I rode 55+ miles on Sunday, attached to my fast bike, and came out of that experience unscathed. To alleviate the stiffness in my legs yesterday, I headed out for a short, slow ride to the grocery store, unclipped I might add, on the hybrid yesterday. I got a mile away from home and Lily's front tire skidded on the edge of the sidewalk and I crashed HARD.
I was too hurt and stunned to even be embarrassed about wiping out next to traffic -- I landed on the grass side of the sidewalk, thank goodness -- and sat there for a moment assessing what just happened. Bloody knees, mangled front basket, and a left foot that couldn't bear my weight. Good times. I cried for a little bit, rinsed and mopped up the blood, and slowly coasted back home, sniffling with tears dribbling down my cheeks.
My knees are okay, but my left foot is swollen pretty badly and I've got a bruise from the ball of my foot up along the side of my big toe. I still can't put my full weight on my foot, but I can wiggle my toes without too much discomfort. I'm working from home -- thank goodness I had to the foresight to bring home my laptop -- and keeping the foot elevated and iced off and on. Several friends and my boss have offered me the use of training wheels and my mom says I should trade in the bikes for a tricycle. Scott thinks I'd just find new and more interesting ways to hurt myself with the extra wheels.
Is there anybody else who crashes and burns in such stupid fashion? I can't be the only one gifted with such incredible grace.
Oh man, how frustrating. :( Hope you feel better soon!
ReplyDeleteIt is, indeed. Thank you. :) The ice is helping the swelling go down, but I won't be wearing close fitting shoes for a few more days.
DeleteWell Melanie, firstly congratulations on a brilliant ride yesterday and raising all that money! Secondly....ouch!
ReplyDeleteYes, I've had my fair share of crashes think it comes with territory of mtbing (hence two broken elbows at the same time). Road ones hurt more though and I've been tripped by a curb before and sent crashing down my face smashing into a large tree rout that was sticking out. Lots of blood to body and face and dented pride. Who the hell raised that curb so high?
Thanks, Jez! I couldn't have done it without the kindness of so many generous donors. :)
DeleteTwo broken elbows? I can't even imagine how awful that must have been. And there oughta be a law against those high curbs! ;)
Sorry to hear about your fall.....I hope the foot improves soon.
ReplyDeleteSuch a pity after your great performance the other day......but hey these things do happen and I can assure you that I have crashed and burned in some really stupid ways over the years.
As I say...I hope your recovery is swift.
-Trevor
Thanks, Trevor. The foot's still tingly, but the ice is helping with the swelling. And hey, if I had to take a tumble at least it happened the day ~after~ the event. :)
DeleteYou poor thing! I myself tend to trip over air when walking down the street, so at least you can say that there was a reason for you to fall. Half the time I fall down with nothing even there... I can't even blame tires, or a rock or anything. I haven't {knock on wood} fallen off of a bike for awhile now, but I know that it can hurt {especially, if like me, you fall on the same spot within a few days of the last fall}. Take care of yourself and keep that leg elevated. Hopefully, you'll be whole again quickly.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on the falling on the same spot multiple times. My legs haven't been this scraped up since I was 8 years old! :)
DeleteHere's to keeping up your run of non-bike-fall days! =)
Most important: the big ride went well. A monster crash is always a bummer. Best bet: make it an excuse for a few days of sinfully indulgent pampering of yourself. Works for me every time.
ReplyDeleteHeehee! I like the way you think, Marsha!
DeleteWell, congrats on the big ride.
ReplyDeleteNow on to he bad stuff. I had the exact same type of crash many years ago. When you lose air in your front tire and turn, you tend to lean on an exposed rim. Rims don't do traction. They just slide out instantaneously.
I was shocked when I went down. No warning whatsoever. I was lucky enough to roll a bit on impact so I wasn't hurt bad, but I felt like and idiot lying on my side cussing in front of passersby.
RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) and a little vitamin I (ibuprophen) should have you up to speed in no time. Next time - every time - give your tires a quick squeeze before you ride.
Thank you!
DeleteI am super compulsive about checking my tire pressure before rides out of fear of a pinch flat. I hit the sidewalk edge at a less than optimal angle and that threw the bike. Thank goodness I didn't have to fix a flat on top of everything else! :) I'm sorry to hear about your spin out and am glad to hear that you didn't get hurt.
I think that your awesome ride Sunday can't be marred by a fall the day after. I have fallen, still clipped in, more times than I care to admit, so at least you didn't do that. Hope you get some good rest and recover soon!
ReplyDeleteThanks! :) I'm spending as much time with my foot elevated and iced as I can. Oh, and having Scott dote on me as much as possible. :)
DeleteIt will be better, bicycle climates are super. I am greeting
ReplyDeleteIn describing a recent fall to a cycling friend, I started with, Well of course, I did something stupid...and she said in all empathy and as someone who has crashed, too "That's always the way with a fall." The scar from a scrape on my right shin is still healing, because not only did I get bruised and scraped, I got a nasty infection in that spot. It's been successfully treated, but that slowed down the healing process. Here's hoping for a quick recovery for your foot, which must have been so sore at first. Sounds like you are doing all the right things to take care of it.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought of that before, but your friend is absolutely right. Rarely do we crash and burn so spectacularly when we do something smart! ;)
DeleteOoh. I'm so sorry to read about the infection and I'm glad that treatment has cleared it up. I hope that your recovery is swift as well.
Yes other people do crash and burn stupidly! I am living proof. I had a stupid fall that was a confluence of errors, simple stuff really but the result laid me on the ground for quite some time before I could catch the wind that had been knocked out of me. It's been a year and a half and I have a bruise on my shin bone that serves as a reminder to this day.
ReplyDelete