I have been biking for about 8 years and I have had my fair share of injuries from my favourite past time. To name a few I tore my ACL, I have had concussions, I even broke three ribs before my wedding day. I could spend this full post talking about my injuries But this is not what this is about. I want to talk about how to get back on the bike after an injury.
First You need to heal. You need to follow your doctor or physio advice. Rushing back on the bike before your body is really is not the best idea and will lead to more injuries. So listen to the medical professionals and follow their program until you are ready to return to biking.
Start your return to the trails slowly. You need to remember how to bike again. No one just jumps on their bike after injury and they are exactly where they left off. This is not going to happen. For a start, your fitness will have taken a hit in the recovery from your injury. So you need to build it back up.
Let's start slowly hit the blues at your local trail centre. Take it easy. This is a good time to work on your biking form and skills. It is also a good time to remember why you love biking. It is ok to feel nervous on the bike. It is ok to be a bit frustrated that you are not where you want to be when you return to the bike.
Let's talk about your mind. Our mind is a funny place when it comes to injury and getting back on your bike. You will have a lot of thoughts from excitement to nerves. Mountain biking is as much a mental game as it is a physical one. You need to give yourself time to remember that you do have the skill to return to mountain biking. you will get back to where you were when you had your accident. It is ok to not feel ok on a bike. Don't be afraid to express your feeling. You will overcome this feeling but you need to start slowly. There is no point in overthinking thing, like why you could no longer go off a drop you have done 100 times before. It will come with time. Right now it's about just getting back on the bike and having fun.
The recovery phase is all about building your confidence back up. You can look into getting some coaching if you are struggling to find your feet again there are so many amazing coaches out there.
As you start to feel more confident in your ability you can start to hit the harder tails that you love. Everyone one of us is different. It may take you longer to rebuild your confidence and that is ok. This is your recovery journey and no one else. An injury can take a bit toll on your body and mind and it can make you a better rider. You will learn things in the recovery stage that you didn't know about yourself.
If this is your first injury believe me you will get your confidence back and become a better rider. We learn a lot from our mistakes and this is just another learning curve. This is a perfect time to think about your biking routine. Do you struggle with flexibility on the bike? Get arm pump? This is a great time to form some new habits in your biking journey. Even just learning to stretch and foam roll can make a huge difference and help you to remain injury-free. Taking better care of our bodies will translate into better riding. Let face it these professionals do it for a reason. So lets not only get back on our bikes but let's form one new habit to help us stay injury-free.
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