[argylesocks]

back to the computer after 4 weeks of recovering from a crash....

went down hard....right shoulder dislocated, left clavicle broken, then pierced thru my shoulder muscle, 3 vertibrae fractured in back, 1 vertibrae chipped in neck, herniated disc in neck, mucle & ligament damage to back...and lost alot of skin on shoulder, knee & ankles (still not healed)...

it happend in the blink of an eye...final sprint, some guy went down and his bike just bounced in front of me....i went head over, and hit head first into a granite curb.....

spent 4 days in the hospital..then had to wait 2.5 weeks before the skin healed enough for them to operate on the shoulder...(another 3 days in hospital) got a plate & 7 screws in there now.... its been 9 days since the op. and things are feeling better, but it will be a few months before its healed.

im up and walking around now, gotta see a spine specialist, but i think those injuries arent as severe as my shoulder...

should return to work next week, for a total of 5 weeks on disability...ouch.

needless to say, im kinda iffy about racing again, right now... although im still holding out that i can have some sort of a cyclocross season, but that is yet to be determined...


so...hows everyone else been???

 

[sol 518]

Was this at Wells Ave? I was there a couple of weeks ago and people were talking about a crash like this. Sorry to hear about the accident, hope you have a good recovery.

 

[jtferraro]

Ohhh man! Sorry to hear about your crash...but glad you're OK. Best of luck for a speedy recovery.

 

[argylesocks]

Was this at Wells Ave? I was there a couple of weeks ago and people were talking about a crash like this. Sorry to hear about the accident, hope you have a good recovery.

that was it....soo odd, i wasnt even close to the guys that were bumping....they just went down, and the bike jumped

 

[sol 518]

I think I was there the next week. They were harping on the fact that it's pretty silly to sprint for 20th place. A good way to cause a crash and you aren't going to benefit from it.

 

[MR_GRUMPY]

Crashing is tough, but you must get through it. I'm sure that you've heard all sorts of advise on crashing, so I won't give any. Your first one or two weeks back on the bike will be tough (mentally wise), but thing will get better. Once you recover, you need to start riding in small groups again, starting off pretty slow, and working your way back up to "slow" race speeds. You'll probably start to "freak out" at at 21 mph, in a tight pack, but things will get better. It may take two months to physically and mentally recover.

 

[argylesocks]

Crashing is tough, but you must get through it. I'm sure that you've heard all sorts of advise on crashing, so I won't give any. Your first one or two weeks back on the bike will be tough (mentally wise), but thing will get better. Once you recover, you need to start riding in small groups again, starting off pretty slow, and working your way back up to "slow" race speeds. You'll probably start to "freak out" at at 21 mph, in a tight pack, but things will get better. It may take two months to physically and mentally recover.

thanks racing season will be over by the time im back riding...but im hoping to race 'cross, which will be alot less stressful mentally....

 

[bas]

damn.. *gulp*

Do people usually start chewing out other racers when this stuff happens?

back to the computer after 4 weeks of recovering from a crash....

went down hard....right shoulder dislocated, left clavicle broken, then pierced thru my shoulder muscle, 3 vertibrae fractured in back, 1 vertibrae chipped in neck, herniated disc in neck, mucle & ligament damage to back...and lost alot of skin on shoulder, knee & ankles (still not healed)...

it happend in the blink of an eye...final sprint, some guy went down and his bike just bounced in front of me....i went head over, and hit head first into a granite curb.....

spent 4 days in the hospital..then had to wait 2.5 weeks before the skin healed enough for them to operate on the shoulder...(another 3 days in hospital) got a plate & 7 screws in there now.... its been 9 days since the op. and things are feeling better, but it will be a few months before its healed.

im up and walking around now, gotta see a spine specialist, but i think those injuries arent as severe as my shoulder...

should return to work next week, for a total of 5 weeks on disability...ouch.


so...hows everyone else been???

 

[vonteity]

back to the computer after 4 weeks of recovering from a crash....

went down hard....right shoulder dislocated, left clavicle broken, then pierced thru my shoulder muscle, 3 vertibrae fractured in back, 1 vertibrae chipped in neck, herniated disc in neck, mucle & ligament damage to back...and lost alot of skin on shoulder, knee & ankles (still not healed)...

it happend in the blink of an eye...final sprint, some guy went down and his bike just bounced in front of me....i went head over, and hit head first into a granite curb.....

spent 4 days in the hospital..then had to wait 2.5 weeks before the skin healed enough for them to operate on the shoulder...(another 3 days in hospital) got a plate & 7 screws in there now.... its been 9 days since the op. and things are feeling better, but it will be a few months before its healed.

im up and walking around now, gotta see a spine specialist, but i think those injuries arent as severe as my shoulder...

should return to work next week, for a total of 5 weeks on disability...ouch.

needless to say, im kinda iffy about racing again, right now... although im still holding out that i can have some sort of a cyclocross season, but that is yet to be determined...


so...hows everyone else been???

Your crash sounds horrific, I'm glad you're okay. I crashed two weeks ago this Saturday in a race and ended up in the hospital for 4 days, with 2 days in the ICU. Fortunately, I came out of it without surgery. I had a really bad (3rd degree, or something?) liver laceration that stopped bleeding on it's own, punctured and collapsed lung with four broken ribs. They really thought I was going to need surgery on the liver, so I'm glad I was able to avoid that. I've been off the bike for almost two weeks now, my coach wants to start me spinning on the trainer on Monday for just 10 minutes. I'm not sure if I'm up to it yet, but I'll try. I'm still not walking much, I have some torn cartilidge on my sternum where the ribs are attached and it burns pretty bad if I sit or stand upright for too long.

I've been in crashes before, but this was definitely my worst one yet. I don't anticipate that I will get freaked out by riding or riding in packs again, in fact I'm bummed that I won't be racing in the pack for another 3 months (the liver presents a crash risk they don't want me taking). I'm looking forward to cyclo-cross, too! I should be back just in time for the start of the season, maybe I can fit in a few late season crits, and I'll be doing TT's in a month or so, I hope.

Anyway, I'm rambling... but heal fast and don't think too much about what could happen when you start riding in the pack again. I firmly believe that fear makes people make bad choices that can cause crashes, so try not to harp on it. Stuff happens, it's racing. You're alive... skin and bones heal, after all. But most importantly, how's the bike?

 

[JaeP]

an Addendum

As an ER doctor once told me "Skin & bones heal, Campy can't".

Get well soon.