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Not all crashes have to happen and the old saying, "if you aren't bleeding it wasn't a good ride" is nuts. Skilled riders ride hard and fast and don't crash much. Unskilled riders (like me for the first 11 years of mtbing) wreck a lot, Andy is very skilled, rides had and this was his first hard crash in over 2 years. Check out his article and stay tuned for my article on some ways to come back stronger than before you crash. In almost every camp that I teach, there is at least one student that is there because he or she had a bad crash – possibly got injured – and then decided that if they wanted to continue to do this MTB thing, they had better figure out how to do it correctly. And guess what! I recently got a chance to practice what I preach, so to speak! So the following is a run down of what I did – and am currently doing – to shake off some of my own demons after a particularly scary crash. Everybody's situation is different, but here's mine, and here's what is working for me. If you find yourself in this situation, hopefully some of the following will work for you. Unfortunately, the possibility of having a bad crash is always present – whether you're a World Cup downhill racer, or a beginner riding off a curb. And bad crashes scare everybody! .. I don't care who you are! Some people deal with this fear better then others, some people don't deal with it well at all. Riding hard forces me to keep myself in pretty decent physical shape. Could I still teach riding if I stopped working out, running in the trails, riding motocross, and polished off a box of donuts, fast food, and twelever of PBR everyday gaining 30lbs in the process? Sure I could. But would I have gotten out of that crash with only a couple of mangled toes and a head-ache? Hell no! And that passion also means, to me, pushing it a little bit … sometimes, a lot. Inevitably, those students in my camps, who showed up timid because of that nasty get-off that brought them to the camp in the first place – after only three days of instruction – see the trail, riding, and themselves as riders, with new eyes. The tools that they gain from the camp are their positives, the feeling that they get from riding the bike correctly and understanding, thus, being able to commit to learning the proper techniques, are also their positives. This is what they are then focused on – not the negative of that bad crash. And this is what gets them out there on the bike, having fun and challenging themselves, again. And although my situation is different from that of those students – its actually quite the same!
Thanks to all the mountain bikers who make my life fun, challenging and rewarding. Gene, I raced in the Palo Duro Marathon (Pain on the Plain) last Saturday - 46 miles - and employed everything you taught me: vision, cornering, descending, ascending. It was the best I've ever raced. JJ So thank you for what continues to be an amazing journey. I feel very fortunate to live the life I live and to meet and work with so many interesting and inspirational people. Thank you!
Just wrapped up my Ellijay, GA camp held at Mulberry Gap (.com) and still can't get over the size and beauty of the mountains way down South! Mulberry Gap is a great place to stay, start or finish your ride in the heart of North Georgia mountain biking. Less than a mile from the Pinhoti Trail and very close to many other great mountain bike trails it is a true ride in/ride out destination. A fun place to stay, eat, ride and meet other passionate mountain bikers from all over.
There are two spots on Rustlers Loop and one on Prime Cut where mountain bikers have gone out of there way to harm a 200 year old (on Prime Cut) and a couple of 100 year old trees (on Rustlers) just so they can ride a section with more ease! Dumbing down trails is bad enough but harm trees and the desert to do so?! Wow! Please follow the IMBA rules of the trail and walk over (not around) sections of trail you cannot ride.
