The Broken Mountain Biker’s Guide to Sanity

It is entirely possible to practice

mountain

biking without getting hurt. Riding groomed trails at slow speeds, avoiding jumps and keeping your distance from other cyclists, is probably safer than driving a car to the trailhead. With experience, you can even fall off your bike without suffering any bruises or scratches. But if you take risks and keep doing it, it's only a matter of time before you eat dirt. So here I am, at least 10 weeks away from riding my bike again. Many of you are in my exact situation, or have been at some point. Some of you will be joining me in the coming weeks.

It sucks to be hurt, not only because of the pain and discomfort but also because of the lack of freedom. Things that used to be easy can be a challenge. Worse yet, you can't ride a

mountain

bike to cope with it. So while you're

broken

and trying to heal, what can you do to stay sane? Well, for starters, you can finish the helmet you crashed into. Assuming you have cracked or dented this helmet, you will need to replace it. That's right, most helmets are only good for one accident. We don't want someone to find their helmet compromised and use it to protect their head.

So finish the job and post it on Instagram. Assuming you can walk and do something, you can work on your bike. In fact, you may want to give it a major overhaul since it won't be up and running for quite some time. Even if you intended to leave it at your local shop, this is the most availability your bike will have. And you can also take advantage of this time to give your team a good review. Reorganize your hydration pack and make sure you have supplies. Clean your trunk. Attach action camera mounts to your new helmet.

Make sure you're ready to hit the trails once you're fully healed. I think the main goal of all of these activities is to be as productive as possible safely. Mountain biking gives you a much-needed sense of accomplishment that you will now need to obtain through other means. Even if your injury is prohibitive, you can still check email, catch up with your family, or read an informative book. Get all the benefits you can without putting yourself in danger. Although family and friends may offer to care for you, don't let them do anything you can't do yourself. Maintain whatever independence you have left.

There will be plenty of time to sit. If you've ever considered editing a video, now is the time to try it. Maybe you have a bunch of action camera footage archived on your computer or a few clips in your phone's camera roll. Why not use this footage and learn a new skill at the same time? Most Macs come with iMovie, and there are many free editors for Windows. GoPro Studio isn't a bad option either. Best of all, there are tutorials on YouTube for anything you need to do. As a mountain biking lover, you probably love everything about it.

The social aspect, the outdoors, the landscape, the adventure. Then, as you recover and regain your mobility, you can immerse yourself in mountain biking without having to ride a bike. If your legs are okay, walking is one of the best ways to enjoy the outdoors. In fact, I love hiking, whether I'm injured or not. In most cases, you have many more options for hiking than mountain biking, and it can give you the same feeling of accomplishment and even adventure. Enjoying the scenery and all the sound of the forest can be therapeutic, not to mention a good exercise that you could definitely use.

Assuming you're not taking too many painkillers, driving a shuttle is a lot more fun than it looks. You can see your friends, be with them in the car and then come back to pick them up excited as always. Being in the company of a group of happy people on mountain bikes is contagious. You'll be able to feed off their enthusiasm when you leave them and you'll share more joy with them as they regale you with stories of their ancestry. Transfer day is a fun orchestra and you are the director. At the very least, you'll get out of the house and have a few laughs.

As you recover, you begin to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Being hurt made you wiser. Your entire team is totally organized now, you've learned how to edit videos, and your friends have very mixed feelings about getting hurt. You probably spend a lot of quality time with your dog. And your cat just had the best month of his life. But before long you'll be ready to get back on your bike. You're out of practice, weaker, and probably excited to get back into the saddle. You are in your most vulnerable state and prepared to suffer a new injury.

Take it easy and climb back up. Time heals everything, but it won't if you try to rush things. I am very guilty of ignoring this advice. If you're watching this with a

broken

wrist, sprained ankle, or anything else that's keeping you from riding, I hope you can find something to help you keep your head up. Heal yourself, take it easy, and become a wiser mountain

biker

again. Thanks for traveling with me today and we'll see you next time.