Rough weekend on bike

[suzieqtwa]

Last Thursday night I just got on that bike , went out on the road at 5pm ,and just did it..Ok ,10 miles no problem.
Saturday ,I went out ,and it started to rain (lightly),anyway,5 miles or so into ride had to stop ,and I guess didn't unclip...I went right over ,and hit my head hard on the edge of the curb... I remember thinking it didn't hurt at all. Then a few minutes later I crossed rail road tracks ,and totally wiped out. Ouch...that hurt. Well, I get home all beat up,and sopping wet. After I'm there a few minutes I realize I have no memory of any part of the ride after the rail road tracks. I went out and looked at my computer ,and it said 27 miles..I don't remember 20 of it. That was scary. My hand looks like its broken ,and I'm bruised head to toe. I didn't go to the ER or anything....Today the swelling has gone down a bit , so I got on the bike,and road 26.5 miles. I just needed to do it ,cause I was kind scared after the falls yesterday. I took my bike to the shop ,and they straightened out the wheels ,and tightened the gears. I guess I must have had a slight concussion yesterday ,but today all is fine ,and I like the bike. The one good piece of advise someone gave me was to let the unclipped foot kinda drag after you take it out. I think it got stuck as I was hovering over the pedal getting ready to put my foot down. I hope I've had my 3 falls (actually I've had 5)
Suzie

[bacarver]

Wow! You are a go-getter. Beaten to a pulp and asking for more. Are you still young enough to join the Marines? You could breeze through boot camp with your determination. I hope you have a safe week and heal quickly.

Barb

[Triskeliongirl]

What kind of pedals are you using? It shouldn't be that hard to clip out. You should either loosen the tension, or consider another type of pedal. I use speedplay frogs and they are the easiest pedal I know to get out of. I like them since I commute and have to get out quickly sometimes in traffic. THAT'S GREAT that you are just doing it, but do be careful. Not remembering 20 miles is NOT a good thing.

[DeniseGoldberg]

Suzie -
Wow, and ouch! You sound like you're OK, but with that kind of memory loss it might be a good idea to visit your doc.

Also - no one else has asked yet, and I don't want to make any assumptions, so I'll ask - you did replace your helmet, right?

Lots of healing thoughts coming your way...

--- Denise

[Wahine]

Suzie, I had a concussion like that once on a MTB ride. Couldn't remeber where I was, who I was with, how I got there. It really upset me. I didn't know what was happening and like most people in that situation, I tried to get away from all the people around me because I didn't want them to know I was hurt or confused I was. So I made an excuse that I had to go down to the lake to wash the dirt off myself. As I walked down I got more disoriented. My DBF - Now DH - followed me down because he could tell that something was wrong. He approached me from behind and asked "Are you OK?" and I promptly turned around and yelled at him "I'd be a h@ll of a lot better if you'd tell me where the f@#k I am!" It was really scary.

I'm really proud of you for getting back out on the horse and not letting it get you down. Keep plugging away and keep an eye on those injuries, especially the concussion. If you experience weird symptoms like persistent dizziness, loss of part of the visual field, numbness of the face or other bizarre things, got have your head x-rayed, OK.

Take care and heal up.

[suzieqtwa]

Yes, I bought a new helmet today. The helmet saved me ,I know. I cant believe when I see people riding without them .Yesterday I was by myself ,so I must have just kept riding. Also when I came home, I took a shower ,and laid down for 2 hours. I was disoriented ,but didn't know it. I'm lucky. I feel fine today..no dizziness ,or confusion. The only thing I'm thinking about is that I may have a fracture in one or both of my wrist...but Ill keep an eye on it. There isn't really much they can do for fractures. I took a picture of my hand ,but its kinda gross ,so I wont post it. ; ) My pedals are fine ,and I can get out of them easy. I'm not really sure why I fell...I was on a hill ,and probably stopped to quick. Today I didn't fall at all...I was very careful.

[DeniseGoldberg]

The helmet saved me ,I know. I cant believe when I see people riding without them.

I'm always surprised too when I see people without helmets. I know that I owe my life to my helmet, and it sounds like you do too!

--- Denise

[KnottedYet]

Suzie - please go to your doc. Have him/her look at your wrists and tell the doc about your memory and confusion. Please? Just because we worry about you? (please)

[Artisan]

I'm so glad you made it home ok, that's just scary. Yesterday must have been the day for getting the sense knocked out of you, because I did the same thing. I went down yesterday in a race. My helmet has three cracks in it, so happy it took the brunt of it and not my head. I couldn't remember what happened or answer any of the questions the paramedics asked me so they took me to the hospital to get checked out. Beyond a few road rashes and bruises I'm fine.

I'm not sure about that dragging foot thing you mentioned being good advise but maybe I'm not understanding what you mean by it.

[Grog]

I'm happy you're here to tell the story Suzie. You're a tough cookie (with a good helmet).

Do you have RoadID (http://www.roadid.com/)? I strongly recommend you get something like that if you're riding on your own a lot.

The learning curve to the road bike can be steep, and riding in the rain (especially in an urban setting with tracks, cars, curbs, etc.) is another challenge. Hang in there! But don't hurt yourself.

I strongly recommend unclipping both feet. After two years clipless, I still do that a lot of the time, especially if riding busy city streets. Then I position my feet to make sure I won't clip back in, and I'm pretty good at clipping back in or even at pedalling, if necessary, without being clipped in. What wears the cleats out is not clipping in and out but walking in them, so don't worry about that. It just makes it safer.

Big hug, take care

[RoadRaven]

Good on you Suzie, for getting right back on that thar hoss!!!

It is so important to get back on your bike after a crash - sort out the thinking around it immmediately.

That said, I just want to echoe Knotted - have you had your wrist and concussion checked out?

Concussion can have a long-term way (that is several days) of sneaking back at you ...
Also - re your wrists... my daughter fractured her wrist and it took a week to show on the xray - the doctor put it in a temporary cast for a week "just in case" until a second xray could be done and read...

[pooks]

Wow, you are tough. I hope you're feeling better now. But honestly, there are things they can do for fractures and you don't want it to start healing crooked -- more problems than you can imagine and easily averted just by getting in there quickly.

Good luck.

[Maureen Valley]

Suzie!! I'm back after a short absence.....MY GOD GIRL....take care of yourself will you?

Suzie and I have the same bike...exactly and I'm STILL not comfortable with my clipless pedals. I live in FEAR of falling and breaking something. My auxiliary 'training pedals' are working fine for me and I'm wondering if I'll ever go clipless. Every story like this one, has me shaking in my biking shoes.

Suzie...your memory loss is bothersome. Will you go in and at least TELL a Dr. what happened?

Glad you got a new helmet.

Love to all,
Maureen

[SnappyPix]

Suzie,

There isn't really much they can do for fractures.

If you suspect your wrist is fractured, I really would recommend you getting it x-rayed. My partner is an orthopaedic surgeon (who specialises in hands) and leaving a fracture is one of the worst things you can do; they are always easier to fix before the body begins to heal itself. It's certainly NOT true that nothing can be done for a fractured wrist. I certainly wouldn't recommend riding on it. You really don't want to set yourself up for a recurrent problem that might have been treatable.

Hope you're feeling better soon.

[Aint Doody]

Suzie--I just have to ditto what everybody said--go to the dr. After my crash I had a concussion & bleeding in the brain. I was in ICU for 2 days and then told to stay at home from work for 1 week. I also was told not to do anything to raise my heart rate for 6 weeks. And--I never had a headache at all. But I, too, couldn't remember the crash or anything that happened for the next few hours. Please let your doctor check you out.

Susan