When you mountain bike, the chances are good you will have a tumble at some point. There are many reasons for this: your personal risk profile; the weather conditions; your equipment failure; your skill level; another riders fall (in front of you); poor visibility; or plain stupidity....whatever the cause (or combination thereof), its important to accept that falls do happen. The bike is designed to roll over most things - but this doesn't always work out.
We are a small group of cyclists and since 2009 we too have experienced various levels of crashes - from the odd scratch and bruise to a few nights in hospital with surgery.
Enough about that though: let’s look at some crashes and the
results thereof. This serves not only as a warning to potential mountain bikers, but we all like to check out the odd crash and resultant injuries (we're sick, I tell you...SICK!...so read on)
NOTICE:
- Not for the faint-hearted.
- Not ideal for partners/wives/girlfriends to view (especially when hubby dearest is a first-time rider)
- All photos are from the original Smooth Knobblies archive
and have happened to our small group of riders.
- No images are photo-shopped.
- No images have been taken from the internet.
- Many crashes and injuries have not been graphically captured….(we just didn't have a camera there!)
- Please get mountain bike beginners to ride with experienced and patient riders who will take them through some form of induction to the sport
- If you're new to the sport, chances are good you're going to come away with at least a few scratches and bruises in the beginning - but you learn (very quickly!)
We'll look at some crashes and then at some of the injuries:
CRASH 1: Tony in Tokai
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The crash that really shot TwoTone to internet fame. After a year of "Anatomy of a crash" was posted on YouTube, we had about...275 hits. Huge! Tony's front wheel (note its a 26er) gets lodged into a tricky section in the Tokai Rock Garden. The rest is history. The bike was sold a week later and replaced by a 29er - and Tony hasn't crashed there again!
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CRASH 2: Rens on Sani2C
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Ah yes. This photo features in the Sani2C section of the blog. My back wheel got "bumped" up by a tree stump and I lost control - only to head straight for a tree. I know it looks like I'm hugging the pine, but it was quite a tackle! Luckily I got off lightly.
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CRASH 3: Tony in Tokai....again
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A bit fuzzy off The Mooses' camera - but its Tony in Tokai again. Image 2 is Tony doing a full somersault. Image 3 sees TwoTone rolling down the track as he slows to a casual halt (as per image 4). The crash was also caused by the back wheel nicking a tree stump.
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CRASH 4: CrackMan
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The CrackMan has had his fair share of tumbles. But being a black belt karate dude helps when the earth is rising up at you at pace to give your face a smack. Just block the approaching gravel path with your arm. Like this....eina roasty.
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CRASH 5: (wait for it...) Tony in Tokai!!
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| I remember this one well. Tony (yes....again!) had a serious crash coming down the drop-off in Tokai. The front wheel slowed drastically into the thick sand and he ruptured an artery in his thigh. It was straight to hospital for a few days where the doctors drained all sorts of septic liquids from his thigh. This photo was taken more than a week after the accident and the swelling had already subsided substantially. |
CRASH 5.1: Can it be? Again? No! It is - Tony on the Wine 2 Whales (in front of a photographer!) I'm beginning to wonder if I shouldn't have called this blog entry "Tony and the Tokens"
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| That's Tony giving the photographer a good old fashioned "brown-eye" for snapping off a sequence of photos showing his fall on a fairly gentle path....this falling on flat sections has lead to the "Invisible Ninja" phenomenon (How else do you get flung over your handlebars for no apparent reason? Eeeee-Yaa!) |
CRASH 6: GavD outside the Mount Nelson
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This was not a nice accident to see. GavD had his front wheel taken off line by a disguised curb (it was covered in light mud from winter rain). His course was redirected straight into a solid oak tree. When he hit it, he went as limp as a rag doll as he was flung up against the trunk. As you can see, the medics applied the correct cautionary techniques. Gav was in hospital for a short time after bruising some neck vertebrae - but he's as solid as ever!
CRASH 7: Dots on Table Mountain |
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The most recent accident is from Dots on Table Mountain. Those puncture wounds are from the handlebars...eina hey? But apart from surgery; urinating blood; a buggered finger; the necessity to drain a tennis-ball sized blood clot; and a punctured muscle - he's fine!
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CRASH 8: Simon on Table Mountain
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| Possibly one of the more memorable stories was The Oracle going down, head first into a rock off Table Mountain. That gash needed 15 stitches to mend. The Oracle needed some time to get going again.... |
So moral of the sport is: please be careful. Have a contingency plan ready! Have emergency phone numbers ready. Let people know where you're riding. And roll with the punches.
