Great trip, not so great bike crash

[ivinsfan]

Sometimes but in our case it was obvious. Our friend was going maybe 30Km/hr on a paved road when she put the front brake on by mistake. Over the handlebars, face hit the pavement, helmet cracked in two, unconscious for 10 minutes. Luckily we had 5 doctors on the trip and they were great. Fall caused internal bleeding which almost killed her. She is in her early 70's.

My spouse slid on some gravel while making a sharp turn and was going very slowly. Barely fell. Caught her thumb somehow in the handlebars.

Some of our family is into motorcycles, 10 years ago a cousin and his wife on separate bikes had a truck and trailer pull in front of them. His wife was lifeflighted and almost didn't make it, she has walking and other issues to this day. Other family members kept telling us " the accident wasn't her fault",
as if your body knows the difference! It doesn't always happen to the other guy. Do you think that slowing reflexes will have an impact on when you decide to stop riding bikes?

 

[haha]

DW and I went on a VBT bike tour in Provence last week. It was great until I had a bad bike crash at about the same time John Kerry went down elsewhere in France. I was turning the route sheet over with my right hand and riding with my left when I came onto a couple of yards of downhill with a pothole. The bike sped up and I braked with my left hand just as my front wheel hit the pot hole. The results were predictable and remarkably similar to a crash I had a few years ago mountain biking - the wheel locked up and the bike tossed me like a rider off a bull. Dumb, dumb, dumb. Last time I broke my wrist, this time I managed multiple breaks in my clavicle and a fractured scapula. The Avignon hospital wanted to keep me a week for surgery but the surgeon agreed that flying home would be safe so I came back to get the surgery here. The VBT staff were great. Having a native speaker with me at the hospital made things go very smooth. Also, travel insurance was nice. They upgraded me to Business Class which vastly improved the flight home. I crashed near the end of the trip so I just stayed with the tour and flew on my scheduled flight. That allowed my wife to do the last day's ride and both of us to enjoy a few more dinners with the group (hurrah for pain pills). It didn't happen without photos so I am attaching one. As always, it looks worse than it feels.


View attachment 21804

Will hardware be put on/into your scapula?

Ha

 

[FIREd]

Ouch, that looks painful. Get well soon!

 

[Bestwifeever]

Ow! I hope you feel better soon and your bones mend like a teenager's would, quickly. That accident could have happened around the corner from your house (less the holding the map, of course), but the Provence location really makes it something to remember. Take care of yourself!

 

[38Chevy454]

That sure looks to be quite sore! Hope you get feeling better. I surgery planned for you or just some immobilizing of the area around your shoulder?

 

[Danmar]

Some of our family is into motorcycles, 10 years ago a cousin and his wife on separate bikes had a truck and trailer pull in front of them. His wife was lifeflighted and almost didn't make it, she has walking and other issues to this day. Other family members kept telling us " the accident wasn't her fault",
as if your body knows the difference! It doesn't always happen to the other guy. Do you think that slowing reflexes will have an impact on when you decide to stop riding bikes?

Not sure, currently almost 65 and figure I'm good for another 10 years. At that point maybe switch to e-bike.
My motto in retirement is "Burn Calories" but at some point an injury will probably slow me down.

 

[HFWR]

I've been lucky, and haven't had a bike crash since I was a kid. But I have noticed, both biking and driving, that I'm not as good as I thought I was when distracted...

 

[easysurfer]

Hey! You gotta stop doing wheelies . Just kidding, of course.

Get well soon.

 

[donheff]

Will hardware be put on/into your scapula?

Ha

I won't know for sure until Monday but it looks like the scapula can be left to mend on it's own. The clavicle is a mess and will need hardware.

 

[donheff]

A bit off topic...

My superior memory told me that donheff once posted a photo of himself in a travel post. It was a few years ago, and my memory is not good enough to tell me how he looked back then, just that it was about an Alaska trip. Being nosy, I was curious to know how people age, so I looked but the old photos were gone.

OK, we are back to biking hazard and injuries now.

Not sure which one I posted but here is one that is as good as the others. I was 35 pounds heavier then - pre-LCHF -most of it hiding under the T-shirt. That was 2009 so 6 years ago.

 

[W2R]

Don, that is an ugly injury but I'd say that overall, Father Time is treating you kindly. Maybe it's the LCHF diet, but you're looking quite trim and fit now. You didn't look bad in 2009, but the 35 pound loss looks great and is easy to see!

 

[NW-Bound]

Not sure which one I posted but here is one that is as good as the others. I was 35 pounds heavier then - pre-LCHF -most of it hiding under the T-shirt. That was 2009 so 6 years ago.

No, it was another photo, and more close up. It showed just the face or the torso, and with your DW, I think. Perhaps it was when you were about to board a seaplane. My memory is still good, but just fuzzy.

 

[Dreamer]

So sorry to hear this and hope that you do heal quickly.

 

[LinCella]

Oh my Gosh! Get well soon. But I think I would rather crash in France then crash near my home - eating all that lovely French food while recuperating? Yum!

 

[imoldernu]

Don,
Sympathy and empathy and best wishes for a good recovery.

Serves as a reminder. I too, love biking and in my 79th year am taking your "crash" as a warning.

I have given up using my Motobecane road bike and switched to my Mongoose full suspension mountain bike... lowered the seat, added a better rear view mirror, and don't ride in high gear very often. Took a tumble three years ago, showing off with a teenager going full blast downhill, and didn't quite make a right turn... Don't remember much except I ended up 10 feet from the bike feeling bone by bone that I was ok, and deciding then to ALWAYS wear a helmet.

The 30 mile rides have turned into 5 or 10 miles at a time and never on busy roads. The risk is always there, but we balance the joys of what we like to do, knowing that 75 years with no serious accidents counts for nothing when it comes to tomorrow.

No more tent camping, hiking, or climbing in the Adirondaks, but we hang on to the things we can still do... biking, canoeing and some sailing. Being thankful for what still works.

 

[splitwdw]

My favorite shade of purple! Maybe next time drink instead of handling the map. Drunks are usually relaxed and bounce better. Speedy recovery.

 

[donheff]

No, it was another photo, and more close up. It showed just the face or the torso, and with your DW, I think. Perhaps it was when you were about to board a seaplane. My memory is still good, but just fuzzy.

Wow. You have a good memory but if you saw the seaplane you probably clicked on a link to a Flickr album. I took that shot with DW in the frame. There are torso shots of the two of us on a float trip and in front of a glacier. I must have posted one of those.

 

[Katsmeow]

That looks painful! Glad to hear it isn't as bad as it looks.

 

[NW-Bound]

Wow. You have a good memory but if you saw the seaplane you probably clicked on a link to a Flickr album. I took that shot with DW in the frame. There are torso shots of the two of us on a float trip and in front of a glacier. I must have posted one of those.

No, it was definitely on this forum and not on an external site. I might have remembered the seaplane from your description text, and not the photo.

 

[Meadbh]

No, it was definitely on this forum and not on an external site. I might have remembered the seaplane from your description text, and not the photo.

I remember a video about a parachute jump!

 

[donheff]

I remember a video about a parachute jump!

Another disaster. The video was from when I took my daughter for a jump. Then I went back and broke my knee on a bad landing. I guess my problem is that I like to do a lot of challenging activities but I am a lousy athlete so prone to mishap

 

[NW-Bound]

I guess my problem is that I like to do a lot of challenging activities but I am a lousy athlete so prone to mishap

I guess I do not have the same tenacity. Many many years ago, I put on a pair of rolling skates, promptly fell on my butt, and thought to myself whatever fun I would get out of it was not worth it. Never been on anything like that since.

But I do ride bikes (short distances) and motorcycles (dirt bike), but do no crazy stunts. Have not broken any bone or sprain anything in my life, but did suffer a few road rashes (not in the last few decades ).

PS. Ooops! Forgot about the road rash I got last summer, but because it was insignificant.

 

[haha]

Another disaster. The video was from when I took my daughter for a jump. Then I went back and broke my knee on a bad landing. I guess my problem is that I like to do a lot of challenging activities but I am a lousy athlete so prone to mishap

Don, you are funny!

Ha

 

[donheff]

Don, you are funny!

Ha

You will know comedy when you get me out on one of your dance floors.

 

[ERhoosier]

Don- That will teach you not to mess with those silly route sheets. It's much more interesting to just keep riding and get lost

Seriously- Get well soon!!!!