In the past week or so there have been several stories of mountain bikers being injured and even killed while riding off road. Just last week a mountain biker was rescued near Rome, GA after breaking his collar bone in a gnarly crash. The previous Saturday an American tourist died on a mountain biking tour of the “Highway of Death” in Bolivia as he plunged off the side of a 200-foot cliff. And of course we all heard about the tragic death of Mark Reynolds who died after a fall in the downhill event at the Sea Otter Classic less than 2 weeks ago.
It’s hard to imagine that all these events might be related but it seems like each spring we hear about more and more folks getting injured out on the trail. I know many of us aren’t in the best shape this time of year after a winter of mountain bike hibernation and the warm weather seems to provoke us to push our limits before we’re ready. They say you never forget how to ride a bike but I’d argue that some skills – like jumping 5-foot gaps – do get a little rusty if you don’t use them for a while.
So if you’re planning on taking an epic ride to start off the season, don’t put the hammer down all the way just yet. No need to wreck you season before it really starts…
