Sir Richard Branson has suffered "nasty" accidents after hitting a pothole and falling off his bike within the British Virgin Islands, the billionaire has revealed

The Virgin founder mentioned he took "quite a big tumble", posting a photograph on Instagram displaying him with a bloody elbow alongside a fellow bicycle owner who additionally got here a cropper.

Sir Richard posted: "I hit a pothole and crashed hard, resulting in another hematoma on my hip and a nasty cut elbow, but amazingly nothing broken.

"We had been biking with Alex Wilson, who fell after me, however fortunately he was okay as nicely.

"I'm counting myself very fortunate, and grateful for conserving myself lively and wholesome.

"After all, the brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all!"

It will not be the primary time the 73-year-old has discovered himself with a cycling-related harm.

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In 2018, the mogul thought he had damaged his again after being thrown off his bike throughout a charity race.

And in 2016, he mentioned he feared he would die after smashing head-first onto the highway throughout a high-speed bike crash.

He was on a coaching trip along with his two grown-up kids on the British Virgin Islands when he flew off his bicycle.

On that event he revealed: "I was heading down a hill towards Leverick Bay when it suddenly got really dark and I managed to hit a 'sleeping policeman' hump in the road head on.

"The subsequent factor I knew, I used to be being hurled over the handlebars and my life was actually flashing earlier than my eyes."

After the crash he was taken to Miami for X-rays and scans, the place it was discovered that he had suffered a cracked cheek and torn ligaments.

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The billionaire claims to have counted 76 near-death experiences in his life, according to his autobiography, beginning in 1972 on his honeymoon with his first wife, when a fishing boat he was on sank.

He also previously crash-landed in a field in 1976 after he accidentally took off in a microlight aircraft he "had no concept" how one can fly.

The engine additionally exploded on the primary Virgin Atlantic take a look at flight in 1984 and, two years later, he pulled the incorrect wire skydiving and was falling by way of the air earlier than his teacher managed to tug the spare wire.

He has additionally had a number of mishaps whereas on sizzling air balloons, wing-walking on a Virgin jet, and leaping off a on line casino in Las Vegas.