You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Llandegla. Jumped over and cut a corner, hit a slope at 45° and it catapulted me down a cliff. Thought 'I'm f***ed here' and landed in a lovely cushion of ferns and slid nicely for about 50 feet, followed by my bike.
An extremely thorny briar rose growing out of a fault at the top of a cliff at the top of Lemmings descent in Sierra Nevada with Switch-backs. Saved me from a fall of a few hundred feet. Wasn’t comfy but it sure was welcome.
Got into a bit of a mess at Cwmcarn back in the summer that was just begging to become a nasty full-speed OTB crash, just when I gave up hope of catching it, a big grassy bank came into view to my left so I've dived for it, it still hurt a bit, but it was a way more comfortable crash that it any right to be.
Years ago, 90's MTB. Bit of off piste in the local woods, front wheel bogged down on a descent, over the bars, and landed on my feet. Couldn't repeat it if I tried.
We were out last Saturday night (heading for a bivy) and had had our tea at the Listers Arms in Malham and were heading via Goredale to Weets Top on the road. There's a steep descent down to Janet's Foss, this was covered in frost. I was on the fat bike but even so there was approximately zero grip. The bike slowly, as in taking about 3 seconds, began to slide from under me so I simply hopped off and ran into the grassy bank at the side of the road.
Apart from that: 2m deep powder in Finland when wiping out on a descent. The "track" we were following had been prepared by a snowmobile but stray off that line and you just disappeared.
A tree. In the hills of Hong Kong back in the fully rigid days. Made a complete horlicks of a stony trail and flew off the edge of a precipice. Thought i was dead but no, a spindly tree caught me and my bike.
@csb - that reminds me of an incident many years ago when skiing.
I was descending from the Vallée Blanche above Chamonix and was on the track leading down from Montenvers. This traverses the hillside then does a few switchbacks to lose height then more traversing and repeat. The RH bends lead to a steeper track then the LH ones cut back to a more traversing mode. I'm nearing the end of the track and approaching a LH bend and I can hear a loud animated conversation ahead. I get to the bend and there hugging a tree about five metres out from the track but about ten metres up the tree is an Italian who has totally overcooked it! No idea on how he got down.
Switzerland .
Just the right size cushion of polytrichum in an otherwise bare boulder field.
1984...aged 11 - the bonnet of an Austin Maxi when he pulled out of a side road without looking...so badly made...it came off worst. My 5 speed Puch Pacemaker however was not in good shape.
My lady friend.
Not me but a mate. Fast road descent (narrow 2-lanes) in the North Downs somewhere (can't remember exactly). Damp under the trees and lots of dappled light made it difficult to work out the road layout properly and the damp was just enough to make the tyres feel very squirrely.
Anyway on a tightening left-hand bend he lost it, slid out to the right, miraculously staying upright, went across the road and into a driveway that sloped upwards. He breezed up the driveway slowing down nicely, turned around in the spacious paved front grounds and rolled back down. Literally anywhere else down that road he'd have hit a steep bank riddled with tree roots, stumps and brambles but there it almost looked intentional - like he was the speediest cycle courier dropping a parcel off.
I learned to mtb in the pentland hills outside Edinburgh. It’s got loads of heather, big soft and bouncy heather.
If I Learned to ride anywhere else I’m sure some of my tumbles would have been much less entertaining!
Worst one was heading down a grassy bank just after a sprinkle of rain. It slopes down then got steeper and steeeper and steeeeeeeper...
I’d locked the back wheel and was still picking up speed. Locked the front wheel with predictably over the bars consequences. I remember the bike landing on top of me as I rolled through the heather and had an imprint in my helmet from something.
I managed to write off the helmet, a mini disk player and a rear crud catcher. I was mostly fine!
Went OTB and performed a flip, landing sitting down in a nice, soft, bouncy bed of moss beside the trail.
Nice OTB crash where I didn't get clipped out, tumbling bike then dislocated my ankle. I found myself amongst numerous lumps of toilet paper and discarded condoms, turns out the little used trail had become a dogging spot for the local perverts.
We haven't been back since so dear knows what it's like now.
Going too fast along a trail and came off the bike, landed face first into a large tree stump. Luckily the tree was that rotten it was mega soft. All I got was a mouthful of rotten wood and the joy of having my face still in tact.
Bonnie Langford.
Nearly broke her back.
Years ago, 90’s MTB. Bit of off piste in the local woods, front wheel bogged down on a descent, over the bars, and landed on my feet. Couldn’t repeat it if I tried
Did almost the same. 90's MTB, unintentionally off piste, big branch, otb, landed on feet 😂
Worst one, was as a youngster, riding my Raleigh Bomber along a kerb, wearing only shorts and pumps (no top). Wobbled, fell, entire body into a patch of waist high nettles. Every inch of my exposed body was stung. I actually thought I was going to die. My whole body was buzzing like I was having a constant electric shock
Top of Park rash in the Yorkshire dales on a fully loaded touring bike. Stopped before descent to find that both the v-brake replacement cartridges had fallen out of the front brake (cheap replacements that didn't come with new securing pins, so had to use the old ones and they didn't seem too secure when fitting them, but thought it would be ok).
Started descent slowly using rear brake, But quickly started gaining way too much speed and it was raining heavy so no grip and couldn't slow bike down. Got way to fast and knew I wouldn't make the hairpin bends, so aimed for the grass verge and decided to jump off the bike. Was a nice soft landing, bike took a hit against drystone wall, but glad it wasn't me. Could have ended badly if I tried to stay on bike much longer.
Louise
@loughor not that time although the riding on Lantau was scary. This was on the Pat Sin Leng near Plover Cove.
My daughter aged about 6 toppled sideways off the boardwalk loop on Afan Green. Fair way to fall for a little kid, but she landed on a really thick area of soft grass and moss that was like a mattress. She screamed like hell for a few seconds then it sort of tailed off as the realisation dawned that she was completely unharmed.
... dislocated my ankle. I found myself amongst numerous lumps of toilet paper and discarded condoms
That's the best thing you ever landed in? Each to their own I guess...
on the Ridgeway, went over the bars after failing badly to jump some tractor ruts crossing the trail. It was like slow motion, I remember being upside down and seeing my feet still on the pedals in the air. Next thing I know i've somersaulted and landed on my feet crouched down, the bike is also back on two wheels next to me on my right and is still rolling. I begin to run along with it, jump on and ride away laughing my head off! Couldn't do it again if I tried, and if I did would probably end up in a nasty accident!
Very similar to the op dropping down from watendlath to Rosthwaite went otb off the track and landed on my back in the bracken whilst there were Good sized rocks all around. That was over twenty years ago
Me and a mate were riding the Land rover track at Eastnor years back. I hit one of the mud bogs, & did a full front flip, landing on my feet😊. But I sank to my knees & sat down 🤣
Either my feet after going OTB at Glentress or a bog in Torridon after hitting a soft spot.
Sliding down Dreghorn one Christmas eve. Off the track into lovely deep snow.
Not me but one of my accident prone mates. Riding down a trail on the North Downs - Bingo Bongo Dave - he’s in front of me and there is a slight left hand dip after about 200m. He goes into it way to quick and I can hear him swearing but can’t see anything but a pair of shoes sticking out of a large rhododendron Bush.
Road one for me. There is a local lane near me that regularly floods and gets some long pools on it. A couple of years ago it also had some massive potholes. I’m on a night ride following someone I hadn’t ridden with before and I told them “stick to the middle and don’t stop”. They stopped, I went a bit off the middle and into a pothole that took the bike to almost the lower fork crown. OTB. Ended up sitting up to my waist in water, in January. Very quick not stop ride home!
Came round a wet bend rather quick on my fixed commuter road bike, saw a transit connect in the middle of the road. Both braked hard, I slid and landed on his bonnet and rolled off. Both our mistakes, both a bit shocked. Carried on.
Hurtling down the east breasty haw (snort) descent took one of the little drops and the front wheel hit a rock and instanty folded, I went out the front at a rate of knots into the banking which was made up of a foot or more of luxuriant sphagnum moss. Phew, thinks I. Then my bike Landed on the back of my head.