Article: Fell off my bike and vowed never to get back on

[bluebug32]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/he...ewanted=1&_r=1

What do you think of this article? Is there any truth to it? Essentially the argument is that when someone suffers from a running injury, more times than not, they return to running. But a cycling injury will often lead to the injured person abandoning the sport.

[jessmarimba]

I think it makes perfect sense. There's certainly a lot more danger in cycling caused by factors out of anyone's control. And while I fell about once a run when I first started trail running, I didn't have enough speed to do much damage, while I've broken a bone with pretty much every bike wreck I've had. Fortunately none have been through the skin or I probably would've quit by now.

[Eden]

Odd how the human mind works.... people who've been in car accidents don't generally swear off driving...

[malkin]

Odd how the human mind works.... people who've been in car accidents don't generally swear off driving...

I wish I could. Of course, I felt that way before the car crash too.

Jeez, what about people who have fallen out of bed?!

[Owlie]

It makes sense to me. It seems a bit like blaming the food for making you puke.

That's what my dad did--crashed his bike when he was ten and broke his wrist and never rode again.

[7rider]

I have a few bike crashes under my belt.
One required surgery (I SHOULD have gone to the hospital...but didn't ).
The second sent me to the ER, but was discharged after a few hours with 'scripts for lots of pain meds.
I still ride.
Maybe I ride a little differently than I used to....I'm a little more apprehensive.
But it would kill me slowly to not be able to muster the courage to go out there and keep riding.

I also know a bunch of folks who have crashed (all guys). They all still ride. Again, perhaps differently than they used to, but they still ride.

[bluebug32]

Doesn't this seem like a no-brainer though? Riskier sports come with higher consequences. Maybe they also appeal to those who love the dopamine rush and are thrill seekers.

[LivetoRide]

I read this on RBR the other day to which I posted-

""Is it the drama of a crash, or is it that a crash makes you realize you could actually be killed on a bike? Is it the type of injury? Or the fact that you can feel, as I did, that the accident was unfair and out of your control?"

This article made me think of horseback riding (another sport in which I do a lot of). You will see some beginners perhaps quit after falling for the first time and then you will also sometimes see riders quit after a fall that leaves them injured, or more than just shaken up. Riding horses is exactly like cycling in the sense that you have to accept the fact that you will fall at some point and you may get hurt, or even worse."

Here's a link to the thread on RBR.