Mountain biker Gee Atherton releases video of crash that put him in hospital for two weeks
Extreme mountain biker Gee Atherton has been a national champion and a world champion in the sport that he loves.
But when you take things to the limits in downhill and mountain biking, things can go badly wrong.
The 36-year-old from Oswestry has just released a video of when things did exactly that and he suffered serious injuries that put him in hospital for two weeks.
The crash on the Knife Edge Ridge near Dinas Mawddwy, in June, saw Gee break his leg, wrist, ribs, nose and eye socket as well as suffering concussion.
He had to be airlifted off the mountain after the Aberdyfi Mountain Rescue team went to his aid.
Gee, part of the world cup winning trio with sister, Rachael and brother, Dan, is donating profits from the Knife Edge video to the emergency organisations that went to his aid.
The Knife Edge has been a huge sensation, trending ninth on YouTube on the first day - racking up more than 450,000 views since it was uploaded.
He said of his decision to film his extreme rides: "These Big Mountain projects are really important to me; they take a lot of physical and mental effort and they carry a lot of risk something it is easy for people to forget.
"It’s important to me to show the reality behind this kind of project; when I talk about waking up in the night it’s the possibility of this level of injury that’s haunting me. I feel like when we’re demonstrating an unending line of successes the risk gets lost in the celebrations so I just wanted to pause for a moment and take a look at when and how things go wrong.
"I do constantly seek out opportunities to do things that nobody has done before, to go beyond my comfort zone. Without that drive nothing would change. It’s something that I recognise in Dan and Rachel too, that passion to pour huge amounts of yourself into a task, no matter the difficulties or the set-backs. The knowledge that it will take absolutely everything you have to succeed is a huge motivation. I want to show that I went into this with my eyes open.
"I think it’s important to show that this wasn’t an impossible line to ride, it was very technical, very intimidating and it was right at the limit but in fact I successfully rode every section, several times for most parts. There is enough footage there for us to have edited together a complete clean run. But it wouldn’t be real. If I stopped every project when I first got scared there would be nothing. Every ridge has its own particular appeal and its own difficulties. You discover its particular personality and its problems, you get your head around it and figure out how to overcome them.
"I knew the risks and fully accepted the level of injuries that were likely if it did go wrong. I had figured out every detail and I knew 100 per cent that I could do it. People think that I’m wild but I couldn’t have survived this long without being super-calculated. There’s a process; walk, scout, build, review, adapt, ride. Even now, two months on I can close my eyes and picture every rock on that ridge.
"If there hadn’t been a massive drop inches to my left I’d have probably gone over the bars, dusted myself off and gone again. The section that I crashed on was savage, there’s no contesting that but it was no more technically difficult than six or seven other parts of the line that I rode with no problems.
"But it just goes to show, however much you plan, however great your support crew, your bike, your preparations, when you are riding at the edge nothing is 100 per cent. I made a mistake, got slightly offline with a bit too much momentum and everyone knows the rest. It went wrong but I don’t regret trying.
"It’s going to be a long recovery but I’m so grateful for the crew who supported me on the hill, the Coastguard, the Air Ambulance, the surgeons at Stoke. They all did an absolutely brilliant job and gave me a head start on the road to recovery.
"I can honestly say that being injured hasn’t put me off this kind of riding. In fact it’s the complete opposite. The thought of more of these challenges is the light at the end of the tunnel, the reason I’ve pushed on with physio so early, it’s what helps me face the daily grind of painful rehab. Its my goal. I’m passionate about the projects and I plan to do more as soon as I can."
