Warning: the following blog is not for the squeamish!

In light of the many tragedies involving cyclists getting killed or severely injured by a bus or car in the Portland metro area, I’ve lately pondered whether I should continue riding on the road. Every time I go out, I wonder if I am taking an unnecessary risk. Should I just quit riding on the road and stick to single track? Is mountain biking more or less dangerous than road riding? Is it better to wrap yourself around a tree or a light post? Is it time to toss my slicks and keep only my knobbies for riding?

When I started riding, Breaking Away had come out on video, and I rode with the Barber of Seville running through my head dreaming of racing through the cobblestone streets of some small French village in the twelfth stage of the Tour De France. This was long before mountain bikes were sold, so when the mountain bikes first came out, I thought who in their right mind would want to ride a bike down a mountain. It seemed obvious to me that mountain biking must be more dangerous. After all, on a road bike, I’m only riding on smooth asphalt for the most part with a few potholes or gravel I need to avoid. Mountain biking, however, conjured up visions of slamming into cacti (I lived in Arizona) or breaking a collarbone as I smashed down onto a rock after doing an endo over a cliff.

To be honest, everyone I know who rides a mountain bike on any even moderately technical ride has crashed and bled or pulled a muscle or something unpleasant. As El Cap once told me, it isn’t mountain biking until you’ve crashed and/or you’ve had to walk your bike because the terrain is too tough (El Cap, you can correct me on this). I admit it; I don’t like to crash, and it’s my goal not to crash whenever I ride, but I know it goes with the mountain biking territory; I know that sooner or later I will crash.

The difference between mountain biking and road riding is that I’m 100% sure that I will crash in the next year or so while mountain biking. I’m not so certain about road riding. I don’t want to brag, but I don’t think I’ll crash while road riding, at least not due to the terrain or my riding ability. If I crash while road riding, I think that the odds would suggest it would be due to an automobile. I can have a perfect riding record, but I have no control over the drivers out on the road. It’s likely I may crash into a rock or tree, but It’s not likely I’ll have a rock or tree crashing into me.

Warning: yucky part coming up. It’s not too late to turn around, hit the back button, log off, whatever you need to do to avoid getting completely grossed out. . . .  Okay, I warned you. I can’t be held responsible for you losing your appetite.

I voiced these ponderings last Sunday at the first rest stop of the Vancouver Discovery Walk Ride (the walk that’s also a ride!) to anyone within earshot, and they mulled it over and seemed a little unconvinced, so I asked if anyone has ever heard of a mountain biker dying from an off-road accident. A rider, who I believe claimed to be a nurse, told us the story about a mountain biker who crashed and severed the top of his lip off. They had to graft half of his lower lip onto the top. She said the paramedics tried desperately to find the severed lip, but alas, could not find it. Their best guess was that he inadvertantly swallowed it.

So, other than the possibility of becoming a quasi-cannibal, mountain biking seems safer than road riding. You’re more likely to be injured while hitting the single track, but the much less common crash during a road ride may have more dire consequences.

What do you think?