need moral support from cyclists

[Avocet]

Jenn, Redrhodie and Veronica,
thanks so much for your responses and encouragement. i know i will heal and it will all be ok i just get so frustrated with all the rude comments from people. i wish i had some witty response....

[yellow]

Oh so sorry to hear that! Don't let any demons keep you from doing it if you want to do it, whether they be in your head or on the outside. I know you know this...you control your reaction (including those in your head). Recover physically and the mental focus will come. You family and friends are probably saying it because they love you and/or care about you, but maybe they aren't making the connection that the Avocet that they love loves to ride her bikes and that if she doesn't, she's not the person they love.

So just maybe when you are ready to start riding again, I'll be ready too and we can just walk anything mildly technical and cheer each other on.

[Irulan]

Ignore the nay sayers. Like, you can't get heart disease from sitting on your butt eating cheetos? Break a leg falling down the stairs? Etc. My sister literally broke her neck ( cracked a vertebra) and tore up her shoulder when she tripped on the stairs in her home.

If you are still feeling klutzy when you get back on the bike, consider a skills clinic.

[lph]

Heal quickly and bravely, Avocet!

Snappy retorts - the best I can do "you wouldn't be telling me to stop driving if I'd had a car accident, would you?"

That doesn't work for mt biking, of course, but for commuting it does annoy me that people feel biking is somehow wild and reckless while calmly accepting driving as just an unavoidable risk - while car driving actually puts other people at risk to a much higher degree.

Or sometimes I say "hey, with all the hours I put in on my bike I have to hit the deck every now and then. If I were a runner I'd manage to sprain something at least once a year, that's just life."

But that's just to the rude+righteous ones. Mostly people do say it as a way of expressing care, and all you can do is smile.

[SheFly]

Heal quick!

My usual retort to such comments? "I could also get run over by the garbage truck walking out the front door, but I still do that" Usually shuts them up.

SheFly

[itself]

You live once, so have a hecka of a time! Since I am a self-reputed klutz, I intentionally stay away from more technical stuff or just plain walk my bike through it. No shame in that!