MTB ride and unexpected fall from the Bike

From people who rarely ride a mountain bike, I often get the question, is it dangerous? The answer is - yes of course.
Mountain biking is one of the most difficult and dangerous sports arround. The speeds and forces are such that the injuries are often quite serious.

Over the years I have had several stitches, many broken bones (the most painful was broken ribs), and my left knee required partial reconstruction a few years ago. Ah yes, I also have a huge scar on my nose where I was cut by the remains of a completely destroyed helmet after a very hard and dangerous crash ten years ago.

I recently rode a local trail that I know extremely well. Strava (the website that most cyclists and runners use to track their training) has declared me a local hero on this track since I've ridden it so many times. The challenge of driving a track, which you know well, is to make it a little faster each time. Sometimes, I overdo it.

There is one section on the trail, a double switchback combined with a double drop and a climb, all about 20 meters long. A very technically challenging and aproaching speed is quite high. That's exactly why I attack it every time very hard and concentrated.

I overdid it this time. I lost control, my front wheel went a little too deep to the right where it hit a small tree stump. In the end, I landed over the front wheel, right on my head and left shoulder, although I managed to reduce the force of the fall by rolling so that the shoulder took the brunt of the impact.

A few seconds later I continued driving, much more carefully as you can see in the video. During the video editing, I turned off the sound from the recording and left only the music, otherwise you would have heard me cursing and moaning as I continued driving :)

Falls are part of cycling, so prepare for them by wearing good gear and practicing your fall technique - preferably at a local fight club. This time the injuries were minimal, a few bruises and a shaken pride.