Dealing with injury risk

[dirtdad]

Wow, thanks for the heads up. This affects me also.

To be clearer (given you sound like you're in the same super boat...) I increased my policy value and the exclusion is for the extra cover. But they told me over the phone they exclude MTB for everyone. So if you have default cover level it may be ok. But if you have increased cover, it may not be. YMMV. Best to call them and check.

But they probably do cover the myriad of ailments that arise from inactivity. Go figure.

I know right? Also interesting they confirmed that cycling to work (commuting) was covered. I tried explaining that in my mind I'm more likely to get hit by a car while commuting than come off while riding through the bush, but the actuary didn't care. The numbers say otherwise apparently.

 

[slowmick]

Me too. 10,000kms into my road bike life and not one single crash yet, not even a minor one. The statistical gods are not on my side, its coming and im not looking forward to it...

How many close calls have you had and not told us about? Your posts about the local road users in Canberra would suggest I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it. Trees don't use phones or have the arse drop out of their burgers.

EDIT: I understand people enjoy road riding and conquering mountains or exploring. More power to them I do it when required but it makes me uncomfortable to do it. If all i had was road riding I would have trouble getting enthusiastic about it. Maybe if i lived further out of the metro area. A good friend had a car turn right in front of him as he descended into Montrose from Mt Dandenong. He was very lucky to survive but will never be able to race bikes again.

 

[moorey]

Me too. 10,000kms into my road bike life and not one single crash yet, not even a minor one. The statistical gods are not on my side, its coming and im not looking forward to it...

Clearly the fkn tradies in dual cab haven't identified you yet.

 

[Tubbsy]

To be clearer (given you sound like you're in the same super boat...) I increased my policy value and the exclusion is for the extra cover. But they told me over the phone they exclude MTB for everyone. So if you have default cover level it may be ok. But if you have increased cover, it may not be. YMMV. Best to call them and check.

Yeah, last I focused on it was when we had young kids and I was the main earner. There were quite a few letters about the cover a couple of years back but they kind of slipped to the bottom of the pile and were forgotten.

 

[dirtdad]

Trees don't use phones or have the arse drop out of their burgers.

This.

Roos and wombats won't run you over when you bin it in front of them. (Well, maybe the wombat would... aggressive little chunts.)

 

[ForkinGreat]

Me too. 10,000kms into my road bike life and not one single crash yet, not even a minor one. The statistical gods are not on my side, its coming and im not looking forward to it...

Dude, refrain from wishing it upon yourself. remember the old saying: Lies, Damn Lies, & Statistics.
Every time any of us sallies forth on one of these beloved and confounded velocipede contraptions, there is a possibility of coming a cropper.

And it is simply that, a possibility. Maintain the bike, don't go out on the pissing rain or in peak traffic, or when not mentally alert etc... that's all any of us can control. & avoid brooding on it. Trust me, it will only make things worse. & try to avoid riding after having an argument with a S.O. ...If we do get wiped, none of us want that to be their last memory of us, just saying. & I get it. none of us can really control conditions or whatever, but we can observe our internal state of mind, and we can stack the odds in our favour where possible.

 

[Haakon]

How many close calls have you had and not told us about? Your posts about the local road users in Canberra would suggest I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it. Trees don't use phones or have the arse drop out of their burgers.

EDIT: I understand people enjoy road riding and conquering mountains or exploring. More power to them I do it when required but it makes me uncomfortable to do it. If all i had was road riding I would have trouble getting enthusiastic about it. Maybe if i lived further out of the metro area. A good friend had a car turn right in front of him as he descended into Montrose from Mt Dandenong. He was very lucky to survive but will never be able to race bikes again.

Many close calls... And that's with 90% of my commute being on bike paths.

Yeah, living in Metro areas the roadie is a no go...

 

[Haakon]

Clearly the fkn tradies in dual cab haven't identified you yet.

I wear a hi viz jersey - i must be getting mistaken for one of their own

 

[Stredda]

That's a tough decision to make @ashes_mtb
I had a broken bone three years in a row and that certainly made me think about what I was doing and should I give it away.
Nothing risky either, the first was on a pretty flat green local trail and a vine from an overhanging bush grabbed my front brake and sent me over the hangers at 40kph. That was a broken collarbone.
My second one was about 12 months later and I bailed off my bike when it got hooked up on a chute in Bright. It was a black diamond trail but I was at a standstill and when I jumped off the bike I rolled my ankle and broke my talus bone in my ankle. This was the most inconvenient of my injuries as I couldn't drive and it was a pain to get around.
The last break I had was about 10 months after my ankle and was a simple wash out on a berm that caused me to slide to a halt up against a bank on my left side, still upright on my bike. Thought I had tweaked my right wrist bit no, I have broken my scaphoid. I still have no idea how it broke. So pissed that I had done it again and more embarrassed than everything, as I had already copped a lot of ribbing from all my friends and workmates.
Fortunately I was still able to work during recovery, would have been a different story if I was on the tools.
I haven't backed off all that much but I leave the big risk features alone but as my history shows it's the simple stuff that often bites ya.

 

[ForkinGreat]

Many close calls... And that's with 90% of my commute being on bike paths.

Yeah, living in Metro areas the roadie is a no go...

There's a group of MAMIL (but fkn fit) roadies near me that ride the dandenongs and down to beach road regularly, and they mitigate the risk by starting off at the crack of sparrow fart, whilst many of the dumbcunce are sleeping.

 

[Haakon]

There's a group of MAMIL (but fkn fit) roadies near me that ride the dandenongs and down to beach road regularly, and they mitigate the risk by starting off at the crack of sparrow fart, whilst many of the dumbcunce are sleeping.

Thats a part of roadie life i never managed to adopt... Not an early riser if i can help it!

I like the back country roads. One ride I like when i go back home is the missus drops me off in Trentham and i do a lot of back and gravel roads past Mt Franklin through to Newstead and back to Castlemaine via Guildford. A couple of sketchy parts I ride with eyes in the back of my head, but most of it i can relax and enjoy the scenery sliding by.

 

[Haakon]

But as to the OP, as its been mentioned its all personal. My big stack last year has very much changed my riding and i wasn't even particularly sending it beforehand.

My only responsibility is my mortgage, but really don't want all that pain again...

 

[Petero]

There are two other elements I think are important (bound to be more)
Flexibility - so you can cope with impacts and forces on the body.

Focus - so you pay attention and are in the moment. I've been on auto pilot on green trails and ended up in surgery. I've been bombing down double blacks and came out thrilled and unscathed.

Completely agree with both these.
As an office worker who relies on weekends / organised sports for activity, my flexibility is horrendous vs what it was years ago. Both bike handling and crashing safely are skills that require this. I can certainly feel that my lack of flexibility is affecting my bike handling, and the last few times I've crashed and come off have been a 100kg rock slamming into the ground...

Off the bike recovering from a shattered toe caused by running slightly wide on the trail and clipping a tree stump...

For focus, I'm sure many of us have been cruising along a flat section of trail and clipped the pedals before going OTB.. right?

 

[Haakon]

Pedal strikes on flat or flowy "easy" trails will get you every time...

 

[Plankosaurus]

Yep

Me a couple of years ago at falls ck

And wifeys recently had an ambo ride, scans at the hospital and a couple of weeks on crutches from a pedal strike on an easy trail too.

They'll get ya!

Sent from my H8324 using Tapatalk

 

[HamboCairns]

Completely agree with both these.
As an office worker who relies on weekends / organised sports for activity, my flexibility is horrendous vs what it was years ago. Both bike handling and crashing safely are skills that require this. I can certainly feel that my lack of flexibility is affecting my bike handling, and the last few times I've crashed and come off have been a 100kg rock slamming into the ground...

Off the bike recovering from a shattered toe caused by running slightly wide on the trail and clipping a tree stump...

For focus, I'm sure many of us have been cruising along a flat section of trail and clipped the pedals before going OTB.. right?

Yup happened to me. I fortunately missed a giant tree stump and landed in a pile of dirt earmarked for the trail fairies!

It was quite a nice crash actually!

 

[HamboCairns]

Pedal strikes on flat or flowy "easy" trails will get you every time...

I've watched that a few times and I still can't see what they hit!

 

[Haakon]

I've watched that a few times and I still can't see what they hit!

A rock But yeah, it’s the stuff you didn’t see coming… I’ve spent quite some time walking back over the section I crashed on and I’m still not sure exactly what happened!

 

[Kerplunk]

There's a group of MAMIL (but fkn fit) roadies near me that ride the dandenongs and down to beach road regularly, and they mitigate the risk by starting off at the crack of sparrow fart, whilst many of the dumbcunce are sleeping.

Once upon a time I did that early roadie thing in Melb.. Still plenty of suburban drivers off their tits after a night out and don’t want to pay for an uber/taxi... Had a couple of close calls with ice heads looking for aggro.. Agree still better than riding once the nouces get up.

 

[Haakon]

Once upon a time I did that early roadie thing in Melb.. Still plenty of suburban drivers off their tits after a night out and don’t want to pay for an uber/taxi... Had a couple of close calls with ice heads looking for aggro.. Agree still better than riding once the nouces get up.

Yeah, i stick to the bike paths in Melbourne... I do the loop from Mt Waverly through Bawlyn i think up to the yarra back past the convent to the city and then back out along gardiners ck trail.