Injuries And Mountain Biking: Road To Recovery
I was out on a ride last weekend and I took a pretty hard fall after not being able to stop and going off the trail. I hit the right side of my head pretty hard which resulted in me having a mild concussion that lasted for a few days. I figured I could use this as an opportunity to also talk about Alexander's (The Singletrack Sampler) video about crashing and injuries and give my thoughts on it.
Here is a link Alexander's video, make sure you watch it!
First of all, I'd like to just take a moment to appreciate all the emotion that came together to bring the video to life. There is just something unique about his videos. You can tell he is truly being himself. He isn't scared to show both his good and bad moments. I can really appreciate that.
As Alex stated in the video, what truly defines you as a person is how you deal with and overcome the obstacles that life tends to throw at you. Seriously injuring yourself as a result of a biking crash can completely take away any confidence you had. You might start doubting if you are a good rider or even sit for hours and wonder what you could've done to prevent it from happening. It's normal to have those thoughts, they are a fundamental part of recovering. What's important is that you don't dwell on them and that you manage to move on.
Here is a video of Alex going back to the site where his scariest crash ever took place. He is looking for REDEMPTION.
I have a lot of respect for someone that can manage to recover and regain their confidence after injuring themselves. However, I have heard of many examples where people give up mountain biking because they crash. They sell their 4 thousand dollar bikes and all their gear and just never even think about mountain biking again.
First of all, mountain biking is considered an extreme sport. As the definition suggests (Extreme sports are recreational activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk) it involves a high degree of risk. Injuries are bound to happen and ignoring or not coming to terms with it before taking it up as your hobby, or calling it your passion is just straight up ignorant. Some people might say "Oh, it's okay to give up on something like that especially after having a scary crash". If mountain biking truly is your passion, you won't consider even for a moment to just give it up like that. Even though having a scary crash and injury might be demotivating, being able to push through it and recover from it will make the journey worth it in the end.
I am by no means saying that crashing or hurting yourself isn't a serious reason to quit mountain biking. What I am saying is that if mountain biking is your passion in life, you will find a way to get back up on your feet to go out there and ride. Just like Alexander did, just like thousands of mountain bikers do every year. And the same can be said for everything in life. If you truly love something you will find a way to make it work, even through seemingly unsurpassable obstacles.
As an end note, I'd like everyone reading this to remember that it's how you get through hardships that defines you as a person. And to everyone out there that is currently recovering from an injury, just know that you are not alone. Thousands of riders manage to recover from massive injuries each year. Hopefully you can draw some inspiration from Alexander's example.
I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments. What was your most scary biking related crash/injury? How did you manage to recover from it?
Here is a link Alexander's video, make sure you watch it!
First of all, I'd like to just take a moment to appreciate all the emotion that came together to bring the video to life. There is just something unique about his videos. You can tell he is truly being himself. He isn't scared to show both his good and bad moments. I can really appreciate that.
As Alex stated in the video, what truly defines you as a person is how you deal with and overcome the obstacles that life tends to throw at you. Seriously injuring yourself as a result of a biking crash can completely take away any confidence you had. You might start doubting if you are a good rider or even sit for hours and wonder what you could've done to prevent it from happening. It's normal to have those thoughts, they are a fundamental part of recovering. What's important is that you don't dwell on them and that you manage to move on.
Here is a video of Alex going back to the site where his scariest crash ever took place. He is looking for REDEMPTION.
First of all, mountain biking is considered an extreme sport. As the definition suggests (Extreme sports are recreational activities perceived as involving a high degree of risk) it involves a high degree of risk. Injuries are bound to happen and ignoring or not coming to terms with it before taking it up as your hobby, or calling it your passion is just straight up ignorant. Some people might say "Oh, it's okay to give up on something like that especially after having a scary crash". If mountain biking truly is your passion, you won't consider even for a moment to just give it up like that. Even though having a scary crash and injury might be demotivating, being able to push through it and recover from it will make the journey worth it in the end.
I am by no means saying that crashing or hurting yourself isn't a serious reason to quit mountain biking. What I am saying is that if mountain biking is your passion in life, you will find a way to get back up on your feet to go out there and ride. Just like Alexander did, just like thousands of mountain bikers do every year. And the same can be said for everything in life. If you truly love something you will find a way to make it work, even through seemingly unsurpassable obstacles.
As an end note, I'd like everyone reading this to remember that it's how you get through hardships that defines you as a person. And to everyone out there that is currently recovering from an injury, just know that you are not alone. Thousands of riders manage to recover from massive injuries each year. Hopefully you can draw some inspiration from Alexander's example.
I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments. What was your most scary biking related crash/injury? How did you manage to recover from it?
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