I guess if you don’t care about being laid up and not being able to do normal daily activities, then take those kinds of risks.
It is also okay if you don’t care if the risk takes your life, you were free as a bird doing what you wanted. Of course unless you hurt someone else.
Common sense tells you that you are not 25 anymore. I am 70 and I will be careful because I have seen personally how a broken hip can take a person down. It isn’t worth a silly risk of putting you in a nursing home where they send you for rehab now.
Yep. After I crashed the mountain bike and broke my leg, I did my rehab in a nursing home. That was weird.
It's like any sport, you have to be careful and work around the risks.
But if you quit taking any chances, you will die inside.
BTW, I also just bought a dual sport motorcycle last summer (Honda CRF300L Rally). I ride dirt roads and trails in the county where I live. Just like mountain biking, I assess the risks and plan ahead.
Same for rock climbing (I like it but no place to climb nearby). You have to assess the risks and plan your action accordingly.
Bottom line: just because you're old doesn't mean you have to stop doing things.
I do agree that if my balance were to go or if I had some ailment that robbed me of strength, I would cease and desist. But until then, I plan to keep doing this stuff.
BTW, doing things that require balance is what keeps your sense of balance sharp.