MTB Crash & Reward

Mtb riders crash. We fail Fridays, and other days. But fail seems too negative, when we are just optimistically doing our best. Most of us stack, dirt nap, have an off reasonably often. Injuries are rarely serious, but sometimes they are so serious, they can be life changing. My injuries, 7 ribs, broken collarbone and surgery, are not life changing, but it is riding career changing. My crash has shook me, and left me quietly wondering why I ride. My crash has demanded answers to my broader family as to why I ride. What is that is worth permanent disability?
The answers are obvious in some ways difficult to articulate to those that don't ride. If you're reading this this, chances are you ride. Chances are MTB is more than a passing hobby. Chances are MTB is in your blood, superseded by only your family.
I am not back riding yet, I'm at least another month away. As for riding techy dirt, a few months yet. This SUX. Why do I do it. Why is it worth the effort to get back, the thousands of $ the bike. Why is it worth the wrath of dear ones? Why indeed.
I have answers for you, if you agree please SUBSCRIBE. If you don't agree please COMMENT why. If you know someone that that need to hear this content - support them and me by SHARING this video.

[@cutlaps]

Great video mate, very uplifting and motivational. One of your best for sure. Be good to see you back on the trails soon.

[@malmtb]

It'll be great to be back on the trails. Bit stir crazy at the moment 🤘🏽. Thanks Luke

[@carlzadro625]

Mate, I'm gonna say this is the best Mtb YT video I've ever watched, for lots of reasons, but mainly because i relate to everything in it. 👍

[@malmtb]

OMG. High praise indeed. Thankyou! I'm so glad it landed with you Carl. I feel fortunate to have Mtb and this community in my life - Im glad you too 🤟

[@Oper8or]

52 years old here. I'm going to go down and get hurt. Its inevitable. I'm trying harder and harder stuff. Getting more confident. I have no intentions of stopping I just enjoy it too much and it keeps me moving. Just like fishing, hiking, camping, and hunting. This is an awesome video and I'm sharing it with my family so maybe they will understand.

[@malmtb]

If it helps a non rider understand why the risks are worth it - I am stoked🤘🏽. As for inevitability - if you're on a progression ladder, its kind of addictive and Im not getting in your way about that. But taking time to minimise all risks before hitting a feature is key. Not every trail needs to be conquered on your first visit. Leaving something to come back to keeps your list of 'must visit' venues long which is a healthy mtb asset 👍🏼. Thank you, Im glad this video landed well with you

[@ckMTB]

A really great video Carl, you nailed it mate. The 3 reasons why we do this are spot on. I really enjoyed watching the video and even though I'm on the other side of this ball, the thought behind the sport, the community and the joy is the same and that makes me happy. Thanks for the video and get well soon mate🙌✌

[@malmtb]

Thanks Christoph. The amazing thing about a sport rooted in local trails - is the universality of why we love it. Cheers mate. Hope your recovery continues strongly

[@ckMTB]

@@malmtb Healing is progressing well😁, thank you🙏. I hope you are also recovering well🙌

[@redbomberr4594]

Buddy, nice one. I ride and build for the same reasons. Oh, and those views.

[@malmtb]

Thanks Red. In regards top an upcoming project, roughly where are you located/ where do you build?

[@redbomberr4594]

@@malmtb I'm in Lake Macquarie. I build and maintain my local trails.

[@Duck_Duck_Carve]

Thanks for sharing this mate. I've just crashed on my collarbone that already had a plate on it (from an old mtb crash) and I've bent the plate 😵‍💫...waiting on surgeon's opinion on whether to operate....I'm 45 and will be back on the bike as soon as I can!! Getting hurt sux though!l

[@malmtb]

Sending all the good vibes and crossed fingers I can that surgery is not required and there is no lasting issues. Bending the plate is probably my worst nightmare, and would be a bridge too far for my fam.

[@Duck_Duck_Carve]

@@malmtb Thanks mate! I thought exactly the same about bending the plate, but having now done it, it hasn't been too bad. I'm going to have surgery in a week to get all straightened out, then we'll be in a race to get back on the bike 🤣🤣

[@malmtb]

@@Duck_Duck_Carve In not sure why, but you've made me smile. The recklessness of racing back to the bike? The ho hum of more surgery? Or the good fortune that the first two are where you're at. Mtbers are wired differently. Good luck with the surgery 👊. All healing vibes and power to you

[@Duck_Duck_Carve]

@@malmtb I guess if you don't laugh you cry!! I think it actually helps to have been through this before...it sux now, but my body will heal and the injury will soon be a distant memory. I'll be looking forward to your updates 🙌

[@grongrod]

Great message, 46 years old. Just broke my arm a week ago. 11 screws and plates. More motivated than ever to ride again. ✊️

[@malmtb]

Thankyou. Happiness is on two wheels. Ride safe 🤟

[@huckyeahmtb]

It said it all mate! There's nothing like it. And it's why we keep doing it despite the setbacks and challenges it throws our way. Rage against 🤘

[@Thecoffeekook]

Can’t wait to have you both back 😊

[@malmtb]

When the reward is higher than the cost - its an investment 👍🏼. Get well Shane, cant wait to see your take on your recovery journey 🤟

[@mreowJess]

I picked up mountain biking about a month and a half ago after a bit of a rough year and had a pretty gnarly arm fracture that required surgery just a couple days ago. This video was a good reminder that the mental health benefits I've gotten out of riding even just a few weeks were very well worth it and I'm motivated to keep riding after I get the green light from my doctor (which probably won't be this year anymore). Thank you

[@malmtb]

If new to the sport, technique is king. Get lesson if need be, I've had some and will seek more because my crash is pure bad technique and the most reliable way to avoid this happening again is.... well you know where I'm going. It doesn't take long to find the benefits of riding - Welcome Jess!

[@mreowJess]

@@malmtb Oh I definitely could benefit from some lessons but honestly up until now I've only done some flow trails and getting some cardio in at some hilly paved parks nearby. The crash happened after I changed out my fork and was dialing in my rebound, my front wheel washed out on some mud on a trail in my neighborhood I'd ridden countless times without issue since I've started and before I realized it I was on the ground. This experience was definitely an good lesson in expecting the unexpected and that it doesn't matter if you're doing big jumps, gnarly dh trails or like me going 15kmh on a flat surface, if you're unlucky you can get pretty hurt.

[@malmtb]

@ Cant help bad luck but you can form good habits while everything is so new. My biggest challenge is UNlearning 30years of retro technique. Dont form anything you'll have unlearn 🤟

[@BrettEngland-g8y]

Hey Carl love your work. As the same age of 52 your videos have been an inspiration for myself to get back out there, lose some weight, enjoy life and realise life is not yet over and has a lot to offer. Injuries are just a minor hiccup to enjoying a great life. Keep up the videos

[@malmtb]

Thanks heaps, I love that you've been inspired, and yes - I cant wait to get back out there. Cheers Brett If you're in Sydney, a recovery ride is order I believe 🤘🏽

[@TWLBJ]

Awesome mate, Some tough questions and great answers. Some of those comments were scary though....to think those sorts of accidents can happen makes you question riding sometimes, but im here when you're ready to get back out there

[@malmtb]

Cheers Todd. A recovery ride at Wylde is on the cards - in due course 🤟

[@TWLBJ]

@@malmtb Im ready when you good sir

[@rroche0123]

I'm 5-months into recovery after a catastrophic shoulder injury, where I tore all 4-rotator cuff tendons from the the bone along with my long head bicep tendon. Caused by a motorcycle accident on the road. All I could think about for the last 3-months is getting back on an MTB and an Enduro bike. I got back on the MTB after 4-months and breathed a sigh of relief knowing that I was going to be able to ride again. However, I'm not getting back on an Enduro Motorcycle for another 6-months out of fear of injuring my shoulder again. Thankfully my wife understands that I'll never give up riding, it's my passion.

[@malmtb]

Sounds like a freaking hard road. Im stoked to hear you've recovered to feel grips in your palms and wind on your face. I've tasted that relief before - it is sweet 🤟. All of this becomes easier with family that understands your passion. Keep recovering, thanks for the message Roche 👊

[@rupertbrock417]

I relate to so much of this. I hope the recovery is going well and that I’ll see you out on the trails some time

[@malmtb]

Thanks Rupert. Soon enough - see you out there 🤟

[@adrianmonk7663]

Hi Carl, rode Mogo the other weekend and heading back in a few weeks with Bubs. Your video was a great motivation and very helpful for planning the trip. Thanks - hope to see you out on the tracks soon.

[@malmtb]

Excellent Adrian. Im glad the vid helped. There's a lot to Mogo and easy to waste a chunk of daylight sorting through a plan 🤟. Dont discount Narooma half an hour down the road too. Ride well 🤘🏽

[@freedom2fitnessmtb81]

Good to see you on the mend mate. Great video on the highs and lows.

[@malmtb]

Cheers Jason. I hope I captured some of what it is that makes the play worth what we pay 😎

[@NoelJennings-go6zf]

One of your best Carl,spot on with everything,we love what we do 🚴🏿 and can’t wait till you’re back on the trails doing what you know you love too!

[@malmtb]

Cheers Noel. Cant wait to get back out there amongst it

[@shanmtb]

I'm not crying you're crying! 🥹 You grabbed me right in the feels with this one. Cant wait to share a pedal again soon! ❤

[@malmtb]

Thanks Shan for your help with this one. The video itself is an example of our great community. And yes - ant wait to share a trail and a beer again 🍻

[@pescado99]

You bloody champion. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2023 - and recovering, I totally get your head space. It's so simple, fitness is the key to absolutely EVERYTHING! Better sleep, fitness. Better sex, fitness. Weight loss, fitness. Better mental state, fitness. Better mountain biking, fitness! As we say at karate, "pain is just weakness leaving the body" :-)

[@malmtb]

Thanks Pescado, Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this is that it is so simple. There's few excuses just the challenge of doing it - to which the reasons you've listed are key. Glad you are recovering, all healing vibes to you. Given this, tonight's video may hit you in the tight place too - Is your best behind you?

[@wenyangyu7973]

Wow, what an inspiring video! Only those who have been through this and made it back to the trails are the true MTB lovers🤟

[@malmtb]

True dat Wen. Only that which requires sacrifice is valuable 🤘🏽

[@Lancia444]

Broke many things racing downhill in my youth, lost a friend as well...RIP... I ride for a very different reason these days, I'm not aiming for the adrenaline, not trying to take additional risks - it helps a lot... Just being in the forest on the bike is good enough for me...40ft gap jumps add nothing to the experience since my 20s so why bother? I feel like many adults picking up mountain biking later in life run the risk of developing that "for the stoke" attitude... It just isn't worth it.

[@malmtb]

And you have answered the question - stoke without risk is possible 👍🏼. Im not suggesting that stoke arrives only with 20ft gaps, stoke arrives at whatever level your at, and as you've illustrated, it can arrive with or without risk. This is what will keep me riding into my 70's 🤟

[@Thecoffeekook]

Wow! Just Wow! That video got me deep in the feels - Great video mate, miss sending it with you. Soon :)

[@malmtb]

Cheers Nick. Few weeks yet, but we will

[@DMMTB]

Fantastic video showing why we get back up after crashing and go again ... the community in mtb is 2nd to none!

[@malmtb]

It is a fantastic community and it's not just a second to none - it's something else entirely. Cheers Dave 🤟

[@kyliedittrich7810]

With risk comes great reward ❤ it will take you a bit to feel comfortable on the bike again but you got this

[@malmtb]

Cheers Kylie, you're right. It will take a while, longer than hoped, less than feared, but eventually the trails will open up again. Thanks 🤟

[@BikesnLikes]

Keep those ryobi batteries locked up tight!

[@malmtb]

Ha. Will do. Cheers Ryan 🤟

[@DMMTB]

😆😆😆

[@shanmtb]

😂😂😂

[@lizardears4861]

If you weren’t filming for KZbin or out with mates egging you on, would you ride any of these drops etc.?

[@malmtb]

Filming and being with mates are often encouraging factors. Riding solo - Im often more introspective and if I have to stop and look, Im probably a no. But riding solo does get a bit old pretty quick. Plus as you know, crashing when alone SUX

[@lizardears4861]

@@malmtb I reckon it sux crashing at any time and it also sux riding trails with all the protective gear on in the heat of an Australian summer. Much prefer my water sports in summer.

[@malmtb]

@ hard to argue with any of that 🤟

[@JohnnyThe_G]

I think mountain biking is a large risk regardless of skill or ability. The risk increases when you step outside the comfort zones. However getting in a vehicle is equality risky due to so many variables. Atleast with mtb you have some control over your outcomes. I rarely step outside my skill level, I generally have my worst crashes on the smallest features or most simple shit. Doing what you enjoy in life should be all that is important. Life is short.

[@malmtb]

Well said John 🤟

[@jordankokolis]

So obviously going to go back now that you have given 100% reasons for doing so, just need to get a stationary bike or join a gym and maintain your fitness, that was and still is the biggest regret now that I'm back flogging my Ellsworth, cheers Mal 👍

[@malmtb]

Im yet to do anything about my fitness. I cant yet reach forward to a handle bar Fitness is going to be a very long road. 🥹. My fear is that you are completely right so I see an ebike in my near future 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@shanmtb]

@@malmtb an e-bike you say? I know a guy 😉

[@malmtb]

@@shanmtb I know you do!

[@jordankokolis]

@malmtb I have a recumbent exercise bike, no leaning forward just a chair to sit back on, just a thought 🤔

[@malmtb]

@@jordankokolis Well there goes that excuse. I have some Market place searching to do then.

[@redbomberr4594]

But you can keep those skinnies. Too many crashes on them for me. Although, best not to ride with me. There's ALS in my genes, so I have no fear at all on 2 wheels. Best to clock out in a blazing glory than trapped in by own body.

[@malmtb]

Such a weird combo - fly till you burn but no skinnys. LOL. But I do agree, trapped in your own body is terrifying.

[@redbomberr4594]

@@malmtb Yeah, I don't know why skinnies do that to me. I've never been any good at them.

[@malmtb]

@ like me with jumps