Injured On The Trail? How To Get Back In One Piece Without Panicking

I’m not gonna lie; I injure myself a bunch on the mountain bike. I’m not sure if it’s my riding style or lack of balance, but I find myself on the ground much more than I’d like. Getting injured on the trail while mountain biking for me comes in waves. I can go a whole six months without so much as having to put a foot down. Then, in two weeks, I can put together a string of injuries that would take most others a couple of years to repeat.

This is especially true at the beginning of your mountain bike journey. I remember selling my first few mountain bikes because I couldn’t take the constant battering. I would rather just ride my bike on the road than spend a whole week bruised and broken from a silly fall. But the truth is that injuries occur less and less as you ride: your mind making the mind/body connections necessary to keep you upright.

But, if you are unlucky enough to injure yourself on the trail, you need to make sure you have a plan. In fact, you should always have a plan in mind before you set out. A plan, created to allow the best possible chance of getting back to the trailhead in one piece. 

I know that may sound like a petty injury, unlike these unbelievable crashes, but it initially sent me into a panic. I fell over in a rock garden and jammed my finger between a rock and a hard place (my handlebar, to be exact). My second joint pushed up and over the top of my knuckle.

I thought my finger was completely snapped in half when I first looked at it. A million thoughts raced through my mind. Ranging from whether I would need surgery to have my finger amputated to how I would type at my job. I was also pretty bummed that riding was over both now and in the foreseeable future. Pretty soon, though, I confronted the immediate need to get out of the woods. Luckily, I wasn’t that far. I rode out with one hand on the bars and my cassette in a gear suitable for spinning. I quickly got to the hospital and had my finger popped into place almost as good as new.

As a coach of high school mountain biking kids, I spent my time on the trail constantly worrying and wondering how we would get out if one of my guys or girls got really messed up. You can only encourage a teenager to ride inside their limits for so long. The key I found was that panic is always the enemy. Panic invites chaos of thought which then breeds indecision and ultimately bad decisions. I remember watching another rider I knew get so frustrated by one wreck. He proceeded to wreck several more times and damage his bike in a fitful rage. No one wins when you lose your cool.

If it’s a long ride deep in the woods, I plan to criss-cross forest roads or other trail intersections, giving myself an exit point if I’m injured, have a broken bike, or am just plain tired. When riding in a group, I always assign a pair of riders who can retrieve the van/truck or help if needed. Never send a rider alone to retrieve help unless necessary.

So plan, prepare and have a friend ready to help if you find yourself in a tough spot. Sure, it’s never fun to bike out of a trail with a broken collarbone. But keep your cool and smile; you’ll be on the bike in no time, stronger both physically and mentally.