Richard Branson: 'I really thought I was going to die'

Richard Branson has done a lot of crazy things, but it was an otherwise ordinary bicycle ride that gave him the scare of his life.

On a training ride in the British Virgin Islands, the Virgin Group founder says he hit a "hump in the road head-on" while going down a hill and went tumbling over his handlebars. Writing in a blog post on Virgin's site Friday, Branson says the crash sent him  "head-first towards the concrete road" and his bike "flying off the cliff."

Scary? You bet.

"I really thought I was going to die," writes Branson. "Fortunately, my shoulder and cheek took the brunt of the impact, and I was wearing a helmet that saved my life." Branson said he performed a little self-diagnosis to determine how badly we was hurt.

"As I landed, once I realized I was alive, I began testing my movement," continued the eccentric billionaire. "I really couldn't believe I was alive, let alone not paralyzed."

The founder of Virgin was taken to Miami where X-rays and tests revealed a cracked cheek and some torn ligaments. That said, Branson still hopes to compete in Virgin's Strive Challenge event, which raises money for young people in the United Kingdom by having participants attempt to travel from the base of the Matterhorn in Switzerland to the summit of Mount Etna in Sicily, by hiking, biking, running and swimming.

"My attitude has always been, if you fall flat on your face, at least you’re moving forward. All you have to do is get back up and try again."

It isn't usually a bike ride that creates headlines for Branson. His stunts have included crossing the Atlantic in a hot-air balloon, driving in an armored vehicle through Times Square to promote Virgin's soft-drink business and being lowered off the roof of the Palms Casino in Las Vegas.

Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal