Crashed on first time jump

Top of Verdugo peak today there are a couple of jumps. Tried one (about 3-3.5 ft high) but probably not fast enough. Went over the lip and front wheel straight down as I recall. Crashed pretty damn hard with cuts on right hand (still burns), cuts on left knee, cuts on left elbow. Might have landed on my head too, it's all a blur though.

And of course, to top it all off, had to immediately go fix a front flat to descend soon thereafter.

TGIF.

btw, I also saw a single track downhill near where I crashed with multiple tall jumps in a row. I supposed jumping is an advanced skill, the Lopes book had a full chapter on this and I read it but I've decided jumping is not for me.

Thanks for listening (and probably laughing as I'm sure the crash looked totally unprofessional). But I'm just happy I didn't break any bones.

 

Those kickers look pretty serious. Heal quickly.

 

Wow, those jumps look unforgiving. Reading a how-to book isn't a bad idea but I'd say working your way towards it (on the bike) is a good idea as well. We've all been there man, heal up and give it another go sometime, with proper provisions of course!

 

Ouch dude. Glad you're not seriously hurt. Those jumps off whitting woods fire road are nasty.

 

So all the landings are flat?

That DH jump line actually looks easier than the one you claimed to jump (3 to 3.5 pinkbike feet?).

Jumping is kind of like swimming, considering how there's just some who go so long without learning it. It's something you probably should've progressed from an easy starting point, but I guess some people can learn from just being thrown in the deep end. Have you even gotten proficient with jumping without a ramp, bunnyhopping? Next would be speed bumps or even ramps in the curbs/sidewalks. Then you can start propping up ramps onto progressively taller stuff.

 

Whiting woods is the steepest fire road in the Verdugos. Not me on the video but a friend.

 

Unless you were riding the ridge down toward La Tuna

 

Like most said here, You need to build up to those kind of jumps. Props for trying...
Heal fast!

Is that your wheel in the pic? Mountain bikers typically pull the spoke reflectors. Kinda the, "Friends don't let friend ride their bikes with spoke reflectors kinda thing?"

Just sayin'

 

Speedy healing.

Buy some knee and elbow pads.

 

Yikes that's a bit "lippy". Heal quickly man.

 

So at 4:30 there is a MONSTER ramp. Damn. Thanks for sharing, I've not seen 90% of that single-track until now as I've only ridden WW twice so far. Both times recollect heavy load on my wrists due to the severe grade.

Was that Hawg from mtbr by any chance? He told me he rode a red Pivot bike.

 

Thanks, I bought the Fox knee pads already.

 

Yep that's my wheel. I never thought to remove the reflectors, that's the least of my concerns currently but thanks for heads up. I guess it's "extra dork" to have them on?

 

That's a specialized Enduro and his name is Ed

 

Not sure what the ridge is. If it's single track, that's not it, I typically ride fire roads only. That jump or dirt ramp or whatever they're called is at the top of Hostetter (make a right and go about 0.25-0.5 miles and it's on the left).

 

The DH jump line pic resolution seems poor unfortunately. IIRC, at least one of those jumps was much higher than 3 feet. It looked very intimidating to me.

So the issue is twofold here (sometimes you learn the hard way). My risk analysis was extremely faulty in this case.

1) I've never jump a ramp before on a mtn bike.
2) I didn't have any protective gear other than my helmet.
3) I continued to "roam" around at peak for a while after I fixed the flat instead of immediately descending.

And I still haven't been able to test full range of motion in my knee due to general tightness/soreness. Feels like somebody jackhammered my patella. I was down for a good 60-120 secs. And of course, the bike I think fell on me and the frame apparently landed full force on my right thigh so that muscle is sore. But whatever, as long as I can still walk I think it's ok.

That ramp at 4:30 is animal. I think I'm fine with just the exercise and nature aspect and keeping 2 tires on the ground always.

 

Ok, Hawg told me he rode @ 31.3 mph down WW. He said he knows every trail in Verdugos forward/backward. He said Verdugos is very flat in comparison to San Gabriels. Your friend Ed is riding in excess of 25 mph I'd guess.

 

The thing is about finding the rhythm in the trail. The DH ones looks like you can just smoothly coast into them and find a forgiving downsloped landing, while the one you tried looks pretty fast, with a bend in the trail.

 

This one sounds absolutely brutal, damn.

And in fact, the first crash I had several weeks ago had the same root cause, hikers on the right side coming up as I descended. Threw me off as well.

And my crashes seem to be getting more painful as they come. I need to rack up some solid Karma points.

My Mountain Bike Runtastic app shows 52 sessions this summer. I've crashed 3 times. So that's ~6% crash rate. What is your crash rate?

 

Zero while actually moving. I only crash at a dead standstill. Faust can confirm that.

 

I have no recollection of that... What happens on the trail, stays on the trail. Guy code 101...

 

Rules:

1) Don't charge blind corners.
2) SLOW DOWN when there are hikers/oncoming bikers/wild life present.
3) Ride WITHIN your ability when there are others present.

 

DING.....DING.....DING.....@!!!!!!!!!

We have a winner, winner, chicken dinner......

Follow the rules above and you should have problems.

 

Having broken bones on rides....I refuse to watch videos where it happens to others. So you will get no "Like' from me on this one.

 

^^^Huh.... It's really tough for me as well to watch vids of mountain bikers getting hurt, especially this one from the description. I chose not to watch it knowing how it feels breaking lots of bones (sometimes all at once ).

 

Sorry for posting I guess. How do you know if you broke something? I had swelling that has gone away after 2 days with lots of icing. But it was painful to walk up the steps at work. I guess I need an x-ray to be safe.

 

Skiing taught me that I am meant to be a ground-based moving object. In mtbing, my problems have come not some much when my wheels are disconnected from the ground, but when my ass is making an arc from the saddle towards the handlebars.

 

If you don't know about pain and trouble, you're in sad shape. They make you appreciate life.
Evel Knievel

 

So before I thought motorcyclists were crazy but at least they have consistent terrain and no jumping. Mtn biking is worse apparently depending on what you're doing and your skill level. Although motorcycles attain much higher top speeds which is more dangerous I guess.

 

The jump doesn't hurt you, it's the uncontrolled landing that does.