Putting My Saying To The Test

Finally other riders decided to show for the breakfast ride. Some new faces too. In the past you may have heard me say that a bad ride is better than a good most other things. Saturday I put that saying to the test.

First off, no more than 100 yards out of my drive I hit some ice and lose my front tire. I was going very slow but hit the ground so fast that I didn't have time to let go of the bars. You know what I mean. But, shit happens and I crawl up off the ice with a bruised hip and knee. Life go's on. We hit the beach and I immediately wished I had a front fork (I was on my cross) as the beach was very rough. I had a death grip on the hoods. Then came the technical difficulties....

Field repair #1 was when Eric P. lost a pulley on his derailer.

Fortunately, he found the nut in the sand and some time was spent screwing the thing back together.

They got it done.

After the rest of the group rode on, we got going again and I made a feeble attempt to bridge to the main group and a time when I should not have been.

Pumped it up to about 15mph+ and was working hard in the drops. Came up to a small log or something and when I moved around it saw a 4 or 5 inch lip of sand\ice as lifted my front wheel to clear it. I ended up casing it and my front wheel surfed it for about 2 or 3 feet. If the wheel ended up clearing this lip in the sand I would have been OK but it did not and I went down hard on my right side. Yard sale. Bike ends up on top of me when its all done. I did get my right hand off the bars, and I only know that from the road(frozen sand) rash from my wrist to my elbow. And now I have a bruised right hip and knee to go along with my left.

This was the hardest fall I've taken since a fall on the road in 2004 that sent me to the hospital for several Catscans.

I was field repair #2. My rear wheel was bent bad and was rubbing the frame so after I disconnected the brake we had to drop kick the wheel to try and get in to fit back in the frame. After a few swift kicks it was ridable. And when this pic was taken I was pretty much in shock yet. On the left you can see the loggy thing that made me move over, and the spot where I landed about 15 feet past. Turns out my right shifter stopped working too on the rest of the ride.

I should have know better than to be sprinting around that thingy. My bad for sure. As soon as we got off the beach (after several guys waited for me, Thx!) I hit the road to home alone assuring all that I will softpeddle and be OK. What I didn't tell them at that point was that I was scared to death for several reasons.

One was cuz I hit my head and had a concussion. I was already getting nausea. I've had plenty of concussions in my life and that alone was no big deal. But I knew instantly that I hit my head in the same exact spot as 2004. Back of my head on the left. And I knew that I never fully healed from 2004 as I still get some issues back there now and then. But nothing serious. But another good knock in the same spot can be bad. So I just was hoping for the best there as I peddled home alone.

But what scared me the most was the fact that I cancelled my health insurance just a few days ago, on the 31st. Fact is to make a long story short my co-pay doubled to over $500.00 a month and thats nuts. I had to choose to make my rent or pay for the insurance and since I need a place to live I gatta pay the rent. I'm not trying to make a political statement here. I'm just sayin' that it would be just my luck to have to get my head looked at. As I type I didn't and I'm sure it will blow over. I'm still a little sick and a bit tired but I think it will be fine.

However, as time wore on I noticed what the rest of my body took in. Swollen and sore right elbow with road rash, my right hip had road rash and a welt on it the size of my hand, swollen out about 3 inches, I aggravated a injury to my right shoulder that took a year to heal. Right knee is also slightly swollen and sore. Now to the left side, no swelling but hip and knee is sore with road rash. I am a mess. It is hard to walk.

I'm sure we have all took pretty good diggers in our life but I think that is where you start showing your age. One seems to hurt easier and longer when they approach 50 (years old). And that sucks for me cuz I fall down a lot. I think I'm gonna feel this one for awhile.

Turns out I was thinking about my saying on the slow ride home. And at that time I could think of quite a few of others things that were better than today's ride. Quite a few other things.

I'm off the bike for awhile. Its time to cross train a little (after I feel better), good thing there is snow and skiing available. I just need to regroup a little before I get back on the bike.

A bad ride can be as bad or worse than some other good things.

DLD