# Oucheeeee



## goofyarcher (Jul 12, 2020)

I feel like Danny glover ,, I'm getting to old for this xxxxxx
I'm about a month away from my 60th birthday

I was out this last week end riding , took a nice little jump on my hardtail.
I was only about 3 foot high, land into a hard right fun times, 
I did not know my tire was low, ripped it off the rim, the front shock did nothing without the bite of the tire
Covered in road rash, busied ribs, badly bruised my hip, 
and oh yes, broke my clavicle. and pulled the trap on my right shoulder.
and put a spider web break in the helmet !!!

Sad thing is I dislocated my other shoulder 8 weeks ago, on my mountain uni-cycle 
I was riding the Uni down a hill that people were sledding down in the snow.
So my left shoulder got tweaked again.

FYI dont hurt both shoulder at same time it is the pits.

Is it just me or is it time to not push the limits so much now.. 
Healing does not happen quick anymore.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

Maybe give up the clown machine?
Reminds me of story good riding buddy told me of someone he knew. Crashed into parallel poles, broke both clavicles, quite a suck deal!


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## fredcook (Apr 2, 2009)

Every now and then, I have a good spill with accompanying road rash, cuts, bruises, etc. And I wonder the same thing... am I getting too old for this (I just turned 60)? But then I think back. I don't damage myself any more or worse now than I have over the years since riding bikes on dirt in the 1970's. And admittedly, I do ride more aggressively now, mainly due to advancement in bike design and tech. Recovery time doesn't seem to take any longer, at least not in my mind. So for me, I don't feel (refuse to admit?) that I am getting too old for this stuff and keep pushing the limits, or at least maintaining them. I think life would get boring if I don't.


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## Champion_Monster (Nov 30, 2014)

I can't take this thread seriously without pics of you on your mountain unicycle. Provide these, then we'll talk.

I turned 50 a few weeks ago am thinking of buying a pogo stick but a unicycle sounds dangerous.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

Back about 59ish myself (hmmm... that was 8 years ago... time flies) I crashed on a night ride and broke my left collar bone. Damn! People always told me that if you're a cyclist, it's only a matter of time 'til you break a collar bone; well up until that moment I was going to prove them wrong. "Not ME!" I said. But no -- I broke it sure as shootin'.

Anomaly!

Nope.

Eleven months later I broke it again. Same collar bone. Going waaay too fast on Heckletooth Trail.

Okay. At that point I decided to ride smarter, not harder.

Oh I still ride hard. Still do 3-4' drops & jumps. Just don't go quite as fast and I'm not careless anymore. Do my best to ride precise these days. Precision matters.

67 years old now. So far, so good.

Best of luck to you, @goofyarcher. I hope you've got somebody who's nice to you and cooks for you and dresses you and helps you aim. 
=sParty


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## Mountainfrog (Mar 7, 2006)

67 y.o. now, no you don't heal as fast anymore and things break easier as you age. You knew that, you know falls are not good. Take Sparticus advice and back off a bit and consider your riding style. Keep it fun and it will keep being fun, but you don't have to do hero stunts anymore.


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## SteveF (Mar 5, 2004)

58 here, I hit the dirt last night as well. Front tire washed out on a loose, dry corner. Got away with bruises and scrapes, fortunately, but it definitely takes more out of me to hit the ground now that 15-20 years ago.


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## Crankout (Jun 16, 2010)

I regularly pass an old dude on a unicycle juggling....no kidding.


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## PVP-SS (Jan 28, 2019)

Buddy of mine did the same last year, while jumping crashed and broke his clavicle, now he's still having issues with pain while riding. As for me I mainly ride a rigid single speed. Keeps me grounded and prevents me from doing stupid stuff.


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## Riled (May 1, 2012)

I'm mid 50's now, and started riding with pads for the first time ever. At first it was for the pandemic, but now I'm keeping them for the reasons you mention. What injuries I get now do last longer. The padding is comfortable enough and stays on well enough that I don't see a reason not to use it. I've got knees, elbows, hips, and gloves.


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## LPOH (Jan 13, 2021)

I turned 60 a few months ago and decided to heed the advice to "back off" a bit, slow down considerably on the descents.

So, I go for a ride and figure technical uphills are still fair game. I get to a square edge rock, maybe a 20 inch pull, and promptly miss getting the front wheel to the top, causing a rather abrupt stop to whole effort. I don't fall, but a loud pop in my arm tells me, "uh oh". Now I'm off the bike for 6 weeks with a radial head fracture in the right arm. Worse than that, I cracked a tooth down to the root and discovered the real cost of getting an implant to fix it.

Even just ten years ago, I can't imagine any of this happening. I was still hucking my meat over most anything.


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## goofyarcher (Jul 12, 2020)

i need pics of me on my uni


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## mileslong (Aug 20, 2016)

goofyarcher said:


> ........ Sad thing is I dislocated my other shoulder 8 weeks ago,.....Is it just me or is it time to not push the limits so much now....


I think you should have dialed it back about nine weeks ago.


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## Glide the Clyde (Nov 12, 2009)

Oucheeeeee is right. Just turned 58 and a short after-work ride the other night resulted in a broken wrist and 2 cracked ribs. Bar clipped a tree coming off a left-to-right booter, on a trail I've ridden dozens of times. I was pushing it, feeling confident with a capable bike. Now I feel like I have a truck on my chest. Bike is okay.


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## Champion_Monster (Nov 30, 2014)

goofyarcher said:


> i need pics of me on my uni


Love it. Keep it weird and the knobby side down, man!


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

goofyarcher said:


> I feel like Danny glover ,, I'm getting to old for this xxxxxx
> I'm about a month away from my 60th birthday
> 
> I was out this last week end riding , took a nice little jump on my hardtail.
> ...


60? Yeah, that's about when we start realizing we can break when we crash. I ended up in intensive care when I was 60 plus two months after surfing in a tropical storm. Now, if the storm has a name, the kids can have it and my tires never leave the ground.


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## Xylx (Mar 18, 2005)

PVP-SS said:


> Buddy of mine did the same last year, while jumping crashed and broke his clavicle, now he's still having issues with pain while riding. As for me I mainly ride a rigid single speed. Keeps me grounded and prevents me from doing stupid stuff.


Same here on the single speed. Rigid fatbike with 4" tires. Keeps me nice and slow and I still get a workout. So I have to push up some hills, whatever. Don't think I could take a third breaking of my right clavicle at age 65. Although I'd rather break the clavicle than separate my shoulder again.


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## goofyarcher (Jul 12, 2020)

Xylx said:


> Same here on the single speed. Rigid fatbike with 4" tires. Keeps me nice and slow and I still get a workout. So I have to push up some hills, whatever. Don't think I could take a third breaking of my right clavicle at age 65. Although I'd rather break the clavicle than separate my shoulder again.


8 weeks after a dislocated shoulder it still hurt, but the clavicle is feeling much better, I have not been back on bike it will be interesting to see how it feels under load.


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## Shark (Feb 4, 2006)

Bad things happen the father away the tires are from dirt.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk


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## gnewcomer (Jul 2, 2011)

Yep.... just turned 60 here as well. I've figured out that I don't bounce, slide or auger nearly as well as I could even a few years ago. I've decided that have I have to dial it back a bit and pick my lines on the less aggressive side of the trail. ER visits are expensive AF


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## Tall BMX'r (Jan 11, 2021)

I'm still tossing and turning at night from some cracked ribs and two sprained wrists. It's been exactly one week from my big air, big crash. I was pretty high and going fast enough. It felt like a car crash. Blood in my mouth and my internal organs all hurt. My road rash was pretty bad and I developed cellulitis. Now I'm on anti-biotics and have to stay out of the sun. Two bad crashes in less than two months is a reminder that I don't react as fast as I used to, and I don't bounce back like I used to. The capability of my bike and my aged agility don't align anymore. I'll have to vicariously enjoy the big air and gap jumps from now on. Flow trails are really what I like anyway. Just enjoy the ride.


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## Ft.Rock (May 7, 2020)

65 here, just recovering from my last crash, off a bridge I've ridden for 20+ years with no issues. Why? How? OK due to a family issue I was upset the night before, skipped dinner. Skipped breakfast, did 3 Zoom meetings and went out to blow off steam. I realized after a few miles I was bonking big and detoured to a trail home, but the combined stress and lack of food/fuel made me totally spaced out. My left hand was swollen like a baseball, left shoulder took the brunt and right elbow somehow got gouged, maybe by the pedal. Iced the hand, it went right down, then it all turned that sick green/yellow color for a few days. Put a couple butterflies on the elbow and called it good. It didn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. My lesson - in younger days I could go out anytime, fight through a bonking and finish the ride, no more. Now I need to be fueled up better. And I need to know when my head is not in the game. I DHed this weekend and that left shoulder hurt some in the traps, but not surprised because I know the impact was worse than my mind wants to tell me. But I was fed, rested and finished a great day on a black trail (despite swearing I wouldn't go on one the first day out). No more skipping a good prep routine for me. Oh and I bought elbow pads lol.


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## Tall BMX'r (Jan 11, 2021)

I'm thinking about elbow pads as well. But.... I'm not so sure more pads is a safety measure or an un-need confidence builder?


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## Glide the Clyde (Nov 12, 2009)

Tall BMX'r said:


> ...Two bad crashes in less than two months is a reminder that I don't react as fast as I used to, and I don't bounce back like I used to. The capability of my bike and my aged agility don't align anymore...Flow trails are really what I like anyway. Just enjoy the ride.


To me, spoken perfectly. Just turned 58 and recovering from a bigger bike crash on a technical run that left me with a broken wrist and two cracked ribs.


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

Glide the Clyde said:


> Oucheeeeee is right. Just turned 58 and a short after-work ride the other night resulted in a broken wrist and 2 cracked ribs. Bar clipped a tree coming off a left-to-right booter, on a trail I've ridden dozens of times. I was pushing it, feeling confident with a capable bike. Now I feel like I have a truck on my chest. Bike is okay.
> 
> View attachment 1928412


You are alive and the bike is ok. At our age, that is a "win-win." I trust by now you are healing.


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## shred79 (Jul 21, 2018)

Fractured ribs take forever to heal

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk


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## Ft.Rock (May 7, 2020)

Funny, while riding DH this weekend a lot of the trails now have doubles built into them. I'm 65 and I roll them instead of jumping them, but today I was looking at vids on how to take them in the air. I don't mind hitting a little drop now and then, or even a single jump if one is there, but after looking at several vids I just don't see me "progressing" in that direction anymore. I tend to gravitate (pun intended) to the hand built trails anyway even though the "flow" trails are smoother I'd rather go slow, techy and on the ground than having to either ride at the speed the younger ones are carrying or feeling like the old guy going slow in the left lane with his blinker still on. I do wonder if the trend towards flow trails is eventually going to knock me out of park riding at some point. I know that I probably could carry the speed necessary to hit these gaps, but one crash at speed is about all it takes to knock me out for weeks or months now.


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## Tall BMX'r (Jan 11, 2021)

" I know that I *PROBABLY* could *carry the speed necessary* to *hit these GAPS,* but *one crash at speed is about all it takes to knock me out* for weeks or months *OR FOREVER!*" 
This is what runs through all our heads. If you were 15 years old, you'd hit it until you made it and just dust yourself off on all the misses in between. At our age we don't get to just dust ourselves off after the missed attempts.


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## JPSeuropa (Jul 12, 2010)

I am 69 and still crashing after 35 years at this sport. I occasionally tell myself I need to slow down, but what would I do then? Besides, I ignore my own advice as soon as I get into the zone on a ride. If MTBing gets boring, not sure how I would stay interested. I still get hurt...nursing a rotator cuff injury now, but it does not keep me from still riding fast enough that I can't scratch that adrenaline itch. I am addicted for sure. You still heal when you are older, it just takes a little longer. If you stay strong by lifting, riding, stretching, eating reasonably and getting enough sleep (You have to do all of them), I don't see why you can't keep doing this at a pretty high level...until you reach the day that you find just can't do it. Doing all of the right things for your body not only makes you a better rider, it makes you less likely to be seriously hurt when you inevitably crash. Not that you should be stupid about cranking it out. If things are slippery, go a bit more carefully and wear some armor. If grip is good and you are feeling it, go for it! Best feeling!


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## Tall BMX'r (Jan 11, 2021)

Adrenaline junkies to the end Brother!


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