It was bound to happen...

At least I figured it would be some time since I just purchased my new bike. But then again the law of averages kicks in when you drop some coin on a new ride.

So Sunday, April 22 I was riding and went down VERY hard. Of course my first thought was, shit my new bike! And then, what did I break? I was down for a few minutes, curled up in a fetal position on my right side and tried to roll on my back. When I did, I opened my eyes and everything was very blurry and actually spinning around. I have NEVER experienced that and it freaked me out.

Went to the hospital and my injuries are as follows: road rash on upper right thigh, right hand, right forearm, right shoulder and across to the middle of the back. Very tender tailbone and very sore shoulder. Fortunately nothing was broken and at the time the Doctor was not sure of the extent of muscle damage. However, I just came from seeing my Doctor for a follow up and everything is healing extremely well. The road rash is really coming along well and I have regained a lot of movement in my right shoulder. Still sore and I can't push with it or put too much weight on it, but it is doing well. I really do not know when I will be back on the bike again. I hope in another week I should be able to at least ride it.

Now the damage to the bike...... where do I begin?....
Shaved the metal off the handlebars down a bit on the right side, scratched the brake levers on right & left, scratched the rear derailleur, both wheels out of true, scraped the labels off the rear wheel, a nice chunk of the seat is missing and the big problem is the rear end is 1 - 2cm out of alignment. So that makes the bike pretty much history. Aluminum does not bend back into shape.

Equipment damage......
Cracked helmet in 4 places, shredded the shirt I was wearing, glove was shredded with chunks missing, arm warmer has a couple of holes but still wearable. Thankfully the shorts held up well. Almost no visible sign of damage. Lycra is magical!

So when I get to the ER, I was obviously in extreme pain and not really sure what the extent of my injuries were. The dream topical drug for road rash is Lidocaine. Now let me tell you, it feels like acid burning your skin when it is being applied, but wait 30 seconds and all the pain has gone away. It's like the road rash does not exist. I hear if overused it can be pretty dangerous though, like a heart attack. The other magic item is Tegaderm. This is a sheet of clear saran wrap like material that sticks directly over the wound. It creates essentially a new layer of skin. It can stay on for up to 7 days. However, after moving around & taking a shower, 2 days is really the max for me. They took x-rays of my neck, shoulder and pelvis area.

Mentally I am doing well. I am very bummed that I can't do simple tasks, but each day is better and seeing a lot of improvement. I still do not have a solution about my bike, but am checking with our homeowner's insurance to see if it is covered and what the deductible is. Not sure if I will get another Merckx or maybe try a custom Primus Mootry. Great builder out of Boulder. That was my second choice when I was originally looking. And do I want aluminum again or try steel this time.

I'll be back!!