# scare me! (whats your worst DH/FR injury, not crash)



## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

as the tittle says, post the gnarliest injury that biking has given you! pics are much appreciated!!

-stay rad, Tyler


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## .WestCoastHucker. (Jan 14, 2004)

my worst was a broken hip. that ish sucked hard. for a few months, i thought that was gonna be the crash that ended my biking...


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

.WestCoastHucker. said:


> my worst was a broken hip. that ish sucked hard. for a few months, i thought that was gonna be the crash that ended my biking...


thats pretty jacked man, makes me glad i havent broken any bones! (yet)


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## ryan_daugherty (Oct 8, 2006)

This last September I had a crash and broke my collarbone, scapula, a couple ribs and punctured/collapsed my right lung. Had a tube in my check for 4 days. I had a floating shoulder because no bone was supporting it. Didn't feel awesome.


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## mykel (Jul 31, 2006)

Low speed crash. Never seem to get too hurt during a yard-sale (touches nearby wood)
Went down in a low-speed gravel corner.
Result: Broken hand, concussion, cracked and compressed vertebrae, and permanent nerve damage in my hand.

So, then the next year, I end up going OTB and auguring in again at medium-low speed - slipped a pedal just before a filter (showcase, blue-mountain ontario) and tried to ride it one footed - not very successfully to my detriment - 3 broken ribs and another cracked for good measure. Two months later I went down in a medium speed washout - re-broke two of them.

One other semi-low speeder years ago resulted in a nasty broken leg/knee - put down my foot at the wrong time and ended up with some severe hyper-extension - 30 odd years later, the knee still aches.


Other than those, it has been a few stitches, lots of road-rash, too many pedal wounds to count a couple of sprains and the odd broken finger to top it all off.

Overall, not to bad for 40+ years of riding.

Ya gotta pay to play.


michael


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## Rob-Bob (Jun 11, 2004)

Completely tore my ACL. Had surgery did rehab, then my 2nd day back on the bike I broke my kneecap in half on the same knee. I wasn't allowed to bend my leg for 3 months.. Missed an entire season..


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## csermonet (Feb 2, 2009)

collar bone 8 months ago. 2 months recovery, 1 more month before I started riding. real uncomfortable, thats just my case though. no surgery, arm in sling the whole time.


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## kenbentit (Jan 2, 2003)

Well I've managed to tear both ACL's over the years but the worst injury so far would be the ruptured kidney. Pix aren't much to look at, my arm appeared MUCH worse and I didn't even break any bones. 3 days in the Level 1 Trauma Unit for this one. Wife was not impressed.


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

"wife was not impressed" haha i hear ya, my gf doesnt like the word crash anymore!


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## darkzeon (Jun 15, 2006)




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## cyclelicious (Oct 7, 2008)

2009 My first season . I was doing a shakedown ride on the first day of our vacation in the Okanagan. I was on a fast section when my front tire got trapped in a rain rut. I went OTB and hit the ground/boulder hard, shattering my right wrist and smashing my left cheek causing some nerve injury. I had surgery at Penticton hospital (plate and 10 pins) and spent the remainder of the vacation hiking and visiting wineries while my husband rode beautiful dh!

2010 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and during the treatment I continued to ride and managed not to hurt myself

2012 My rear tire slid out on a steep section and I managed to land hard on my right side, I heard crackling and felt crunching. I caught my breath dusted myself off and finished my run. My husband and I did a couple more short runs and then called it a day. In the car on the drive home I felt pain and it hurt to breath deeply. The next day x rays confirmed 2 broken ribs. I was back riding in 2 weeks


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## echo24 (Apr 27, 2012)

2002 caught an ice patch crossing a street. split my growth plate and cracked tibia.

2003 hit by ford explorer. gored my side with handle bar. was able to run away from crash (literally). caught handle bar on passenger rear taillight.

2006 chain snapped when geared out in dead sprint bout 30-35mph. major concussion, blown ear drum, major road rash on shoulder, bottom jaw is off center, permanent muscle damage in my jaw. no helemt during crash

2007 looped out a manual on top a small concrete box. hit my lower back mainly on the left side but went from kidney to kidney plus some road rash. still have some major nerve and muscle damage. i can take some heavy meds, and my upper body feels like jello while i can feel everything with my legs.

later in 2007, ran over by ford f250. luckily just some whiplash. bike didnt do so well
Myspace | Social Entertainment

2009 going off a wall ended up OTB and face plant into the sidewalk. split open my forehead, upper lip, road rashed left side of face and cracked left shoulder blade. no helmet during crash
Myspace | Social Entertainment

2012 caught figure in fixed gear chain and turned into a pez dispenser. 
https://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q266/downhiller69/2012-02-10165115.jpg

and yes i have learned. now i wear a helmet anytime i ride skateparks, bmx tracks or trails.

sorry about the multiple locations of the photos. i went through 4 different moves and 3 computers in that time period.


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## aedubber (Apr 17, 2011)

July 2012 - Separated R AC and fractured my scapula in 3 different areas. Finally got done with physical therapy in January. My ride to the hospital


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## bengxe (Oct 11, 2009)

Worst I've done is broke my collar bone. I got bucked forward on a steep lipped jump and landed on my left shoulder. No surgery, so I have a lump. I was off the bike for 4 weeks, but it took about 3 months to feel normal again.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

almost died. In the hospital 6 days....lost my spleen

was going to quit and just do AM but the doctor said " you can't get your spleen hurt again...it is gone" so I am riding again


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## pizon (Jul 7, 2009)

nothing broken yet.... the worst was probably grating a nice wallet size patch of skin off my thigh falling on some rocks in the alps... twice on the same patch of skin


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

damn! this is my new favorite thread! but some of these are just gnarly as it gets! Darkzeon and bengxe, thanks for sharing photo/videos. the vid was insane!


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## MTB Pilot (Oct 23, 2010)

Hit a booter out of a high speed turn, not realizing that it had the lip at the top, and was in too neutral of a position. The result was landing a front wheelie and ultimately slammed down on my head and left shoulder. Don't know if my Leatt brace kept me from breaking my neck or help to shatter my clavicle into 4 pieces:skep: Stayed at park another day so buddies could get in more riding, rode in passengers seat for 9 hours to get home and had surgery a week later. 1 titanium bar, 8 screws and 1 drag screw. Back on my AM bike in 5 weeks.


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## mtbnozpikr (Sep 1, 2008)

Oh my, some rough injuries on here. My worst was about a year an a half at a race. I was on my last practice lap prior to the race beginning, came around a dusty corner in the woods, my front washed out and I landed on top of a tree stump right on my lower back. Broke a couple of floating ribs. I could not move for a few minutes and was in a lot of pain for about the next six weeks but I did race both my laps that day.


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## gretch (Aug 27, 2010)

Impaled with a stick after a bad drop landing... in through the side of my pec and penetrated about 3 inches (I have big he-man pecs ... got an immediate get past the line-up card at the ER due to the possibility of a punctured lung.. Ended up with a drain tube and a bunch of stitches and a lot of bruising. Took me a full year to attempt that drop again.


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## mbell (Sep 9, 2008)

I haven't had any of the horror posted on here so far. But I did manage to go down in a rock garden last year and bend my pinky finger and ring finger back all of the way to where they touched the top of my wrist. It was amazingly painful and took forever to heal.


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## LaXCarp (Jul 19, 2008)

3 broken ribs and a collapsed lung. I think they missed the broken and/or separated collar bone as I have a big bump there now also.


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## Tim F. (May 22, 2006)

I decapitated my self on my rotor, after sliding out on a banana slug. I reatached my head with duck tape and pop-cicle sticks, and rode home up hill, bare footed and through 6 ft of snow while fighting off rabid wolverines and talking an anal probe fom space aleins.


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## MTB Pilot (Oct 23, 2010)

Tim F. said:


> I decapited my self on my rotor, after sliding out on a banana slug. I reatached my head with duck tape and pop-cicle sticks, and road home up hill, bare footed and through 6 ft of snow while fighting off rabid wolverines and talking an anal probe fom space aleins.


What does it mean to "decapite" ones self?


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## Tim F. (May 22, 2006)

MTB Pilot said:


> What does it mean to "decapite" ones self?


When you get your wee-man stuck in your zipper.


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

Tim F. said:


> I decapitated my self on my rotor, after sliding out on a banana slug. I reatached my head with duck tape and pop-cicle sticks, and rode home up hill, bare footed and through 6 ft of snow while fighting off rabid wolverines and talking an anal probe fom space aleins.


complete and utter envy...


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## Drth Vadr (Jul 24, 2009)

2010 was experiencing brake fade all afternoon, but said the famous "one last run", anyway. Hit a 6ft drop, giving it one pedal to many, I had to much speed to safetly enter a steep wooded section with two natural step downs and could not scrub of the speed fast enough. I bailed, but my baggy shorts got caught on the seat and I ragged dolled to bilateral(both legs) ACL tears, bruised ribs, bruised sternum, and a mild concussion.
Left knee is still Sh**
2012 sprained both wrist and bruised the head of my Rt radius. It was 2 months before I could wipe my ass and 3 month before I had full ROM.


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## mattkock (Mar 19, 2009)

One Crash on February 16th. 2006 put me off the bike until January 1st. 2009.

Jumping on my DH bike I landed and the front tire came off the rim. (I was tubeless) The bars hit me in the chest and I flipped over the bars and landed on my face doing quite a nice Scorpion after that. The bike then hit me in the head but I was already OUT so I don't remember it.

3rd. degree separated right shoulder, broken left clavicle, 3 broken ribs, bruised right lung, fractured C4 Vertebrae, torn ACL and Meniscus in my right knee.

I couldn't bend my knee enough to make pedal revolutions for a month shy of 3 years. It SUCKED but hey I'm back!


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

gnarly guys! keep em commin!


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## MOJO K (Jan 26, 2007)

On a trail ride a couple years back...Had the front tire push just a bit through some fallen leaves. The bar just clipped a tree and I went OTB to the left side. I landed in some rocks on my head and right shoulder. Ended up tearing a bunch of muscles in my neck. For the first month I had to pick my head up off my pillow with my hands to roll over and get out of bed. I've had more spectacular crashes, and like a lot of these guys I have a bunch of emergency room visits. Nothing has scared me so much as the neck injury.


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## TheyCallMeWillis (May 29, 2012)

Not much of a story, but last year I woke up off the side of a trail on Burke mt in coquitlam. I have no idea how I got there but I had broken my ring and little finger on my left hand and done something to my left shoulder (it's still not right). Seeing as my bike was with me I'm pretty sure I knocked myself out on a tree, and didn't just have a wild night. The lack on skin on the left side of my face made things interesting, and definitely supports the tree concept


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

nothing horrible but kinda funny, today i was just dinkin around doin bunny hops and as i lift my front tire up my feet slipped behind my back wheel, nuts slammed on the back of my saddle and then onto my still spinning back tire. tore my shin open on the left pedal and then puked cause of taking a ball shot. #storryofmylife


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## jakester29959 (Aug 30, 2011)

Haha. Died laughing. But sucks man!


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

haha didnt stop me though!


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## brainbckt (Dec 30, 2003)

While riding a wicked steep switchback, my front tire twisted, and I went over the bars. When I landed (all 225 lbs of me), the bike was under me and I hit full force on the end of the handlebar. It went up the side of my sack (narrowly missing my nut) and impacted on the pubic arch. I swelled up like a grapefruit "down there" and likely had an undiagnosed fracture, as it took about 8 months for the pain to subside. When my buddy found me, the bike was on top of me and the handlebar still sticking out of my torn shorts.


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

oh dang! haha that blows!


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## sodak (Oct 10, 2006)

whew!!! Some serious S in here... Mad props for all..


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## TheRage43 (Jul 19, 2012)

I took no physical injury from this, but lets call it a "bike injury"

Back when I first started to DH, probably around '99 or '00, I kicked up a branch into my back spokes at mach speeds. 

Branch entered within the chain, into the spokes. Broke the chain, destroyed the derailleur and hanger, whipped around and severed the brake line, then with a final stroke took out 7 or 8 spokes. Had to hike it out with a bike that wouldn't even roll.


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## _alain_ (May 25, 2010)

Got surprised by a g-out, it threw me pretty hard off the bike and i landed on my head.










With a bone transplantation from my hip they filled up the gap, and some hardware to keep it all in place.
In total i was out for 7 months, and i bought my real DH sled right afterwards at the age of 45.
Although i am dead slow, i still have fun on the big bike.


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## V.P. (Aug 26, 2007)

Why did I even open this thread???


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

why, not?


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## ettore (Nov 13, 2004)

I see the title said "not crash". A friend was taking my SX Trail off the top of his car. We're not sure what happened exactly, but it slipped. Again, details are vague, as he can't remember, but his forearm probably went into the frame and the twisting of the bike snapped both of the bones in his forearm, it appears the pedal broke his collarbone (the studs on the pedal had shirt shrapnel attached that matched what was missing from the collarbone area), and he suffered a concussion (we think from impact to the ground as his head had a lot of gravel embedded in it).

My own injury, not riding, was a clever "bait and switch". A friend managed to bend a rotor on a DH run; it was bent really bad, and I had a spare, so we decided to swap it. Me, my buddy, and his crippled bike were at the bottom getting things sorted while my other friends did another run. JUST as I was about to swap the rotor (went to car for tools, rotor, etc) my friends came down. Unlucky for me, the bent rotor bike and one that had just dome down the mountain were identical; only difference, the one that just came down the mountain had a glowing hot rotor. I grabbed the wrong bike and roasted my hand pretty good.


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## Gman086 (Jul 4, 2004)

Broke my arm off the head of the humerus a few years ago. Right before I'd stated that I was "not feeling it" and heat exhaustion played a part too. Heed my advice - if you aren't "feeling it" then lay off!

Have FUN!

G MAN


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## adjunkie (Feb 20, 2007)

broke large intestine. 

internally bleeding for 2 days. go to hospital. cat scan reveals several hours left to live.

emergency surgery. 1 foot of large intestine removed, and the appendix as a bonus.

5 days in hospital. 25lbs body weight lost.


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## homeless junkie (Jun 3, 2009)

I bailed on making a left turn at Mountain Creek about six years ago. I hit a drop and overshot the landing. This made that turn impossible so tried sliding to a stop. I ended up sliding into two boulders, up over and down a hillside about 100 feet from the trail. I was alone so I had to walk until two park guys in a truck took me to the base. I flew to Morristown where I spent five days in the hospital.

I had a major concussion,two fractured vertebrae in my neck, two in my back. I broke my elbow, wrist and sternum. I had to have threes surgeries on my wrist to get some mobility back. I had surgery for a herniated disk, last Thursday and was possibly due to that crash six years ago.


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

i swear my boys are a target. i applied front brake too much without leaning back enough and willy got pinned between me and the neck of my bars. busted him open and had to get it superglued at the hospital... true story


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## lelebebbel (Jan 31, 2005)

I broke both my wrists, at once. Doesn't sound that bad at first, until you start thinking about the implications for a bit. I got wrist guards now.


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## TacoMan (Apr 18, 2007)

Looped it, foot snagged a rut and practically torn my foot off. My foot was behind my leg. Broke both tibia and fibula and had to have plates and screws to hold it back together. After 4 weeks, I got a walking boot and started riding again -staying in the saddle and pedaling. The blood flow really sped up the healing.


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## hitechredneck (May 9, 2009)

Im sitting here reading this with cracked/broken ribs from last sundays wreck, not the worst every but right now it sure does suck pretty bad Worst is angle fire open next week, does not look like I will be making opening day.


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## Macaveli (Mar 23, 2013)

hitechredneck said:


> Im sitting here reading this with cracked/broken ribs from last sundays wreck, not the worst every but right now it sure does suck pretty bad Worst is angle fire open next week, does not look like I will be making opening day.


a tear came to my eye :,(


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