I came upon a rider just past the entrance to The North Loop under the zip lines last night that took a very hard crash into a tree. He was with a group and the response from the WWP staff was fantastic.  The fire dept and Medic also responded.

Hopefully just bruises and scratches

Can't wait to see what happens when one of those power lines snap!  Am I the only one who's not to keen on the parking area when all you hear are the millions of volts of electricity popping through all the cabling/transformers.... just a dayem scary thought having to park underneath those!  Guess I'm just paranoid! 

sager wrote on 07/18/14 at 4:23pm:
Do you know how the person made out with the broken ankle? I was one of the last people to come upon the accident.

There was a second accident at Sherman last night -- it occurred on the long bridge / wooden feature (i.e., 30-40 ft of low bridge that is towards the end of the main loop -- I think it is 1-1.5 miles from the trail end). The person took a head dive into the feature -- at least that is what he thinks he did. He broke his helmet from the fall, was disoriented and was nice & bloody.

One person stayed with the individual and 2 of us met up with EMS at the trail head (we weren't sure of the fastest way to the trail head, so we took different paths...). EMS dragged the wheeled cart the 1-1.5 miles to where the person was located. Some of the local rescue brought out an ATV so we only had to carry the person about 0.5 mi before loading him onto the ATV.

Interesting night at Sherman Branch.

Based on this thread, I count 4 accidents in a short time period at Sherman and WWC. Any thoughts to tracking accidents in a separate dedicated thread / heading within the forum? These stats could provide useful information / alerts to all types of riders and trail builders.

I think it is actually called mountain biking. You tend to get hurt from time to time if you are doing it right. If you don't you either A)are not trying hard enough or B)doing something you shouldn't be.

This is from choice A.
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Look before you leap people and ride on.

Getting hurt is part of riding.

There is no need to keep track.

Good constructive points Trekker1 which is more than I can say for some of the other sarcastic and demeaning replies - great way to build the community guys. Agreed, we all get hurt from time to time and in my 30+ years of riding I have had more than my fair share of incidents. I am not suggesting tracking all forms of accidents. That would not be practical or meaningful but there may be some merit in tracking broken bones (or worse) vs broken ego type accidents. Surely there is a way to do this without shutting down or sterilizing a trail? What is IMBA’s take on providing a successful and sustainable trail network? However, to clarify, allow me to rephrase the question. At what point does it become feasible to provide signage of a potentially hazardous trail condition? For example, how many “victims” need to come short at the WWC “newer downhill course” (a blue designated trail) before applicable trail warning notice is warranted? I am aware that warning signage it posted on various trails throughout Charlotte but not on a consistent basis. I have ridden trails on various other continents and noticed appropriate warning signage. How a rider chooses to respond to these types of notices is their choice – but at least due notice has been provided. Not intending to start a firestorm or create added “bubble wrap and feather pillow” drama - just curious to hear how things are done in NC.

Racing_Lizards wrote on 07/22/14 at 7:43pm:

Go away.. white night... you're not needed here

Racing_Lizards wrote on 07/22/14 at 7:43pm:

My suggestion is to just put one sign at every trail head that reads something to the effect of "mountain biking is dangerous", or "Danger - uneven surfaces ahead". 

I think this is summed up by the signs that say "helmet required" at most of our trails, which many (see Sherman Branch) choose to ignore anyways. Maybe additional progressively stern warning signs thoughout the trail that say "really" or "no seriously, helmets are required" would help too?

anger face.

...what Bryan said.

Good points Banjo. Retract the use of the word victim, sorry guys, that came out wrong, even though it has been used with inverted commas. Nothing against WWC, awesome trails.

I just showed and discussed this this thread with my 9 year old twin girls and started with  "ok so someone got hurt at the WWC riding their MTB does that sound weird"?  They both replied "no" right away....I asked why and they said  "because if you ride bikes you get hurt"....How many of you never laid your bike down as a child?

...I'm making signs up for the neighborhood to warn all the innocent children of the dangers of having fun....

Sorry, I transitioned to blatant sarcasm.....I blame groupthink.....


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It is dangerous to call a trail dangerous... THere is nothing dangerous about MTB riding. Out of control people are dangerous,  not the trail. It is a constant path thru the woods. People and skill levels are the variable here.

I think it would be best to refer to trails as having sections that are more technical or say it is challenging. Calling it dangerous scares land owners. 

I simply implied you were "minimalist in terms of signage" and affirmed that "that was cool." BYT wouldn't be "BYT" if it was paved (or even, you know, "blazed" or... on camber... or .... maintained... or... tended). Seriously though, I'm all for a variety of trails and value BYT for the opportunities it offers for a rider to challenge himself. All kidding aside, I believe that we need the BYTs and the Postons, as much as the Sherman Branches or the Rennis. 

I've been to work days at BYT... and could find my way around all right. To be honest though, I haven't been out that way in about two years or so. I'm sure it looks nothing like it did before.

I just picked the place where I've had the highest "accidents per capita" if you will. 

Keep up the good work bro. All sorts of trash talk is okay on the forums, but I think everyone appreciates what you have done with BYT. 

If anything, I think we should track the grumpy-ness level of the forum's members in relation to the duration and number of closed trails.  :lol:  I'm guilty myself, I get super grumpy when I don't ride for extended periods of time.

When you start talking legal issues, you have to always look at worst case scenario.  Anyone can sue anyone for anything in this country, and many take advantage of that fact.  So, with that in mind, consider the following worst case scenario:

- You're a land owner of a trail and you're the defendant on the stand in a trial where you are being sued by a mountain biker that has been injured.

Plaintiff attorney: "So, Mr. TrailOwner, are you aware of any other incidents at location x on your trail?"
You:  "Yes"
Att: "And did any of those individuals require medical care for their injuries?"
You: "Yes"
Att: "How many incidents can you recall?
You: "10"
Att: "So, given the fact that there have been 10 injuries that you are aware of, would you say there is a pattern of recurring injuries at this particular location on the trail?"
You: "Yes"
Att: "Would you say that more people are being injured at this location compared to other parts of the trail?"
You: "Yes"
Att: "Mr. LandOwner, did you take any measures to warn trail users of the potential dangers of location x, given the fact that you recognize trail users were getting injured more frequently at this location?"
You: "No"

I'm just throwing this out for consideration.  I personally think that a sub-forum to track injuries is a bit over the top, but I have a lot of respect for private land owners for taking a risk by allowing strangers to use their property for an activity that results in personal injury... people can be litigious a-holes, that's a fact.

I agree.  Please don't keep a registry of the injuries and locations.  That was a big thing when a lawyer was going after a ski area for trail design.  How many others got hurt in the same area and why dint you change something to make it safer.

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I would like to report that I had solid woods-ride tonight and I did not sustain any injuries. 

Pretty sure I'll be ok after 17 years with no major injuries minus a couple minor knee sprains, but thanks for caring!

Ha ha. Good point. No. As a matter of fact there was not. All the blame goes to the trail coordinator on that one - not my own bad judgement.