Living in Chicago, it has only been recently that I've been able to start riding and training outside, as its finally starting to warm up. This week, my neighbor suggested that since she's looking to get into better shape, maybe we could ride together. I could not have been happier, as I have been actively looking for a riding partner. Its been a nice change of pace from stationary bikes or spin classes.
This afternoon, we only had about an hour to ride, but any time was better than none! So off we went...
It was a great day to ride, but it came to a quick stop only about 10 minutes in. She was leading as we came up on an intersection, and she called back that it was clear so we were going through. Then she yelled back again, I thought I heard, "Go!" - so I leaned in a bit to catch up the speed I had lost as we we approached the intersection. Unfortunately, in her cap of the story, she had yelled, "No! Stop!" - but I never heard the "stop" part... I was going about 18mph...
As soon as I realized she was stopping, I slammed on my breaks and yelled at her, and before she knew why, I was right behind her, flipping up over my handlebars. On my way down, my right hand got caught in her rear tire. It even tore off my glove, which I was glad to be wearing, for I imagine my hand would otherwise be all cut up. Immediately my hand turned several shades of black and blue, and let me tell you, it was a site to be seen! Instantly my mind flashed to the tour, and one of the first things I said was, "Susie! If I broke my hand I won't be able to train for the tour!" I panicked. I did lots of yelling, clearly in shock, and sat on the ground cupping my arm. We went over our options, and as we were only a few miles from home, decided I could suck it up and we would just ride home slowly.
After stopping home for some ice and anti-inflammatories, we headed to campus for class. A fellow student at my seminary used to be an ER surgeon, so I had her look at my wrist for peace of mind. She's confident nothing is broken and I probably haven't torn any of the muscles, etc, so that was encouraging. My upper chest is pretty sore, too; I imagine I've got some good bruising on my sternum, maybe a rib? Nothing serious, just really uncomfortable.
For a first fall, I thought this was pretty good, right? I was definitely lucky, as it could easily have been more serious. I wish it had been caught on camera; my flip had to look pretty sweet. It was definitely enough for a car nearby to stop and make sure we were ok - she looked far more afraid than I was shocked (and let me tell ya - that was a lot!). Also, I wish we'd had a camera with us, as I would love to be able to show you a picture of said wounds on hand, as it was pretty massive. By now, the ice has brought it down quite a bit, and its just a massive red (slightly) swollen blob where a blood vessel broke.
That was enough adventure for me for today. I thank God it wasn't more serious, and think I'll celebrate that by letting it 'rest' by staying inside for a bit. I'll head back to spin classes at least until the swelling goes down and I can close my hand enough to squeeze my back break again
This afternoon, we only had about an hour to ride, but any time was better than none! So off we went...
It was a great day to ride, but it came to a quick stop only about 10 minutes in. She was leading as we came up on an intersection, and she called back that it was clear so we were going through. Then she yelled back again, I thought I heard, "Go!" - so I leaned in a bit to catch up the speed I had lost as we we approached the intersection. Unfortunately, in her cap of the story, she had yelled, "No! Stop!" - but I never heard the "stop" part... I was going about 18mph...
As soon as I realized she was stopping, I slammed on my breaks and yelled at her, and before she knew why, I was right behind her, flipping up over my handlebars. On my way down, my right hand got caught in her rear tire. It even tore off my glove, which I was glad to be wearing, for I imagine my hand would otherwise be all cut up. Immediately my hand turned several shades of black and blue, and let me tell you, it was a site to be seen! Instantly my mind flashed to the tour, and one of the first things I said was, "Susie! If I broke my hand I won't be able to train for the tour!" I panicked. I did lots of yelling, clearly in shock, and sat on the ground cupping my arm. We went over our options, and as we were only a few miles from home, decided I could suck it up and we would just ride home slowly.
After stopping home for some ice and anti-inflammatories, we headed to campus for class. A fellow student at my seminary used to be an ER surgeon, so I had her look at my wrist for peace of mind. She's confident nothing is broken and I probably haven't torn any of the muscles, etc, so that was encouraging. My upper chest is pretty sore, too; I imagine I've got some good bruising on my sternum, maybe a rib? Nothing serious, just really uncomfortable.
For a first fall, I thought this was pretty good, right? I was definitely lucky, as it could easily have been more serious. I wish it had been caught on camera; my flip had to look pretty sweet. It was definitely enough for a car nearby to stop and make sure we were ok - she looked far more afraid than I was shocked (and let me tell ya - that was a lot!). Also, I wish we'd had a camera with us, as I would love to be able to show you a picture of said wounds on hand, as it was pretty massive. By now, the ice has brought it down quite a bit, and its just a massive red (slightly) swollen blob where a blood vessel broke.
That was enough adventure for me for today. I thank God it wasn't more serious, and think I'll celebrate that by letting it 'rest' by staying inside for a bit. I'll head back to spin classes at least until the swelling goes down and I can close my hand enough to squeeze my back break again
2 comments:
so glad that you're okay
chalk it up as another chapter in the "Epic Adventure of Life"
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