But less than half as many head injuries
A study published in Wilderness and Environmental Medicine has revealed that mountain bikers suffer twice and many injuries as road cyclists.
The study, entitled Cycling Injuries in Southwest Colorado A Comparison of Road vs Trail Riding Injury Patterns tracked 304 patients of cycling injuries and found that 67 per cent had suffered the injuries on trails and only 33 per cent had suffered them on the roads.
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The most common injuries were cuts (64 per cent) followed by fractures in the upper body, for example the collarbone (26 per cent), head injuries (nine per cent) and lung injuries (six per cent).
Head injury was a lot more common in road cyclists however, accounting for 16 per cent of road cycling injuries compared to just six per cent of trail injuries. Interestingly those who did not use a helmet were more like to require transfer to a neurosurgical unit.
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So, what conclusions can we draw from this? Well the study recommends that cyclists should wear protective kit (duh!) but also that we should all learn some basic first aid to be prepared to treat cuts, fractures and head injuries while riding out on the trail.