Your First Wreck
Zodia81
Posts: 43
Yesterday I had my first official MTB wreck. My husband says "Now you are a real mountain biker".
I only started biking (again) about 2 months ago. About the same time I decided to get back on MFP and actually get really serious. When I was a kid I rode my bike everywhere and was fearless. I hung out with mostly boys growing up because everyone in the neighborhood only had boys. So it was either keep up or get out. I probably stopped riding my bike around 14 years old and my husband just bought my mountain bike this year and I am 33 now. So it's been 20 years. I am a big chicken, I am afraid to go down, I am afraid to go up. Mostly we have been riding together with him on his road bike and me on my MTB. I am not up to going on trails yet and I am really trying to lose a little weight and get comfortable with my bike first. Yesterday though we took our MTBs out and rode half on paved road and then went off road. The off road was mostly dirt and gravel. We came to what seemed like to me the biggest dip in the road ever. It seemed to be straight down and straight back up. A month ago every time we came to a hill I would get off and push my bike up it but this time I decided I was just going to do it. I started going down and using my breaks then about halfway decided I needed to just let go and get that speed to help me get up the other side. So I just let go and was making little fearful squeals as I plummeted down this mammoth mountain (haha). I was doing great, made it down and was halfway up the next side when my husband decided to stop on the hill. I wasn't expecting that, lost my concentration, tried to stop and pretty much just fell over. My legs are scratched up and bruised but my pride was hurt more than anything else. My husband had stopped because he had gotten so used to me stopping on hills and pushing up them and he didn't want me to have to walk up alone. He had no idea I would try to climb it. He said "I guess I should have gave your more credit".
So how was your first wreck?
I only started biking (again) about 2 months ago. About the same time I decided to get back on MFP and actually get really serious. When I was a kid I rode my bike everywhere and was fearless. I hung out with mostly boys growing up because everyone in the neighborhood only had boys. So it was either keep up or get out. I probably stopped riding my bike around 14 years old and my husband just bought my mountain bike this year and I am 33 now. So it's been 20 years. I am a big chicken, I am afraid to go down, I am afraid to go up. Mostly we have been riding together with him on his road bike and me on my MTB. I am not up to going on trails yet and I am really trying to lose a little weight and get comfortable with my bike first. Yesterday though we took our MTBs out and rode half on paved road and then went off road. The off road was mostly dirt and gravel. We came to what seemed like to me the biggest dip in the road ever. It seemed to be straight down and straight back up. A month ago every time we came to a hill I would get off and push my bike up it but this time I decided I was just going to do it. I started going down and using my breaks then about halfway decided I needed to just let go and get that speed to help me get up the other side. So I just let go and was making little fearful squeals as I plummeted down this mammoth mountain (haha). I was doing great, made it down and was halfway up the next side when my husband decided to stop on the hill. I wasn't expecting that, lost my concentration, tried to stop and pretty much just fell over. My legs are scratched up and bruised but my pride was hurt more than anything else. My husband had stopped because he had gotten so used to me stopping on hills and pushing up them and he didn't want me to have to walk up alone. He had no idea I would try to climb it. He said "I guess I should have gave your more credit".
So how was your first wreck?
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Mmm.. Pretty sure it was the first time my husband (boyfriend at the time) took me out on a ride. He didn't start me on gravel or bike paths, or anything smart. We hit single track climbing a big hill. I didn't even know what gears I should be using. I obviously couldn't make it up the hill, tried to get off, and got off on the wrong side (the down hill side) and proceeded to slide down the hill scrapping up my stomach. It was awesome.0
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These are both great!! And so familiar! My first road bike wreck was a few years ago...riding my bike alone in the neighborhood. I was run off the road by some asshat in a pickup truck who was paying more attention to his phone than the road. I jumped up on the curb to avoid getting stuck in the grill of a pickup truck, slipped the chain on the bike, and promptly fell over. Mr. Asshat at least stopped and rolled down the window to check on me. I flipped him off and continued on my way :drinker:
My first MTB wreck was a few weeks ago. First time mountain biking - on single track at a local state park. And mistakenly jumped on the advanced trail. I was doing great until I also came across "The Biggest Dip Ever" complete with mud pit at the bottom. Lack of speed combined with fear sent me head over handlebars right into the mud. Once over the initial shock, I just laid in the mud giggling like an idiot. Also awesome!!0 -
Wuggums- kinda unrelated, but WOW awesome weight loss!!
And does anyone else notice that when you wreck it kinda seems in slow motion? haha I fear the wreck that is awaiting me the first time I try a downhill trail. :P0 -
My first tumble was pretty silly. I was stopped. At a new intersection. Let my head get in the way & next thing I knew was laying on the ground.
My first lay-the-bike-down at a high speed wasn't so pretty. Made a rookie split-second decision that caused me to seriously tumble from the street onto the sidewalk. Took most of the beating on my hip & bad shoulder. bike was o.k. Needed a new helmet after that.
So now know better.
Maybe we should start a thread that says, "Nice Save" for when we "save it" instead of "bite it" :laugh:0 -
Downhill should be fun. The first time I did downhill riding it was on a ski mountain, There was this drop off that the bunch of us did, I was last in line, so everyone was watching me on the other end, I took off, got my speed up and went over the edge, well I didn’t know how much of a drop off it was until I was in the air, I freaked, and instead of riding it out on the bike and trying to land it, I decided I did not want to be anywhere near the bike when it landed, so in mid air I pushed it far away, and because things were going in slow motion, I remember thinking, "why did I just do that!?" well I was the talk of rest of the day with all my buddies that watched me who all though that was the funniest thing they saw in a long time. It wasn’t all that big of a drop off, maybe six feet. I ended up with a few bruises and some little cuts, but over all wasn’t really hurt. I did have a blast that day.0
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I've thankfully not had many tumbles.
One of my first was sprinting in dual carridgeway traffic - 40mph limit, I was doing 45, eyeballs out. As my left leg was downwards, I was pulling the bike in that direction when my right cleat fractured. My right leg went upwards and practically over my left shoulder. I had less directional capacity than Abdoujaparov. That hurt. But didn't actually break anything.
My last one hurt. In November, I came off on a corner, wasn't hammering it, just damp, adverse camber. I thought I'd punctured my front tyre as it was that quick. Went down, fractured my right wrst, strained my right, left some of my cheek on the road. Cycled the remaining 12miles home, off to the hospital, theatre conditions to repair the hole in my face. No stitches as "there's nothing left to stitch".
But now I look like Fiddy with a star shaped dint in my cheek. My wife hates it, but it's street innit?0 -
My first real crash (other than attempting to ride with clipless pedals and just falling over) was in my first road race ever. I was in the finishing sprint in the pack and someone cut over into my front wheel. I fell and was run over by a women further back in the pack. Fractured my ribs and lost a bunch of skin, but the woman who ran me over had it much worse as she fell on her face and lost her front teeth. I'll never forget the image of them washing our blood off the pavement with a hose....0
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On my honeymoon in Austria 1997, clipped from behind by an 85 year old Swiss guy pulling a trailer with extended mirrors on car which caught me in the back. Broke all the stuff on the left side torso in multiple places...legs were fine though. Head was ok, due to helmet (which was totally bashed in). 10 days in hospital half of that in intensive care until I could fly home to the US. Was about a year before I decided to cycle again. We later went back and did the same route and literally the second I cycled past the crash site the second time, I felt better and knew it was just a fluke and it was safe to cycle again. I've had other accidents since (broken collar bone being the worst - avoiding kittens in the road that someone had just dumped by our park) but just getting out there and facing the fear was the key.
The more you do it, the better you get. The other week I had a bad encounter with a squirrel crossing the path while cycling in a group. I know in the past I would have wrecked...but my skills have improved. Stick with it!!0
