How many broken bones or serious injuries have you had in cycling?

Training
102

TL;DR: Ask yourself if it’s worth being self-righteous about having done the right thing while lying in a hospital bed or your grave. This became my rule when evaluating the risks of doing certain things, even when I was “right.”

One was a guy who was training for Olympic trials in the US southeast. He was struck in the back of the head by the stanchion on the side of a boat trailer by someone who was legally blind in his right eye (the side on which this rider would be in the US).

The other was a rider who was killed when a motorcyclist lost control coming around a corner at over 100mph on an isolated road, struck him head on, killing both.

In both cases, irresponsible operators of motor vehicles where the rider did nothing wrong, and was riding where they were legally entitled to be. That said, both cases were relatively isolated “country” type roads with little to no shoulder. I used to frequently ride the road where my friend was killed by the motorcyclist. It was a really nice road to ride when fewer people lived in this part of the county, and lead to wonderful mountain roads. Now? You couldn’t pay me to ride that stretch of road. Too many cars, not enough room, and you STILL see tons of joyriding motorcyclists on that road in spite of the fact that multiple motorcyclists have killed themselves on that road in the last few years doing stupid things.

Sorry, derailing the thread… be careful out there, and make good use of your trainer.

103

how long you’ve been cycling for sport;

First race was end of 2021, was a daily commuter since 2015.

what kind of cycling you do;

Ultra distance bikepack racing, gravel+. Plenty of underbiking on single track.

what your falls or injuries were like or because of what;

Worst wipeout was over the bars at 25mph. Totalled my helmet (cracked in two places) but head was relatively okay. Lost a bunch of skin to the pavement and started cycling in long sleeves after that. There was also a time I got my first mountain bike and went over the bars on a jump (figured new bike = new skills… incorrect). Had a massive thigh bruise for months. Worst injury was terrible carpal tunnel from two days of straight of stupid terrain with not enough sweep on bars. Alternatively, tearing my meniscus with some weird twisting motion/impact as a cleat came loose while I was dismounting. I tend to worry about kidney injury more than anything.

how you recovered from them

Time. Took two courses of methylprednisolone and did PT with a hand therapist for the carpal tunnel. I’m still not 100%, more like 95-98%. I’m stuck with the meniscus tear.

and whatever else you feel like saying on the subject

I’ve never broken a bone in my life (knock on wood), which I credit to a long history of contact sports and weightlifting. I’ve had all the same spills that I’ve seen break arms and collarbones of other riders.

You build bone density via 1) eccentric loading, 2) general impact. Cycling has neither of these. The fracture rate doesn’t surprise me. (EDIT: And the lit backs me up on this. Cyclists tend to have weak bones.)

To echo @kurt.braeckel , I do my absolute best to avoid being in situations where my life depends on every single vehicle noticing me. I much prefer riding at night on the no shoulder roads (less traffic and you can always tell when a vehicle is around the corner or behind you from their lights). I try to minimize time spent on roads with a large speed difference (eg, climbing up a 55mph road is worse than descending one). It’s all an odds game. Gravel is great for this reason.

I tend to calibrate my aggression on technical sections based on how screwed I would be if I got knocked unconscious. When would someone reasonably find me? How cold will it get overnight? If such a wipeout has a high enough chance of putting my life in danger I might just walk the section.

104

20 years MTB, 2 x ACL reconstructions (left and right), broken collarbone (no surgery needed), rotator cuff surgery full tear supraspinatus, partial tear infra-spinatus.

All recovered 100%, I consider these an acceptable amount of injury for the rewards MTB gives me!

105

i did the right side first, but yes my face is still symmetrical. I do retain a healthy respect for my helmet though.

106

Your cycling journey sounds intense, especially with those tough injuries! It’s impressive how you’ve kept going despite the setbacks. Mountain biking and ultramarathons are no joke—stay safe out there, and here’s to many more rides without fractures!

1 Like
107

Wrists, Elbows, Fractured Skull, Fingers.

Most recently, fractured spine as of 10 days ago. end of the season, Shame.

108

6 fractured ribs (5 left, 1 right) and a broken scapula - all done in one run in with a car on Sunday. I’m quite sore now!

109

Unfortunately, I can’t tell yet as it was all internal. 8 weeks out now and I feel “fine”. (Aside from my brain still being a bit slower!) Problem is even this far post crash I can’t afford to fall yet, hence a 3 month ban on all contact sports, MTB and road riding. I should have a check up scan in another 5 weeks which will hopefully give me the all clear to start riding outside again.

In the meantime I’ve been walking a lot, got on the trainer and did endurance from 6 weeks and am starting a training plan today so I should be pretty much back to a good fitness in time for the scan and getting back outside :slight_smile:

110

I was back on the bike after 12 days for 1hr easy, followed by 3hrs easy the day after.

14 days, back to work, walking fine, riding feels OK when easy and in the saddle.