Accidents Happen!

Much has happened since my last post!  In the height of my training for my next race, I had a serious bike crash with the road.  A very strange and unique kind of accident.  Not with a car....Not with another cyclist or tree....  Just me and the road!  I was with 7 other cyclists, mostly men.  We were in the Tour de Farms area in Oswego/Plainfield/Yorkville area where traffic is next to none.  We were all enjoying a beautiful morning in farmsville, but had noticed the night before that this area suffered worse than the burbs from some nasty storms.  Trees fallen, corn smashed and some minor flooded areas.  A week before, some of the roads received some oil and gravel resurfacing.  We had noticed this on a ride the prior weekend and knew to be careful on such roads with the extra gravel.  On June 30's ride, we were coming down a hill clocking speed into the low 20s.  Our turn was ahead, so slowing down to maybe mid teens mph, I made my turn left.  I was the 3rd rider in the group.  Two men in front of me with a gap between us shouted out, "GRAVEL".  Too late!  I was already on it and wiped out immediately with full force!  Apparently, the heavy rains from the night before washed up a lot of the gravel from the newly paved road.  Race bikes with skinny, non-tread tires do not do well on gravel let alone a deep gravel patch.  The gal behind me, probably trying to avoid riding over me, also wiped out.  She had some surface injuries that included a deep cut in her hand.  She ended up with stitches.    I couldn't get up no matter how hard I tried.  A car and a local power company truck pulled over.  The latter called 911 after seeing I could not get up.  I had pain but it wasn't terrible until I tried to get up.  The ambulance took me to the hospital where X rays showed two slight fractures on my pelvis (left side)....the lower part that has the two bones forming an oval circle.  Thankfully, the fractures are minor and no surgery was needed.  The ER doc said recovery would be six weeks.  But once I went to the Ortho, turns out it will be longer than that, "minor" as it is.  In six weeks, I probably will be off crutches.  The full recovery will be about three months.  No running for three months.  So....2012 tri season is done and perhaps any running races as well.

Today I had my two week follow-up.  New X rays didn't seem much different than what was almost done three weeks ago, but he didn't seem the least concerned.  He said it takes 6-8 weeks for the bone to heal over.  The good news is, he told me to start swimming!  I might not be able to kick much, but can use a buoy and swim with my arms and get some aerobic activity in.  So happy about that!!!  In two weeks, he wants me to get on a stationary bike, one with a big fat seat so as not to cause pain in the groin area, and slowly work on a nice spin to get the hamstrings back in motion.  After my next visit, in a month, I will hopefully be able to start walking, independently, for some short distances and work my way up.

So....it's a time of rebuilding and seeing just how tough I am!  I have lots of support.  And when things seem gloomy, I remember how thankful I am that I didn't need surgery or damage my spine.  I am very blessed to have escaped permanent damage and to have the support in my life that I do.  I give God thanks for such gifts!

Also...I must say.  Helmets really do save lives!  Here are some pictures of what my helmet looked like after the accident.  I had slammed my head pretty hard and it was a little sore, but not bad.  Also, probably had a little whip lash as the right side of my neck was sore for a couple of days:  Note the imbedded gravel, dents and cracks:

So if you are a bike rider and do not wear a helmet, I hope these pictures change your mind.  I took the helmet to my local bike shop where I purchased it only two months ago, on sale.  I just wanted to show them how good it held up (had to make a couple of other purchases as well, including a new helmet for when I return to cycling).  They were so nice!  Not only did they say they'd still give me the sale price (It was $80 on sale but wasn't currently on sale), they gave me an extra 15% off just for bringing it in and showing it to them!  The bike shop was, "Performance Bike" on Hwy 59 in Naperville.  I like to promote good business!  I bought my Fuji Road Bike there a couple of years ago.  My race bike was purchased at "Endure It!" in Naperville last October.  The race bike survived the crash quite well.  But I was still on the bike when I hit the ground.  One of my co-cyclist's removed it from me and set it aside.  "Fabio", as "he's" called, only suffered a little bit of scratching on the side of the left hand gear.  The frame is totally unscathed!  Amazing!  And I'm so thankful for that as well!  Bodywork on a bike is not cheap, I'm sure!

"Fabs" will be resting a bit longer than me, I'm afraid.  Once I'm off a stationary bike, I plan to ride for pleasure on my hybrid bike (yes...I own three bikes!  How American am I???) and hope to graduate back to the race bike in the fall....and not fast either!  Just to regain my confidence.  By October, I'm hoping to work walking into running again.  If all goes well, maybe I can even do the Reindeer 5K run in early Dec.  I don't want to even think about time!  Just do the race to do the distance and event and celebrate recovery.  I plan to follow doctor's orders and he seems to be all for me to get back to what I love!

Lord willing, I will be back, better than ever, rebuilding what God has already given me.  Great health, good bones!  As for why such a thing happened, who knows.  I'm not one to say, "It's God's plan."  I don't believe God pushes us into roads and breaks bones.  But I believe he works all things that happen to complete His purpose.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.  Romans 8:28 Also.... As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.  “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”  “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him."  John 9:1-3

Happy Trails forthcoming...  Lynn