My Bad Day

The crash happened so fast that my first sensation was hitting the ground. I will never forget the instantaneous thought, Wow. I just hit the road really effing hard.

It was loud and violent. At the same instant I felt my head hit the ground, I also had the thought, Damn, these helmets actually work!

In this pic, you can see the left rear of the helmet crushed in. If you could see inside, the material is fractured and broken all the way to the front.

I have road rash, bruises and a snapped collarbone. Surgery is next week on 9/18, the day I was planning on driving up to register for the race. In the olden days (when we were kids) these were left to heal as-is, and it ended up a nasty mess. Plates and screws are an option, but leave a different kind of mess -- a big zipper scar and plates+screws visible through the skin.

I am fortunate to have an ortho surgeon in my town that does a newer procedure where a flexible rod is run down inside the two pieces (well, three in my case) of bone, then locked into a stiff state. Couple small incisions and quicker recovery. This will cost me a bit more out of pocket -- I have a high deductible health plan. But I'm an active guy and I want to be 100% when this is over.

Besides, I didn't repair the ACL in my right knee when it blew out, so I'll spend that money now.

This mishap occurred as I was coming down Pinehurst Road on the backside of the Oakland Hills. On a gentle downgrade, I was in my biggest gear. After slowing a bit around a sweeping curve, I stood up to regain speed. As soon as I stomped down, the chain came off the big ring. It's like walking down stairs carrying a heavy weight and then suddenly one step is missing.

My body weight slammed down onto the bars; I started to lose control; hit the brakes to slow down and found myself hitting the ground. Don't know if I went down on my own, or ... did I get hit?

Unfortunately, a guy had come up to draft off me a moment earlier. He went right over top of me, and I understand that he has an AC separation. Every cyclist knows the risk of drafting at high speed. Well...should know the risk. This guy seems to think I should be responsible for his medical costs. Not in a million years.

So, my season and quest is over. But, if you've read much of this blog, you know how much I got out of it. My health, my confidence, my entire well-being. This is just the start of the rest of my life, and I will carry on.