my century, dog crash

[Miranda]

Hello, my TE friends. Been MIA for 2 reasons: 1) my pc crashed ; and then *I* crashed. What a mess...

After much wonderful advice from here on TE, and 3 months of long hard training work, I felt ready.

Two weeks prior to event, I got sick w/some crud the kiddies brought home from school. But, was mostly recovered and didn't want to NOT show after all that training time.

At mile 10, the route split for 100. Felt pretty good and went for it. Things were going right on plan until mile 50. In a word: dog!

Over the bars head first...

If the Garmin graph is right, even with attempting to brake, my crash speed on impact was 23mph.

Unfortunately my helmet shifted on impact, and I have some head lumps & abraisions. But, it certainly took the first blow. Pic doesn't show all the damage. But, an idea.



Without it, pretty sure I'd be scrambled egg brains. I called Giro and think how I crashed was part of the shifting issue. I usually get it on super tight too. Maybe this day (of all days) I could have missed a click in that RocLoc. Will never know for sure.

Next my beloved Rudy Project glasses split in two and into my left eye socket. Think they saved my eyeball from getting scraped out on the road though. I have a huge shiner & blood in my eye.



Left side of face totally scraped off... It's ***nasty***. That one I thought was too graphic to post a pic of.

Onto collar bone, shoulders, and a roll to the blade which trashed by favorite TE jersey pictured below. The ER RN dug the jersey threads out of me. The skin is back on the road somewhere.



Somehow my new carbon ride only has a cosmetic scratch in the fork. Think it's because she cartwheeled over on top my body to break the fall. The crank must have been the source to cut up my legs. Other than the crank cuts, my lower half is ok. The white bar tape is going to need a change.



The ER doc said my xrays showed no fractures. But now unfortunately I'm having more collar bone / shoulder pain. Going to a orthoped doc appointment this week. I passed the neuro checks, but my brain just feels like a slight fog at times. I'm at a point too, I think I'm having some post crash depression...

I can't believe in a split second my century was trashed for the whole season. Though, logically... I feel lucky to be alive.

Oh, and get this bs...
The words of the property residents of the dog said the following:
"... oh yea, our dog LOVES to chase bicycles... there has been a lot of bikes going by today... he has been chasing them all day!" Sherrif was a total jerk-face & ultimately nothing will be done I'm sure, but the man said, "... why would I need to keep my dog confined? ...I live out in the country, etc."...

Uhhh, well, I'll give you one reason... TAKE A FREAKING LOOK AT MY FACE!!!

Not the first century report I dreamed of finally being able to post. But, that's what I have to share.

Miranda

[owlice]

Miranda,

The most important thing is that you are still here and able to post about it. Thank goodness! I'm so sorry you had a crash, and such a bad one, but wow... going as fast as you were, and you have no broken bones? You are one tough chick!!!

The dog owner is an idiot, which of course you already know.

I wish you a speedy and complete recovery!

Owl

[Blueberry]

Ouch - just ouch!! I'm so sorry That really sucks.

Do you have a leash law in your county? If so, talk to an attorney. It might be worth claiming against the homeowner's insurance. It'd at least be worth having somebody write a nasty letter. I'd also let the ride organizers know. It's a problem when there are dogs on the route chasing riders all day - they might want to route elsewhere next year. Yeah, it sucks, but sometimes avoidance is all you can do with stupid owners.

Here's hoping all of you heals really quickly (and as scar free as possible...)

CA

[pfunk12]

Wow, Miranda...so sorry to hear about your crash. It sounds awful but from it seems like it could have turned out a lot worse. I'm glad to hear that your bike doesn't have any wounds! I hope you feel better soon.

[OakLeaf]

Aw (((((((Miranda))))))) that s*cks. Hope you heal up quick. Use plenty of Traumeel, and don't feel bad about resting - pain is exhausting. Your training plan right now is rest and heal.

And what CA said.

[Owlie]

Wow...I'm really glad you were able to post about it...yikes. Rest and heal up. Gentle ((hugs)) for you too.

[runningteach]

I am so sorry and sending you healing vibes. Thank goodness for helmets. Gentle hug to you. Crashes are scary.

[lph]

OW!!

Many good healing vibes to you! The depression will pass, and you will have a whopper of a story to tell your grandkids.

[deeaimond]

Hey Miranda,

Glad that you've good enough to be back posting on this thread. For the face, Dr Burt's green salve (forgot the name right this moment but its in a green tin) is really good at preventing scarring... i dunno if its too late... don't let the scabs dry out completely...

Take time to heal, and be back on the bike soon!

Hugs,
D

[redrhodie]

(((Miranda))) I hope you get better soon. Listen to your body, eat a little extra, and rest a lot. Healing takes a lot of energy.

[papaver]

Whoow... what a nasty fall. i'm glad you're still here to tell us about it.

[bmccasland]

Gentle hugs to you Miranda! But glad your bike made it through OK

As for the dog owner, get a lawyer? Especially if there's a leash law in the county. Maybe talk to a supervisor in the police department. That dog caused an accident, and for the officer to write it off is unacceptable.

Hope you get to feeling better soon.

[Medianox]

Sorry you crashed...but glad you were not more seriously hurt.
Hope you heal quickly.

I agree that the dog owner is an idiot-hope you are able to have some closure on that eventually, I'm not usually one to say go for suing someone, but your circumstance sure sounds like that may be a valid option.

Dogs can be wonderful companions and I love them in general but when I'm on a bike they make me apprehensive...once on our bike path there was a large pitbull looking dog just kind of loping along off leash on my side coming towards me...and his owner was riding a bike! The dog was criss crossing in front of me and I was sure I was going to hit him-so I said "shoo!" real loud as he went in front of me (and I was going real slow) and his owner said, "nah, he's ok...he won't hurt you!"...and I was too shocked to even answer him. Sometimes I think the dogs are smarter than their owners.

[Ja Da Dee]

What to do about the dog? Give your insurance company alll the details. The Dog Owner admits his dog runs in the street and was chasing riders. He might not believe that he needs to confine his dog, but his insurance will still need to pony up for your medical bills since his dog caused damage when it was running on the street. If your health insurance is anything like mine, they will be happy to shift the payment obligation.

Wishing you a fast healing.

[Selkie]

Miranda - I'm sorry to hear about your accident. Irresponsible dog owners never fail to amaze me with the way they rationalize their bad behavior (the dog was being a dog, but the owners were being xxxxxxles). While I'm not a big fan of lawsuits, I think you should go after these people. It might make them think twice about letting the dog roam free (dangerous to people and to their dog, for chrissake).

Hope the shoulder is not broken (been there myself). In the meantime, sending you lots of healing vibes. Be good to yourself.