On Crashing

Immediately after the crash I felt fine.

I mean, I knew that I was hurt. I just didn't know that I was injured.

I walked from the infield to the grass, only to immediately feel lightheaded and nauseous. I sat down. Then I laid down.

I thought to myself, as soon as this passes I'll get back in the races. Then I saw that my new handlebars were destroyed. Brand new bars (bars that someone charged me $35 to wrap, but that's another story).

I just laid back in the grass to relax and take inventory of my body. Scraped hands, raspberry on the shoulder and hip, scraped knee. Foot hurts. Nothing serious.

Wait a second...What's that pain and stiffness in my shoulder?

Broken collarbone.

And then I started to feel cold.

I contemplated going to the ER on the way home but I was just too tired. There's no need to even get an X-ray for the diagnosis. I can feel the bones moving around under there. And what is the ER going to do, aside from make me wait hours, run up the bill, and ultimately refer me to an orthopedist? Maybe I'll go tomorrow. Or maybe I'll skip the middleman and just make an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon.

This might end up being a blessing in disguise. The racing season is winding down and many cyclists are working on winter training, which often consists of hours on the trainer and weights. I can do these things with one arm. And looking back, I've had a pretty damned good racing season.

I'll take a number of days off and I'll be on a trainer. Soon I'll start with body weight squats and lunges. Then I'll add weights. And next season, I'll be ready.