn't expect this. We had dismounted
and walked all of the trails that were too hard for her - just to make sure that she didn't feel
intimidated. She has sworn never to return to the trails. That's it - once out, and she's done. I
can't really blame her. She could give a damn about MTB'ing in the first place (but loves road
riding). I tried my best to make sure that her bike, clothing, pedals, shoes, etc were trail-worthy
(they were fine).
I wish I had more time to ride trails, so I could get used to them. There are still quite a few
sections that I won't ride (washed-out, deeply rutted babyhead creek crossings; cliff-edge
singletrack that is eroded to nothing, etc) Hard core riders think I'm a wimp. I don't care. I have
insurance; but don't feel like bleeding for my sport. I respect the more skilled riders. I just wish
they'd respect me for choosing not to be reckless.
-Barry