As any mountain biker knows, taking your bike off-road means dealing with a plethora of obstacles and dangers created by Mother Nature (or in some cases, your friend Steve). When a mountain biking trip goes successfully, you’re left with a strong sense of pride and accomplishment afterwards. When it goes unsuccessfully, you get hurt really, really badly.

Here are 15 videos celebrating the latter. It’s a miracle all of these people are still alive.

15) Take Deep Breaths

Who knew Lamaze class could help with mountain biking crashes?

 

14) Six Inches Too Far

If only this guy had stopped a split-second earlier, he wouldn’t have looked like a scene from a bad teen comedy.

 

13) Rough Landing

If Slip ‘n Slides were made of wooden planks and dirt, they would look like this. Also, a lot of parents would be investigated by Child Services for letting their kids use them.

 

12) Guy Hits Tree

One of the funniest things about watching bike crash videos is seeing how many camera people stay perfectly still even after a horrific crash. “I know you’re bleeding internally, but I need this to look good on YouTube!”

 

11) Snow Bank

At least this was a soft landing.

 

10) Rooftop Jump

The key to an enjoyable mountain biking experience is putting safety first. That includes keeping a well-maintained bike, wearing proper protective equipment, traveling in groups, and not trying to jump off the roof of your parents’ house while your friend videotapes you.

 

9) Kicking Up Dust

Good form, but a little rough on the landing. He may have to settle for the silver.

 

8) Apparently You Can’t Do It

Let’s be honest, this woman wasn’t even trying.

 

7) Crossing the Stream

Sometimes the build-up to a crash is funnier than the crash itself.

**Disclaimer: not technically a crash, but it's a hilarious video.

6) Broken in Half

After he recovered from this crash, Jimmy vowed to never put a bike together with Scotch tape again.

 

5) Guy Hits Tree (Version 2.0)

During the Mountain Cup Race in Angel Fire, NM, biker Drew Powers’ right shoulder popped out of its socket. Fortunately, Drew was able to pop his shoulder back into place… by slamming into a tree.

 

 

4) Extreme Crash

This TV clip from Japan shows what can go wrong when riding a bike at speeds upwards of 170 kilometers per hour. They say Japanese vehicles are more reliable than anything made in the USA. If that’s true, an American bike going 170 KPH must either spontaneously combust or turn into a lion and maul whoever’s riding it.

This video is in Japanese, but fortunately, excruciating pain knows no language.

 

3) What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

A true test of friendship is telling your buddy, “OK, you hold one end of this rope in your van, I’ll hold the other on my bike, then you pull me down the street doing 40 miles per hour, and I’ll let go of the rope, ride off a giant ramp, and try to land on top of a 2-story building,” then seeing if they question your plan.

(Note: This video would be #1, except that it’s not really mountain biking, per se.)

 

2) Yep, That Was Bound To Happen

Pros and cons of attempting a 50-foot jump off a cliff on a bike:

Pros - Your friends will think it’s cool.

Cons - You could suffer permanent brain damage, broken bones, paralysis, or just get knocked unconscious and wake up thinking your name is “Ashley, Princess of The Mountain Kingdom.”

 

1) The Penalty For Failure

This guy is the real-life Wile E. Coyote. And until we’re positive he survived this fall, it’s really not appropriate to say anymore.

 

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