My first bike wipe out since I was 7!

[Onix]

So...I wiped out today on bike. The first time since I was about seven years old!

I was in a bike lane that suddenly went sketchy (asphalt braking up, crap all in the lane etc.) I couldn't move to avoid the mess fast enough, and I couldn't swerve into the lane to avoid it (cars all on my left)....so I ended up getting my front wheel trapped in a crack between the curve and the asphalt on the right side of the lane.

Needless to say, I put superman to shame as I flew over my handlebars....

Thankfully, I had my helmet on...and the front of it kept my head/face from smashing too hard or completely dribbling across the ground. But, I still ended up with a busted/bruising lip that is lacerated on the inside, a bruised/road rashed cheek bone, and a road-rashed chin, knee, and hand.

My bike's brakes got screwed up, and the wheel is definitely out of true...but I think it may otherwise by okay.

A few people stopped, but I felt okay (adrenaline rush/post-body-trauma-high), so I got back on my bike and rode the rest of the way to my therapy appointment. When I got there I felt okay and got some ice and rinsed the wounds. But, after about fifteen minutes I felt numb, my vision was blurry, and I was having trouble balancing. So....she took me to the university emergency center and they scrubbed gravel out of my wounds (ouch! but not quite as bad as I expected, honestly)....and I found out I have a concussion. I am feeling pretty good at the moment...but it really seems to come in waves. The nurses were stunningly nice, gentle and helpful. The nurse told me that she sees at least one person a day coming in with road rash from bike accidents!!! ((Keep in mind, the university has over 70,000 students/faculty etc....and the majority of them are using walmart bikes to putz around campus without helmets/any proper biking knowledge/while feeling super entitled to crossing intersections without looking both ways...but still!)))


To top it all off---I have three interviews this week!!!!! While it might make for good conversation... being hard to look at isn't really a great thing when it comes to interviewing!!!

Ughhhhhhhh!

[Owlie]

Owwie. Sounds painful. That bike lane sounds a lot like the roads around here. It's good for while, then there's 30 feet of cracked and potholed pavement.

Rest up, feel better, and good luck on those interviews!

[Bike Chick]

Ouch! You poor thing! The concusion is no fun and may take a while to get over. Do what the dr says and take it easy. Had you not had your helmet on, it could've been so much worse. Thank goodness it wasn't.

[Onix]

Owwie. Sounds painful. That bike lane sounds a lot like the roads around here. It's good for while, then there's 30 feet of cracked and potholed pavement.

Rest up, feel better, and good luck on those interviews!

Haha--yep! Sounds like you are familiar with that type of road It took me totally by surprise...as I bike this lane a lot. But...who knows! Thanks for the well wishes!

Ouch! You poor thing! The concusion is no fun and may take a while to get over. Do what the dr says and take it easy. Had you not had your helmet on, it could've been so much worse. Thank goodness it wasn't.

Yes..I am SOOO thankful that I am a hardcore safety nut and always insist on the helmet. The doc said I likely would have had a cracked skull/other broken bones/ and road rash all over the face. Yikes! I am definitely taking it easy tonight. I'm ignoring my 100 pages of research papers to write and writing on bike forums and watching movies instead

[OakLeaf]

Ouch. Be careful with your head and feel better soon.

[Aquila]

I'm glad you're not hurt worse than you are! Take good care of yourself, please