My bike is totalled

[Susie]

I"m so sorry I haven't posted anything in a while -- it's been a hard couple of weeks. Well, the new bike is in at the shop but I've been waiting for the insurance check before ordering the parts (I spiffed out the old bike in Campy Record and I'm doing the same with this one). The check is in the mail and I should have the bike built in a week or two.

All injuries have healed, except for 1. I've been seeing a sports medicine specialist (he's an accomplished triathlete and understands cyclists) about my knee. I have 2 injuries to my knee. The first is a hyperextension and that is pretty much healed up. The other is a bit more complicated. Apparently, during the impact, my kneecap was shoved into my femur. While it bounced back out, there's some damage under the kneecap. The doctor told me last week that it would be 3-5 months before I'd be back to normal. While I freaked out, he explained that the week before he was thinking that it would be 6-9 months, so this is good news. Anyway, I've just been able to get back on the trainer. The first week or so, I could only manage 3-6 minutes before the pain set in. I got very frustrated and didn't try again for a few days. Then, as I noticed my pants getting very tight, I tried again on Sunday. I managed 50 minutes (47 of which were pretty much pain free, but I was determined to make it a full 50). On Monday I rode for 60 minutes and last night for 45. Keep in mind that this is all while in my granny gear and sitting on the saddle, but it's a start.

I also made a decision about the gearing on the new bike. I am getting a triple and for a while, I'm going to keep my cassette from the compact double setup on the old bike (that's one of 3 parts that are not damaged from the old bike). This will give me a freakingly easy gearing ratio. I can't remember the exact numbers, but the shop said that this will give me nearly a 1:1 ratio. I'm going to use this for a while until my knee builds up and then switch to a more appropriate cassette. I figure that this will get me back on the bike faster and let me ride a little longer with the injury.

That's all the news for now. The good news is that the doctor and I haven't given up hope on the Santa Cruz Mountains Challenge yet. Thanks for all of the concern.

Susie

[songlady]

So sorry to hear about the knee problems. I hope that 6-9 months ends up being a conservative estimate for you.

[Shimpie]

Please tell me you didn't sign any kind of waiver with in the insurance company! I'd hate to see you lose any rights to claim futher injuries if you don't fully heal 6-9 months down the road. From the list of all your injuries and ongoing recuperation, you're not fully healed. The doctor said you "should" heal in 6-9 months, but that's not a guarantee. After my bike accident, I had lower back pain pop up 6 weeks after the incident. It took another 5 months of physical therapy to work that out of my system. Although I wanted a new bike immediately, my attorney told me to wait until all my pain subsided in order to tally up all the medical and bike replacement costs and then accept a pay-out. I'm glad I was told to be patient. If I had not waited, my physical therapy would have been out of pocket. I paid for a new bike on my own and was given an insurance settlement over 1 year after the accident.

I know you want a new ruby every so badly, but you might not want to pay for the new bike with this particular insurance pay-out. If I were you, I'd wait and see if that knee needs any more work.

[Susie]

Don't worry -- they are handling the bike and the injury separately. The bike is taken care of and the injury part will be settled later after I am done with treatment.

Susie

[Shimpie]

WHEW!!! You had me worried for a while there.
I wish you happy healing thoughts and may you enjoy your new bike.