Saturday, July 18, 2009

Rail Road Tracks-1 Me-0

I had my second crash of the season today, the first one on the new machine. Headed out early into the cold and rain (it really doesn't feel much like summer). I came to some railroad tracks early in the ride, they aren't the nicest of tracks as they are at an awkward angle to the road. I thought I had gone at them correctly but when I hit the second one, I knew I was going down and it hurt pretty bad. I got up quickly and checked myself over, my elbow was bleeding and my hip hurt but nothing was broken. I looked at the bike and saw some scratches but nothing was broken on it either which was good. I phoned Sibo, as we were supposed to be meeting up, I am embarrassed to admit I was crying like a little girl and he offered to drive out to pick me up. I wanted to go home but at the same time, I really wanted to get the ride done. (have I mentioned I can be quite stubborn?) I had to put the chain back on and got covered in grease and that only made me cry harder, yeah I was at my best. I headed down the road still shaking and crying, I must have been quite the sight. Sibo drove out and found me and cleaned my elbow and hip, then we headed out together. We did about 60km with some good head wind and I was noticing that my right hip was cramping up, probably because I was trying not to use my left leg as it was pretty sore. I got back into a rhythm and tried to forget about the pain in my hand, elbow and hip. When Sibo and I separated I wasn't sure if I should head back home or try to finish up my mileage. I decided to do some hills and then decide. I ended up doing another 50km after parting ways with Sibo and then headed home. I was a little disappointed that I didn't finish what I had set out to do, but I couldn't get down in the aerobars for any long periods of time and my hand was really sore and my hip felt pretty nasty. I got in a solid ride, rode 125km after crashing and I think mentally I did the best that I could, so I am trying to focus on the positive rather than the mileage I missed out on [or the fact that I cried like a little girl :) ]. Checking out the damage, I did get lucky, my jacket saved my skin, the elbow is cut up and bruised but it could have been much worst. The hip is the thing that hurts the most, it is pretty swollen and bruised and it hurts when anything touches it but nothing is broken so I can't complain! The bike is good, nothing a little nail polish can't fix according to Sibo. I guess I finally broke the new machine in and I will be heading out again tomorrow morning!

3 comments:

  1. tracks are a bugger! so sorry you had a crash. don't worry about not getting in what you planned. you adapted and overcame a rough situation. that's what you need for race day!

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  2. Ouch, yeah it was pretty brutal yesterday. After all the rain we almost got dry then we got hailed on! To quote my coach no problem "just a set back". You are tougher than the pavement I know that!

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  3. Yeah, weather sucked yesterday, after a couple hours of rain we almost got dry/warm and then got hailed on. You are tougher than the pavement and as Coach Sheri says this is just a "set back" not a problem.

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