To continue or not continue mountain biking after a serious, near life-changing injury?

Only you can answer this question but my take on it is mountain biking can be dangerous and at some point you will hurt yourself. If you are happy to still ride accepting the consequences then cool.

There are things you can do however, to lessen the risk.

Wear protection Never give it full beans on a trail you don’t know. Build up to it and check out the trail features first If you aren’t feeling it that day, don’t do it Build your skills on certain features by sessioning. Ride within your limits and abilities. Doesn’t mean you can’t push yourself to become a better rider but that part should be done gradually by sessioning.

Like a previous poster said. It’s your decision but there’s really only one beginner thing you did. You bombed down a trail for the first time without a proper pre ride. It always takes me two or three laps or visits to really get to know a trail. Heck the local trail over ridden 25 times and I’m still getting to know it. Always always pre ride and take it slow. It’s not worth the Strava. Proper safety equipment as well. You might be the only one with a full face helmet out there from now on but it’s worth it to you and your health to protect yourself. A lady I know had a freak accident and fell down her stairs and broke her jaw. She rides a full face on a road tandem as a stoker Bc of her injury. Only one to do it. But you do you. Fuck everyone else. You do you.

When I rode BMX as a teenager I had a bad crash that permanently injured my knee and kept me off the bike for a year. I talked to an older guy I rode with afterwards and his advice is still probably the best I’ve heard - if you can be happy and fulfilled doing something safer, you should do something safer... but that’s a big if.

Just dont force anything. Take it easy and try to ride with a positive mindset not thinking about the injury

In my opinion it's all about staying in your skill level and never take anything too fast. I've downhill skied for 17 years before I started mountain biking. Never had a serious injury skiing. I learned my limit and was more than happy staying in it, and my limit slowly increased as I skied more. Not saying it's impossible to progress in skill. Same with biking, I take it very slow unless I am with a group and can learn the trail from them. As others have said, it's up to you to pick it back up with more protective gear. Then slowly get back into it but stay slow. I'd rather go slow and arrive alive and ride like I want to be able to ride the next day. I go slow and I'm happy going slow. So I'd say go slow enough that you don't accidentally send it on a new trail.

It seems like you are asking yourself the right questions and need to answer them yourself. No need to rush to a conclusion, heal up, feel better and see where you are down the road. If you feel like you’ve gotta send it then go for it! If you don’t, then don’t. It will always be here as an option if you change your mind.

Hope your recovery goes well!

Get well soon! Re the biking, Its really a personal decision. But remember life is for living, if mtb is what you love doing then carry on. Maybe take it easy and improve your safety gear. Full face, back protector, pads etc.

The descision is up to you, but there are things you can do to protect you, full face helmet and googles , knee and elbow pads all that stuff, the other people already said basicly much of it, I know the descision you take is going to be the good one, remember that stopping mountain biking is not a definitive descision and that if you change your mind you can get back to it eventually I hope you recover well and goodbye

You've got a tough decision to make, and have gotten some good advice. If you decide to keep riding, here's a couple of things to keep in mind.

Your confidence is going to be shot. Stick to the easiest trails you know at first, because your reaction when confronted with an obstacle is going to be to tense up and balk. That makes you more likely to crash, reinforcing your natural fears. I fought that after a hard crash last year for a couple of weeks. It was genuinely a battle of will to pull myself down into the bike and relax over rough stuff, and I had a couple of front end washout crashes because of it.

Since you're a newer rider, consider taking some lessons. Basic skills refreshers and drills are never a bad thing, and learning better habits under supervision can only help. It gives you the tools to succeed and handle surprises well. Some trail time under the eye of an instructor who can point the good and bad habits you have can build your confidence and make you a better rider, and may help guide you to a final decision.

Hey man, I'm in a similar situation as you but less severe. I also had a major accident two weeks ago. I was ripping down the trail after a rainy day. The front tire slipped and I went right over the handlebars. I fractured my jaw in three places, had a concussion, and broke a couple teeth. I had to drive myself to the ER because I was biking alone. It was the worst injury that I've every sustained.

As I sit at home recovering with my jaw wired shut for the next five weeks, it has forced me to think about whether or not to continue with this sport. My entire family was worried sick and my mother was crying; essentially had the whole package. The reality is, I'm getting back on my bike the moment I get these goddamn wires off my teeth. I grew up doing this sport and for me to just quit in an instant and never look back is very difficult thing to do, especially if its been something I've been doing for close to 10 years now.

What I'm trying to say is this, and as others have mentioned before; it's entirely up to you. If you love doing what you do, you should not let one event intimidate you from pursuing it further. I'm not telling you to bomb down Rampage the moment you can get back on the bike again; perhaps take it easier and go a little slower on the trails. Yes, I said go slower and ride easier trails. Mountain biking is a dangerous sport and like any other high speed sports there comes a risk. Everyone is a victim of Mother Nature and gravity; professional bike riders fall and get injured too. Every sport you do would have you risking your career, health, and other activities as well; it's not only mountain biking that does it. If you love it and it brings you happiness in your life it is definitely worth to try and get better regardless of age IMO.

I hope you make the right decision, and as a stranger on the internet I respect whichever one you choose. Mtb is a great sport and it brings people together.

Examine the conditions that lead you onto that unsuspecting jump that was obviously out of your skill set. That is something that most everyone would look to avoid. Your injuries seem more extreme than ones that you see everyday but the situation in which it happened doesn't seem like an random mishap that could happen on any ride. You've got to be familiar with where you ride and don't get in over your head. That said, it's all up to you. I think that staying in control and riding within your limits seems like a good way to avoid this in the future.

Which trail in socal was this?

If you do decide to go back in, perhaps invest in a skills course/coaching. Ease yourself back in. Take it easy and hone your skills before you go bombing down trails.

Also, practice the tuck and roll!

When you get better just don't push so hard abd learn to roll it out in a crash. You could try to livestrong but if you live medium you can enjoy it for longer. Cheers and good luck.

Don't live life in fear. Be calculative and make a conscious effort to know your limits and be respective of that. If you are able to fully recover from a physiological perspective, then you should totally start riding again if it brings you joy in life.

That's a choice only you can make. Does the potential to get hurt out weigh the enjoyment you get from riding? If so then it may not be for you.

We all participate in dangerous sports. But you have to go in willing to take the risk of injury. That's part of what gives you such a rush from it.

I've snowboarded my whole life, I've broken my arm, femur, hands, leg, ankle, feet, and nose snowboarding. But I still go out every year and do it again. The enjoyment outweighs my injuries.

Don't give up if you love something. Maybe dial it back to a place that's safe yet you still enjoy the sport. I'm 35 and have a kid. There's no faster route to my wife telling me 'you're never doing that again' than me going off some huge jump, being out of work for a bit while also being useless around the house. I got myself a Remedy and now just bomb down some single track as fast as I can and minimize huge jumps and drops. Still fun and a great workout with the 1,000 foot climbs.

Right now you’re still injured and in trauma from the accident. Don’t try to decide now because you won’t be thinking straight. Get yourself back to full fitness and go for a gentle ride. Then decide. Trust me, understand that your body and mind are in healing mode right now and this isn’t conducive for making good decisions.

That's a pretty bad set of injuries.

I guess the question to ask yourself is "do I love mountain biking enough to make the inherent risk worthwhile?"

If the answer is "yes!" then maybe you want to continue to ride but try to reduce the risk. Maybe take some lessons or do a clinic on bike skills; wear protective gear; and most importantly, LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP. Ride a new trails cautiously the first time, stop and look at features and figure out the line, etc..

I always joke that I finally found a sport I love and that I don't suck at, and then it is constantly trying to hurt me. Since beginning to ride 9 years ago, I've broken my wrist, my shoulder, and my collarbone, had a concussion, dislocated my knee tearing all the ligaments, and dislocated my arm tearing the cartilage in my shoulder and my rotator cuff (these didn't happen all at once!) but because I love mountain biking I'm willing to accept that I may get hurt from time to time. As my skill level progressed I got hurt less (well, until last year when I broke the "look before you leap" rule and had a nasty set of injuries and needed surgery) but overall I feel that for me, the benefits outweigh the risks. YMMV.