Another crash and feeling like an idiot!

[emily_in_nc]

So....yesterday was an absolutely GORGEOUS day in central NC. Sunny and 70s, beautiful blue sky, a little breeze. A day that makes you want to get out and ride. After raking leaves all morning, I talked DH into a ride to the local ice cream shop (and post office) in the afternoon. Got the Bike Fridays and us read to ride. Bike shorts and a short-sleeve jersey in November -- what a concept! A bit overzealous, I took off first, down our rather steep gravel driveway. I've done this a hundred time before on my Bike Friday, which has 1.35" touring tires (wouldn't dare attempt it with 23c road tires), but I've mostly been riding my mountain bike lately with 2.1" knobbies, and I guess I just kinda lost track of the fact that my Bike Friday is NOT a mountain bike. I took the gravel too fast, and towards the bottom of the descent, started fishtailing. I couldn't recover in time, and my bike slid out to the right, dumping me on my left side.

At first I thought I had pretty bad road rash, but it ended up being quite minor, just small abrasions, nothing bleeding for more than a minute or two. But as the hours passed, the bruises started coming out. I've got three decent sized ones on my left arm, a small but painful one on my left hip, and a HUGE one on my left upper/outer thigh. I also must have strained my intercostal muscle as my left ribcage is sore and hurts to cough, laugh, or bend/turn quickly. Today my neck is very sore on the right side from where my head hit the gravel. I had had a very similar fall in August on my mountain bike and had nearly the same injuries, so I think my neck is worse since it's a reinjury.

Of course I bashed/dented my brand new Giro Havoc helmet I bought after my August crash, so a new one is already on order from ebay - what a drag!

I got really emotional after the crash. I felt so disappointed and frustrated that I wasn't going to get to ride on such a gorgeous day; I was mad at myself for hitting my head again and needing yet another new helmet; I was disappointed to ruin my DH's ride. I was really weepy and doubted my ability to even RIDE a bike again, if I manage to wipe out on my OWN driveway. I just couldn't seem to stop crying.

I need to remember that a road bike is NOT a mountain bike.

I sure am getting tired of crashing. Lessee, this is my fourth since August (three on the mtb, and now one on the road bike). I rode thousands of miles without a crash until my major accident on the road in April 2005. Now that I am finally trying to ride again, I seem to spend more time on the ground than on the bike. Ugh!!!! :( :mad:

/end pity party

Emily

[DeniseGoldberg]

Oh Emily, ouch!

I'm sorry to hear about your crash, and I'm hoping that your bruises heal quickly. Healing wishes are coming your way, as is virtual support for your next ride...

--- Denise

[CyclChyk]

Geez EM you pulled a Petra! That sounds exactly like something I would do! And I totally understand the being mad at yourself and the "pityparty" cuz Lord knows I've done it enough too.

Wish I could offer you words to make you feel better. All I can do tho is send mental hugs and wishes for a great ride the next time. Hang in there.

[xeney]

Oh, Emily, I'm so sorry and I hope you heal quickly! It seems to me like every time I crash (not that I've had anything as serious as your big crash), I go into this terrible confidence spiral where at first I'm scared to try again, and then I get my nerve up and maybe have some minor spills (you know the ones where you fall down because you were being TOO cautious?), and then I finally get my confidence back and bam, I do something silly because I forgot to worry about not crashing. It's like I have trouble getting back to a balance of confidence/caution, and I overcompensate in both directions for a while. (Actually, that is true of life in general for me, not just cycling. Ha.)

Anyway, I wonder if you are going through the same kind of process, trying to find your confidence equilibrium again? I am sure you will get there in time, but in the meantime I hope your bruises heal quickly.

[silver]

Oh, emily! here you are helping me out so much when you are still bruised up from your crash. Thank you! You are certainly a selfless person. We'll get through these things together. :)

[Bikingmomof3]

(((((Emily))))),
I am so sorry about your crash. Thankfully you were not injured more. My prayers for quick healing.

[pooks]

Emily, I'm so sorry -- I hope you drowned your sorrows in chocolate!

But listen, you are a jock. You are tough. You fall, you get a little weepy and a lot mad at yourself, then you eat chocolate and go ride your favorite bike!

Look at all the people you know who can't ride a mile or two, and if they stopped too fast and scared themselves, would just walk away and say, "I'm too old for that!" (No matter how young they are.)

You're here because you aren't one of those people.

And you'll be back on your bike and telling us what a great ride you had in no time.

I'm sure of it.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Poor Emily!

It's always worse when you do something that you knew better than to do and want to kick yourself for.
Just think of it as getting all your falls out of the way for a good long time. ;)
I guess every fall teaches us something too.

Keep that ice cream in your mind as a goal! :)

[Fredwina]

Emily,
Ive also been on falling/ Helmet buying binge recently as well. (I totaled my Havoc as well)
I look at a averaging out, which , hopefully, will mean I'm done for a while. I'm supposed to do a century this Saturday that has reputation for being a crash-o-rama (El Tour De Tucson). I admit , I;m more than Little nervous about it. I may even call it off and stay here. But then again, the only way to get your confidence is to get back on the horse, so to speak.
Prayer are with you

[LBTC]

Emily....

Sorry 'bout your scrapes and bruises. Heck, my bigget injury (broken shoulder) happened less than 300m from my house on a ride to work!!! s**t happens.

I've got a 5" long scar on my shin that constantly reminds me to never think about anything but riding while on a mountain bike. The broken shoulder reminds me that it's okay to brake when death wobble kicks in. I guess your new bruises are a reminder that a road bike is not a mountain bike, as you said.

You'll have a speedy recovery. And you'll get that ice cream soon!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[fatbottomedgurl]

C'mon girlfriend, stop that blubberin'. You'll be fine in no time at all! Hey remember- this is supposed to be fun (rinse and repeat). If my camera was working I would post pic's of my bruises so we could commiserate. Chin up!

[emily_in_nc]

Thank you, friends. :o

Every single post here was so sweet and some made me laugh.

I just knew you all would get it! :)

And come to think of it, I did eat rather a lot of chocolate this weekend (70%, bittersweet, very dark). I didn't connect that with my crash until you did! :D

Thanks again - y'all are the greatest, as you remind me again and again! That's part of why I keep coming back to riding no matter how badly I mess up. I'd just miss you all terribly if I stayed away too long.

Hugs,
Emily

[jeannierides]

Emily, I worked all weekend, so just read about your crash this morning!:eek: What a bummer! Thank goodness you weren't hurt any worse! Take care, girl! Sending healing thoughts along with the others.:)

[7rider]

Bummer on the wipe out, Emily.

Chin up, tho. At least your helmet did its job.
It's easier to replace a helmet than a head!

Feel better soon.

[Jo-n-NY]

Oh Emily....I don't get to read the boards too much on the weekends and just say your post and let me say, reading those words made me let out a huge GASP and OH NO!!!! But I know read that you are feeling better. Thank goodness.

It sounds like you got all the bad feelings out of you. That is some nice chocolate that you ate. Oh how I love chocolate and ice cream. I know you will be back on the bike before you know it. Next time you will remember which bike you are riding and I am sure it will be just fine.

~ JoAnn

[yellow]

And I'm thinking, "Wow, only 3 crashes on the mtn bike since August? She's doing really well!"

Suffice it to say that I crash most times I go mtn biking. To the point now where I won't ride alone and won't do anything really technical (by my definition). It really messes with your head, as you've described. There's some "line" in your brain that makes it all better once you step over it...only you can fall back behind it or have a hard time going from toes-over to whole-body-over. I hear ya girlfriend! I hope to get over my mtn biking fuzz by spring; for now I'm going to give it a rest (which I'm fine with)!

You've been there before and jumped over the line. So you know you can do it.

I have gone down twice on my commute bike since August. It's an old mtn bike with slicks on it. It doesn't ride like my road bike OR my mtn bike, which I've learned the hard way. For a while there I had to tell myself, out loud, that I couldn't take corners like I was on my road bike. Now that the weather's changed and I'm focused on running (and hopefully skiing very soon), I'm not commuting by bike either. Also giving that a rest. My head is most definitely not into riding at the moment.

You are not alone! We shall persevere and take over the planet! :D OK, maybe not take over the planet, but take charge of that little portion of our brain that messes with us.

[IFjane]

Emily,

I'm so sorry to hear about your crash! It was indeed a beautiful day to ride on Saturday - sunny & 70's up here in VA as well. I am thankful you don't have any more injuries than you do. Heal quickly and get back on the bike - even if it's only on a trainer for the winter!

[emily_in_nc]

I have gone down twice on my commute bike since August. It's an old mtn bike with slicks on it. It doesn't ride like my road bike OR my mtn bike, which I've learned the hard way. For a while there I had to tell myself, out loud, that I couldn't take corners like I was on my road bike. Now that the weather's changed and I'm focused on running (and hopefully skiing very soon), I'm not commuting by bike either. Also giving that a rest. My head is most definitely not into riding at the moment.

Thanks for sharing your experiences, yellow. I hate to think of others crashing too, but it does make me feel less alone. And my more experienced mtb buddies crash too, but they crash riding teeter totters or really technical stuff, I crash because I slip on wet leaves or hit a tree with my handlebars or go too slow around a tight curve. Often they're just embarrassing things like that that make me crazy.

But I'm with you on the taking some time off....it's getting to be the time of year where more often than not it's too chilly for me to be inspired to ride on the weekends. I am definitely a weather wimp! And it's too dark to ride after work now, so I've got a road bike inside on the trainer. Believe it or not, I almost crashed on that on my first trainer ride this past week too! DH had put it on the trainer and must not have cranked it down tight enough, so when I went to ride out of the saddle for the first time, it slipped out of the trainer part-way, and I started going down. Scary! Thankfully, he was on that side of me on his own bike on a trainer, so blocked me from falling down to the ground! But it just hasn't been a very stable week. :(

We normally hike when it's colder (and yes, sometimes I manage to trip on a rock and fall doing that too, but it's very infrequent!!), but we had such lovely warm weather yesterday that the road beckoned. Too bad I never got there! We won't get too many days like that for awhile, I suspect. I have also been running, going to the gym, and we're going to Key Largo sailing right after Thanksgiving, so that will be a pleasant change of pace. So long as I don't get hit by the boom, I will hopefully come home in one piece and not too bruised/battered. :D

Thanks again for all the supportive words, everyone!!!

Emily

[Jo-n-NY]

Emily....I will let you know and admit to all that I have fallen on my trainer TWICE. Yes, it is ok to laugh because I do. Like you the quick-release was not in the trainer notch correctly or too loose. So once I went into our wall unit, it actually caught me and the other was on the couch and both times my husband had to come get me out.

Don't worry, I now make sure my bike is in there good and tight. Have a Great trip to Key Largo while I am remembering to mention it now.

I will be honest to say, I that I do feel better riding on the roads than mtn biking. Only because I am slow and if we ride a single track trail and someone is coming behind I get all nervous. I am luck to have found back roads through developments to make a nice route. It is only 20 - 30 miles with one or two road having mild traffic, but it is a most enjoyable ride for me anyway and enough miles to make me happy.

~ JoAnn

[emily_in_nc]

JoAnn ~

I feel better already. Thanks for not being afraid to admit that you have fallen on your trainer too! :D

And yes, you do make a good point about mountain biking. I am just a beginner so do expect to fall. I'm just tired of all the bruises. After riding on the road for so many miles, it was all new to me to be falling all the time. And then when I fell yesterday on my road bike....well, it just pissed me off!

I'm too stubborn to give up, though. :cool: I'm sure I'll be back in the springtime, trying to stay upright again. Glad you're back out there after your injury and have found a nice route!

Emily

[GLC1968]

Emily -

I'm just now seeing this! I'm so sorry to hear about your fall!

Don't be too disappointed about missing out on Saturday's weather. DH and I rode about 50 miles, but the last 20, which were after about 1pm, were quite scary. The wind was super gusty all of a sudden and for the first time since I started road biking, I wanted a transporter to put me back at home immediately. I was scared! I buckled down and made it home ok, but for a few minutes, I just wanted to get off and walk.

The weather was deceiving and not as nice as you might expect. You didn't miss much! :) (Though it was nice to bike without a billion layers of clothing...I kept thinking I was forgetting something when we left!)

[emily_in_nc]

Emily -

I'm just now seeing this! I'm so sorry to hear about your fall!

Don't be too disappointed about missing out on Saturday's weather. DH and I rode about 50 miles, but the last 20, which were after about 1pm, were quite scary. The wind was super gusty all of a sudden and for the first time since I started road biking, I wanted a transporter to put me back at home immediately. I was scared! I buckled down and made it home ok, but for a few minutes, I just wanted to get off and walk.

The weather was deceiving and not as nice as you might expect. You didn't miss much! :) (Though it was nice to bike without a billion layers of clothing...I kept thinking I was forgetting something when we left!)

Well, you made me feel better!!! Back in the woods where we live, we sometimes don't notice the wind so much. But out on the open road, especially in areas with farm fields on either side, it can get pretty treacherous on windy days, I'll agree. I've been blown all over the place before. Glad you made it home safely, and thanks for your kind words.

Emily

[fatbottomedgurl]

Emily I don't know what kind of markets you have... probably not higgly piggly or winn dixie, but I shop at ralphs and they make the best ice cream EVER. It's called extreme moose tracks and it is chocolate with chocolate ribbons (not fudge but hard chocolate) and little chocolate truffle cups. The chocolate has that wonderful bittersweet-salty flavor if you know what I mean. Next time I eat it i will think of you and hope you are getting good chocolate vibes.

yvonne

ps I am going through bike withdrawal because of midterms but I get to ride tomorrow. whee!

[emily_in_nc]

Emily I don't know what kind of markets you have... probably not higgly piggly or winn dixie, but I shop at ralphs and they make the best ice cream EVER. It's called extreme moose tracks and it is chocolate with chocolate ribbons (not fudge but hard chocolate) and little chocolate truffle cups. The chocolate has that wonderful bittersweet-salty flavor if you know what I mean. Next time I eat it i will think of you and hope you are getting good chocolate vibes.

Yummmm! We don't have Ralph's here. We usually just buy Breyer's at our local grocery store. I love Ben and Jerry's, but we usually get Breyer's when it's on sale 2 for 1, so it's really hard to justify B&J's at about 4x the price. I've had Moose Tracks in some other brands, though (local ice cream shops when we travel), and it is delicious! Extreme moose tracks, now that sounds intense!

Emily