Shhh...this is Silver's hubby...

[Kathi]

When I fell off my mtn bike and broke my wrist I was really, really scared to get back on the bike. It didn't help that I was in a cast for 8 weeks then it took another 6 weeks to get my strength back enough to shift and brake.

When I did get back on I went to a quiet place with no traffic. I can remember being very hesitant and wobbly when I took off. I only rode about 5 miles that day but it broke the ice for me and brought me back.

If fear becomes a big issue that she can't overcome there is a book called "In the Yikes! Zone, a Conversation with Fear" by Mermer Blakeslee. It's geared toward skiing but applies to this situation too.

Good luck, give her time and lots of encouragement.

[margo49]

smell the flora, Dora

Patience
Life only goes forward; but sometimes slowly

[Thistle]

silver's hubby, you rock

just get a new bell, Nell

[bambu101]

Get a new stem, Clem

Hang in there Silver, and Mr Silver!

[Tri Girl]

In time, I'm sure her ambition to ride will return. When she feels better and is not in pain her thoughts may drift to riding once again.

Get on your steed, Reid.
Hop on the road, Toad (hey, it could be a name)
Clip on in, Erin,
and let the road lead.

Get out the door, Thor
Jump on your bike, Ike
Burn rubber quick, Nick
and enjoy the fun.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

So get out your pump, Gump,
and put in some air, Claire,
Slip on your chamois, Tammy,
and pedal with me...

[silver]

Oh Geez!!!!! Yes, he's sweet but I'm gonna have to change my password!!!

well, I will admit that i'm in tears reading this. yesterday was the frist day that I had seen DH since the day after the accident becuase of work logistics. And I was having a cruddy day. I've found that about every day and a half that I crash big time, both emotionally and physically. Sleep has been elusive the last two nights. I must be getting used to the pain meds since they no longer seem to make me drift off into a welcome foggy sleep like before.

And I was already teary after reading bacarver's email about the bravery that she summoned up when she had her wreck.

It was just a month and a half ago that I watched Sam's life leave his body after being cut down by a car and now two weeks since my own accident while riding a memory ride for him. My old bike has been restored to "ride-able" and the new Oh-so-lovely Madone sits in my kitchen waiting for me to take it for a ride.

I figure that what I'm experiencing is some sort of post traumatic stress response. I had accomplished my cycling goals for the years and had already turned my mind towards running through the winter.

I know that I have already recovered so much since the accident. I remember screaming at the slightest move the first few days. Now I can move about and get by without the narcotics during the days. My lung is healed. My road rashes are all nearly healed. My parents are going home after taking over for two weeks. I can drive. I've even been trying to figure out which exercises I can still do. Like calf raises.....I can do calf raises.

But the emotional part will take so much longer to heal. I had so looked forward to doing the memory ride for Sam, thinking that it would bring so much closure to the experience, then I didn't finish his "Finish His Ride"



I did go out to my workshop was happy to know that I can still work. Slowly and carefully and probably not with as much skill and force as before but knowing that I will at least be able to complete the orders that I have.

I want to ride again. But I don't watn to be fearful. It has been so helpful to read how some of you have made small modifications to your riding that have helped. to read how you have triumphed after serious injuries. you all know.... I need to be on my bike. Well, tomorrow I will try to get on my spin bike and see if I can pedal. I'll go to the gym and see what I can do. and then see where that takes me. And I'll get to meet bacarver!

I've been through injuries before and always went on and found something else to do. That's how I found the bike. I bought my bike with and rode it with a broken foot all last summer. I'd walk to the bike in my air cast, take it off and bike and put it back on. I worked so hard at weight lifting when I broke my left foot that I finally developed 6 pack abs. I know I've done this before, so why does it seem so daunting this time. I think because it hurts a lot more this time. It came closer to mortality, it came on the heels of Sam's death.

Thank you DH and others for the sweet encouragement. I'm listening. I will not give up.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Silver,
remember that crying and embracing your fears, despair, sadness, and frustration is all a good and natural part of healing and getting strong again, both physically and emotionally.

[sbctwin]

Remember, always, time is is your friend. There is no need to rush to jump on your bike...maybe, after you heal some more, time on a trainer with your old "bike/friend" will help you to feel more secure on sitting on the bike...no pressure, some videos of the open road to remind you what riding outside was like, but most important, TIME....I, for one, get impatient, and then I have to remind myself that, what I can't accomplish today, I can try tomorrow. And if tomorrow is a week, a month, a few months, a year away, I can still see the possibilities, and well, at my age, I don't think of it as an excuse....I just need the TIME. I only found this site in October and I feel so wonderful just reading all of the frustrations/ celebrations/ hurddles/ accomplishments that my fellow cyclists endure, and I am encouraged that one day, I will also accomplish that which I find impossible at this time. Back in the early 80's, I took a terrible spill...I rode my bike before work every morning. The night before, it rained. I came down off this hill and took a corner too fast and I went down. I was one road rash person and, yes, even in 1982, I was wearing a helmet, it took the brunt that would have surely ended my ear as I know it...It took me awhile to get back on the bike to feel the joy and independence...but I finally got back on it, it just took me TIME.