Two weeks ago I went down, hard. The time since then has had some ups and some definite downs. It's been one of the most frustrating periods of time since I started riding again three years ago. In some ways I've started over in terms of feeling strong and fit.
Late afternoon two weeks ago today, I was rolling about 20 mph when my mind started to wander. I was trying to decide how much longer to go that day. I was lost in my iPod. In a split second I went from rolling 20 mph to sliding on the pavement and then sitting on the road stunned and bleeding.
My wife knew I had fallen badly when I called her to pick me up rather than getting home on my own. That day and the next couple were very painful. Showering with road rash is a unique experience in pain you really can't explain or appreciate unless you've dealt with it. My road rash stretched from mid calf on my left side to the top of my shoulder. Mercifully, showers returned to normal in the first week. Another interesting thing happens, at least to me, after a hard fall. I have bruises appear the first day, but the real bruises don't "bloom" until a couple of days later. This is something you should warn your spouse about if you go down hard, otherwise they will be shocked when it happens.
The real problem has been my ribs. I really don't know how my upper rib cage got hit-whether it was my handlebar or the road or something entirely different, but after two weeks I'm still not right. So what do you do about bruised or cracked ribs? Not a dang thing. It's really not worth getting an x-ray because there's nothing to be done if they are cracked. Analyzing what huts, I'm pretty sure I cracked two ribs and bruised others. I think I cracked a couple because I thought I felt at least one of them shift when I sneezed a few times. What fun.
This has affected more than my riding, but definitely adversely degraded my fitness. I haven't slept very well in the last couple of weeks. Sneezing or coughing, something that can't be avoided when Raleigh is covered in a yellow haze of pine pollen, is probably the most painful thing. The only thing worse is trying to suppress a sneeze. I only did this once, only once, and learned my lesson. I can't begin to tell you exactly how it felt other than it hurt so bad I had to sit down for a few minutes.
Riding over rough road is not easy. Luckily my carbon fiber bike helps dampen the vibration, but I definitely feel every bump on the road in my chest, but that's not the worst problem. Breathing is a unique challenge. My legs have gotten back to normal quicker than I expected, but I can't go with same intensity, strength or distance I could before. Today I wanted to go 60 miles, but I had to pull up at 30 miles because I couldn't go much longer. It got to the point that nearly every breath hurt and I felt significantly more worn out than I should after only 30 miles. It was 80 degrees today and I had time to go longer, but my body betrayed me. Frustrating, massively frustrating.
My cyclist friends have counseled patience. They have told me repeatedly ribs take a long time to heal-maybe 6 to 8 weeks, before I can count on not feeling any pain. I don't do patience well and never have.
This is a big set back for my goals this year. It's not going to keep me out of the Giro d'Italia or Tour de France, but I'm not racing and probably won't for 3 months or maybe at all the rest of the year and that's very disappointing.
On the positive side, I could probably have been hurt worse, but I wasn't. Maybe that is what I should remind myself. I can still ride, not as well as before, but I still can ride. That's what I can try to tell myself when my frustration rises and my patience disappears.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Seeing Oakley Lenses in a New Light
I have been an Oakley fanatic for as long as I can remember, so this won't be an objective review of Oakley sunglasses against their competitors. Candidly, I can't see wearing anything but Oakley sunglasses even if a competitive pair of was given to me.
Based on that, I'm thrilled to have Oakley as a sponsor of my (R)evolution effort this year. I really thought I knew most of what there was to know about Oakley sunglass products until I spent some time with the staff of the local Oakley store. Hopefully this post will help other cyclists make better decisions about lens selection. That's the plan.
I noticed, as I'm sure most fans have, guys on the pro tour have a range of lens selections to chose when responding to weather and road conditions. It's not a luxury for them-it's strategic. It makes good sense for those of us not in Flanders this weekend or preparing for the Tour to have 2 to 3 lens options to select depending on where we are riding or what we are doing off the bike.
The best lens for cycling over a wide variety of conditions is the Fire Iridium lens, like the one that came with my new Radar pair. The good news is you can now completely justify buying and wearing arguably the coolest looking lens available. The Fire Iridium lens is designed for medium to bright sunlight and is a contrast rather than neutral lens. Lenses designed for contrast "improve visual acuity" according to Oakley's website, but I've found that to be very true. My eyes in short, suck and because of the way they suck, according to my optometrist I can't get prescription Oakleys.
The Fire lens is the one chosen in most conditions by riders. I've worn mine in cloudy conditions-we have had plenty of those lately, and brighter conditions. They are the lens I will probably use 70-80% of the time.
The second lens in my arsenal is the VR28 Polarized which is a contrast lens too. There are some conditions where glare is a real problem. This is why in the brightest conditions you will see the pros wearing this lens the Positive Red Polarized or the Black Iridium Polarized lens. These lenses are designed to filter glare coming off asphalt or other surfaces that reflect light. The difference between these three lenses is VR28 and Positive Red are contrast lenses and the Black Iridium Polarized is a neutral lens. Neutral lenses provide a truer color perception or transmission. These lenses are probably a better lens to wear if you're driving.
One of the lens selection factors to consider is the amount of light it transmits. Most of the lens selections for general use allow 9%-18% light transmission. There are options for darker conditions other than a clear lens, which will give you some light filtering and contrast, which could be important in cycling situations. Lenses such as the G30 (30% transmission), Persimmon (61% transmission) and Yellow (90% transmission) all are contrast lens options.
All of the Radar sunglasses have some of the same features regardless of the lens(es) you choose. Oakley Radar lenses are treated with a coating to make them hydrophobic. Sweat and rain just run off and don't stick. Hydrophobic lenses are easier to keep clean because finger prints, skin oils and even suntan lotion are easily wiped off. The lenses are also anti-static to reflect dust or in the case now in North Carolina-pollen.
There are three lens shape options and two nose pieces to best fit your face and nose. Even though the lenses are designed to allow good airflow, there are also vented lens options. Oakley has even developed a material for their nose pieces that makes them stick to your face better when they get wet.
If you have any questions after reading this post you can call Oakley's customer service/order line at 800-431-1439. I highly recommend going to the local Oakley store and specifically the Crabtree Valley Mall store if you live in
There is one other item you really should buy with sunglasses or lenses. Oakley has a lens cleaning kit to take care of your new glasses. Here's the best part, if you buy a lens cleaning kit from Oakley, they will refill it with solution for life! No guessing on what is ok to use with your lenses. Now that's customer service!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Product Review: 1st Endurance Products, UCI Legal Jet Fuel
I was thinking on a recovery ride this week back to when I started riding again in 2006. It was a warm day and I was comfortably cruising at a speed greater than my max speed three years ago. Some of this is due to training and good advice, but some of it has to be due using 1st Endurance products.
I was stuck at how I could cruise at greater than 20 mph on flats with what I considered a medium level effort. Since I started taking Optygen again (I took a break in the off season) along with using Pre-Race and EFS sport drink I noticed I couldn't hit my max heart rate. I decided to see what exactly I had to do to hit my max heart rate on a ride last weekend.
Riding hard over rolling hills in downtown Raleigh and over by NC State didn't do it. Then I road to a hill my Garmin measured as a 14% grade for right at 1/2 a mile. I rolled hard toward the monster and attacked hard up the hill. I was surprised at how I climbed the hill with more strength faster than ever before. Just as I was having fantasies about keeping up with Alberto Contador on a climb or two, I blew up about 10% from the top. I looked down, and yeah, I finally hit my max heart rate, but I also set a personal best on the hill. I'm sure I can continue to expect to ride up that hill with less effort than before. I might not attack like a wild man every time though.
This week I had a chance to speak with Robert Kunz one of the 1st Endurance founders about my experience with his products and also learned about the company's approach to serving the needs of endurance athletes. It should get your attention that Team Columbia and Astana are sponsored by 1st Endurance. Any race fan is aware of how members of both of those teams including Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador, and Mark Cavendish have dominated early races.
My discussions with Robert involved how physiologically I felt when I hit my lactic threshold or how I felt as I exercised harder and longer. I was surprised to learn from Robert each athletes body reacts to those challenges differently. What I feel when I get to those points could be quite different than what you feel.
1st Endurance products are designed to increase VO2Max increase aerobic threshold and reduce lactic acid production. Robert put it in a slightly expanded way, which was 1st Endurance products increase an athlete’s ability to handle stress put on it by keeping stress hormone production within a healthy range. This is what translates into increased performance. He said one of the theories about top level endurance athlete is they process and use physical and environmental stressors significantly better than average athletes.
This made sense because I could ride harder faster and with greater comfort than before using their products. The company, in my opinion as a marketer, uses little to no spin or hype in their materials and product descriptions, which is quite rare. They obviously prefer to let their products impress athletes rather than spin them.
Robert also pointed out chronically elevated cortisol suppresses your VO2 and lactate thresholds while also suppressing your immune system. Your body is smart, so you can push it to a point where it shuts down due to too much stress. This manifests through illness and lack of motivation among other things. Your body is telling you to rest and it will force you to rest if you won’t on your own.
This is one of the reasons it makes sense to do some exercises that don't put a tremendous load on it in terms of physical stress. It also makes sense to rest well and not train every day. Coaches, like those I talked with at the HPL, will tell you that rest is important and resting properly will make you faster, stronger or perform at higher levels.
Optygen allows you to handle stress as if you were well rested so your performance improves. However, months of training are required for peak performance so you still have to train since there are no short-cuts.
1st Endurance products are designed to work interdependently. Optygen is designed to be taken every morning. Pre-Race is taken prior to working out-I drink it in a bottle of EFS drink. EFS drink, Liquid Shot and Bars (all are EFS named products) are for use during a race or ride. Robert has even blogged about mixing Pre-Race with EFS Liquid Shot as a powerful race fuel combination.
1st Endurance is also quite unique in the nutrition supplement industry, because the company continually works with endurance athletes while upgrading and adjusting their formulations for improved product performance. Robert noted nearly all of their products have been upgraded multiple times. I recently read a blog post written by a triathlete who tested the company’s new formulation of Optygen. He gave it high marks and noted a distinct difference from previous generations of products.
It's also very important to note 1st Endurance products are totally UCI legal. The company works collaboratively with UCI to ensure there are no problems with the regulatory body's rules. 1st Endurance has no desire to be on the shelves of your local grocery or drug store. You can't find it in some bike shops or GNC or The Vitamin Shope. The company knows who their customers are and who they are not.
The company's products are not inexpensive and not for every athlete who gets on a bike, jumps in a pool or laces up running shoes. However, the products are an excellent fit for athletes that want to train longer and harder to produce better race results.
I'll issue one warning to you about the products. You will be hard pressed to stop if you begin using all of the products. This produces one more reasonably expensive cycling habit, but most of us are already well down that road anyway.
I was stuck at how I could cruise at greater than 20 mph on flats with what I considered a medium level effort. Since I started taking Optygen again (I took a break in the off season) along with using Pre-Race and EFS sport drink I noticed I couldn't hit my max heart rate. I decided to see what exactly I had to do to hit my max heart rate on a ride last weekend.
Riding hard over rolling hills in downtown Raleigh and over by NC State didn't do it. Then I road to a hill my Garmin measured as a 14% grade for right at 1/2 a mile. I rolled hard toward the monster and attacked hard up the hill. I was surprised at how I climbed the hill with more strength faster than ever before. Just as I was having fantasies about keeping up with Alberto Contador on a climb or two, I blew up about 10% from the top. I looked down, and yeah, I finally hit my max heart rate, but I also set a personal best on the hill. I'm sure I can continue to expect to ride up that hill with less effort than before. I might not attack like a wild man every time though.
This week I had a chance to speak with Robert Kunz one of the 1st Endurance founders about my experience with his products and also learned about the company's approach to serving the needs of endurance athletes. It should get your attention that Team Columbia and Astana are sponsored by 1st Endurance. Any race fan is aware of how members of both of those teams including Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador, and Mark Cavendish have dominated early races.
My discussions with Robert involved how physiologically I felt when I hit my lactic threshold or how I felt as I exercised harder and longer. I was surprised to learn from Robert each athletes body reacts to those challenges differently. What I feel when I get to those points could be quite different than what you feel.
1st Endurance products are designed to increase VO2Max increase aerobic threshold and reduce lactic acid production. Robert put it in a slightly expanded way, which was 1st Endurance products increase an athlete’s ability to handle stress put on it by keeping stress hormone production within a healthy range. This is what translates into increased performance. He said one of the theories about top level endurance athlete is they process and use physical and environmental stressors significantly better than average athletes.
This made sense because I could ride harder faster and with greater comfort than before using their products. The company, in my opinion as a marketer, uses little to no spin or hype in their materials and product descriptions, which is quite rare. They obviously prefer to let their products impress athletes rather than spin them.
Robert also pointed out chronically elevated cortisol suppresses your VO2 and lactate thresholds while also suppressing your immune system. Your body is smart, so you can push it to a point where it shuts down due to too much stress. This manifests through illness and lack of motivation among other things. Your body is telling you to rest and it will force you to rest if you won’t on your own.
This is one of the reasons it makes sense to do some exercises that don't put a tremendous load on it in terms of physical stress. It also makes sense to rest well and not train every day. Coaches, like those I talked with at the HPL, will tell you that rest is important and resting properly will make you faster, stronger or perform at higher levels.
Optygen allows you to handle stress as if you were well rested so your performance improves. However, months of training are required for peak performance so you still have to train since there are no short-cuts.
1st Endurance products are designed to work interdependently. Optygen is designed to be taken every morning. Pre-Race is taken prior to working out-I drink it in a bottle of EFS drink. EFS drink, Liquid Shot and Bars (all are EFS named products) are for use during a race or ride. Robert has even blogged about mixing Pre-Race with EFS Liquid Shot as a powerful race fuel combination.
1st Endurance is also quite unique in the nutrition supplement industry, because the company continually works with endurance athletes while upgrading and adjusting their formulations for improved product performance. Robert noted nearly all of their products have been upgraded multiple times. I recently read a blog post written by a triathlete who tested the company’s new formulation of Optygen. He gave it high marks and noted a distinct difference from previous generations of products.
It's also very important to note 1st Endurance products are totally UCI legal. The company works collaboratively with UCI to ensure there are no problems with the regulatory body's rules. 1st Endurance has no desire to be on the shelves of your local grocery or drug store. You can't find it in some bike shops or GNC or The Vitamin Shope. The company knows who their customers are and who they are not.
The company's products are not inexpensive and not for every athlete who gets on a bike, jumps in a pool or laces up running shoes. However, the products are an excellent fit for athletes that want to train longer and harder to produce better race results.
I'll issue one warning to you about the products. You will be hard pressed to stop if you begin using all of the products. This produces one more reasonably expensive cycling habit, but most of us are already well down that road anyway.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Crashing Really Pisses Me Off
Saturday I crashed. One minute I was riding along the next I was sitting on the side of the road in pretty much the same position as Lance when he broke his collarbone in Spain last month. Pure and simple. I was stunned, bleeding and starting to get very sore. What surprised me was the number of cars that slowed down or stopped with offers to help me. Maybe not all non-cyclist drivers are jerks.
Here's what I think happened since I'm not too sure, because it happened so quickly. Truly one second I was riding-the next bleeding. I was rolling about 18-20 mph down Western Blvd in Raleigh near downtown. I'd been battling the wind all day, again, and was at that point trying to decide just how far I wanted to go that day. I approached an off ramp for South Saunders Street and hit one of the street reflectors at the point the road and the ramp split. That blew my tire and that pushed me into the sand and grit that collect in the triangle between ramp and road. Blam, I was on the road not rolling down the road.
Crashes in general piss me off because for a number of reasons. I was pretty messed up and felt a little shocky, so I called my wife to come drag my sorry butt home. The week before she had a conversation with an insurance guy who planted all kinds of you should add coverage this and that because your husband is a cyclist. Greeeaaaat! Calling her for help was very unusual, so she dropped everything-in this case shopping, and came to get me.
While I waited for Deborah to come get me, I inventoried damage to me and my bike. First the bike. The left shifter was out of position. The chain was off. Both brakes were out of alignment and oh yeah, the front tube was blown. There didn't appear to be major damage.
Next I started checking myself out. There was a pretty decent size chuck missing from the tip of my right thumb, which explained the blood on my saddle since I leaned on it with my right hand when I was sitting on the ground. I could see road rash from 4 inches above my ankle up to my thigh and feel more all the way up to my shoulder. I lifted up my jersey to see there was a decent scrape on the top of my shoulder-another section of my body missing a piece. Then I notice blood dripping down my left arm. I had a 4 inch scrape running up my forearm because a few layers of skin had been removed.
My Hincapie jersey was shredded all along the left side. My bibs weren't too bad. Then I realized I didn't have sunglasses on. DAMN! Where are my Radars!? I found them near where I fell and luckily they flew off early and didn't have any damage. At least that was good.
Deborah arrived with all three girls. This made getting my bike and me in the Jeep at the same time tough. We maneuvered things to where I sat in the back with the seats folded down along with my bike. I noticed a new pain riding home as Deborah hit bumps that seemed to be huge compared to reality. My left side ribs were very sore. Great, that means 4-6 weeks to get over that injury. We initially thought I'd cracked one or two, but maybe they are only bruised. We'll know in a day or two.
We got home and I put my bike in my workshop and trudged upstairs to take my gear off and get a true picture of the damage. This is the part that really starts to piss me off. Crashing on a bike usually means road rash. It's a bitch to clean correctly and you have to accept that you're going to be in pain every time you shower for awhile. The amount of time depends on how bad you're scraped up.
There really weren't any big surprises as Deborah and I checked me out. I cleaned myself up a bit and got a shower. Yeah, it hurt as expected. The scrapes weren't too bad but my thumb and shoulder were the worst. The second thing that pisses me off is the fact that you are really sore after a crash, but because you have scrapes all over, you can't just stay in a hot shower to help the muscle soreness.
Deborah went out and got the usual crash supplies, with one new addition. She also got a spray with benzocaine-a pain med, and an antibiotic. Excellent I thought, pain stuff with infection stuff. That was until she sprayed it on me. She started spraying at full blast with sweeping motions to cover my left side nearly head to toe. It felt like someone had dipped me in pure alcohol. DAMN that hurt! I yelled a little-well more than a little, but quickly made it clear that I wasn't yelling at her. She felt bad since I was in more pain, but we both got over it as the benzocaine finally did what it was supposed to do and deadened the pain. Finally we both laughed as I apologized for being such a big baby and she apologized for lighting my body on fire.
I collapsed on the couch with Motrin and a remote control for the rest of the evening. Sleeping is a bitch with bruised or cracked ribs. There isn't a good way to position yourself. There's only varying degrees of bad. I found a position I could live with and went to sleep. However, I woke up at 4:30 in a lot of pain so I took some more Motrin and tried mostly unsuccessfully to sleep. Sleeping gets better as you heal, but the first nights suck.
Getting out of bed can be the most painful thing you do with rib damage. You can't get leverage to get up and over the side without using arms and stomach muscles that put pressure on your rib cage. Getting off low couches, out of beds, out of non-SUV cars and other basic movement you take for granted, now hurt and will for awhile.
The next morning we went to church. This is the second round of people telling you riding is way too dangerous. However, in the final analysis, most people wished me a speedy recovery while wincing as they looked me over. Just here to entertain, I guess like a side show freak in this case.
Every non cyclist tells you your sport is way too dangerous for them insinuating you're nuts for riding on the road. Next they start telling your stories of people who had arms hacked off or thumbs hacked off or heads cracked open or people getting killed. You of course are supposed to stand there smile and nod thoughtfully, rather than scream at them like you would prefer to do. Most of what they tell you is third hand information or worse, but it makes for great story telling, so they tell you.
Bless my dear mother-in-law. She is a true saint and I love her as much as I did my own mother. My mother in-law stopped by after church to drop one of our daughters off. I said hello, but I didn't want her to see me busted up unless I had to. Somebody ratted me out. She came over to the couch smiled like only a mom can and said, "well let's see how bad you are." She looked me over smiled and hugged me. She managed to hug me without hurting me or I didn't notice since I love it when she hugs me. Deborah's family was a huge and unexpected bonus that came with our marriage. She didn't chastise me or warn me or anything else like that. She just smiled and said to get better. Unconditional love, I knew what it felt like with my wife and now I know what it feels like with her family. I'm so blessed and I know it.
Today, I'm back at it trying to get things done and take care of the kids while they are on spring break. I'm still plenty sore, but the scrapes are healing probably as much from the tender loving care from my family as anything else.
Can I be pissed off for too long? No I can't. I get pissed off at the non-cyclists who don't realize crashes just happen sometimes. I've had a run of bad luck in the last few weeks, but I've thousands of miles and been hurt very little comparatively. Basketball guy can blow out a knee, right? Softball guy can tear a rotator cup, right? Even golf guy can bust something up, right? Well maybe not, they walk most of the time. My point is any sport a 40 plus year old is going to participate in has the risk of getting hurt. Get over it! I have!
Can I be pissed off at the pain? Sure, but that will lessen and go away in time. Will I stop riding? Not a chance. How quick will I get back on the bike. Within days, maybe even today just for a short spin. I have a cycling addiction and I'm glad for it. Nothing is going to change that. I'm going to ride until I can't push pedals, which means I have at least 40 more years of riding ahead of me.
Am I pissed off right now? No, not really, but crashing your bike touches off tons of irritations and pain that keep you from participating in the sport you love. That's the ultimate thing that pisses me off, but I'll get over it once I get back in the saddle again, SOON!
Here's what I think happened since I'm not too sure, because it happened so quickly. Truly one second I was riding-the next bleeding. I was rolling about 18-20 mph down Western Blvd in Raleigh near downtown. I'd been battling the wind all day, again, and was at that point trying to decide just how far I wanted to go that day. I approached an off ramp for South Saunders Street and hit one of the street reflectors at the point the road and the ramp split. That blew my tire and that pushed me into the sand and grit that collect in the triangle between ramp and road. Blam, I was on the road not rolling down the road.
Crashes in general piss me off because for a number of reasons. I was pretty messed up and felt a little shocky, so I called my wife to come drag my sorry butt home. The week before she had a conversation with an insurance guy who planted all kinds of you should add coverage this and that because your husband is a cyclist. Greeeaaaat! Calling her for help was very unusual, so she dropped everything-in this case shopping, and came to get me.
While I waited for Deborah to come get me, I inventoried damage to me and my bike. First the bike. The left shifter was out of position. The chain was off. Both brakes were out of alignment and oh yeah, the front tube was blown. There didn't appear to be major damage.
Next I started checking myself out. There was a pretty decent size chuck missing from the tip of my right thumb, which explained the blood on my saddle since I leaned on it with my right hand when I was sitting on the ground. I could see road rash from 4 inches above my ankle up to my thigh and feel more all the way up to my shoulder. I lifted up my jersey to see there was a decent scrape on the top of my shoulder-another section of my body missing a piece. Then I notice blood dripping down my left arm. I had a 4 inch scrape running up my forearm because a few layers of skin had been removed.
My Hincapie jersey was shredded all along the left side. My bibs weren't too bad. Then I realized I didn't have sunglasses on. DAMN! Where are my Radars!? I found them near where I fell and luckily they flew off early and didn't have any damage. At least that was good.
Deborah arrived with all three girls. This made getting my bike and me in the Jeep at the same time tough. We maneuvered things to where I sat in the back with the seats folded down along with my bike. I noticed a new pain riding home as Deborah hit bumps that seemed to be huge compared to reality. My left side ribs were very sore. Great, that means 4-6 weeks to get over that injury. We initially thought I'd cracked one or two, but maybe they are only bruised. We'll know in a day or two.
We got home and I put my bike in my workshop and trudged upstairs to take my gear off and get a true picture of the damage. This is the part that really starts to piss me off. Crashing on a bike usually means road rash. It's a bitch to clean correctly and you have to accept that you're going to be in pain every time you shower for awhile. The amount of time depends on how bad you're scraped up.
There really weren't any big surprises as Deborah and I checked me out. I cleaned myself up a bit and got a shower. Yeah, it hurt as expected. The scrapes weren't too bad but my thumb and shoulder were the worst. The second thing that pisses me off is the fact that you are really sore after a crash, but because you have scrapes all over, you can't just stay in a hot shower to help the muscle soreness.
Deborah went out and got the usual crash supplies, with one new addition. She also got a spray with benzocaine-a pain med, and an antibiotic. Excellent I thought, pain stuff with infection stuff. That was until she sprayed it on me. She started spraying at full blast with sweeping motions to cover my left side nearly head to toe. It felt like someone had dipped me in pure alcohol. DAMN that hurt! I yelled a little-well more than a little, but quickly made it clear that I wasn't yelling at her. She felt bad since I was in more pain, but we both got over it as the benzocaine finally did what it was supposed to do and deadened the pain. Finally we both laughed as I apologized for being such a big baby and she apologized for lighting my body on fire.
I collapsed on the couch with Motrin and a remote control for the rest of the evening. Sleeping is a bitch with bruised or cracked ribs. There isn't a good way to position yourself. There's only varying degrees of bad. I found a position I could live with and went to sleep. However, I woke up at 4:30 in a lot of pain so I took some more Motrin and tried mostly unsuccessfully to sleep. Sleeping gets better as you heal, but the first nights suck.
Getting out of bed can be the most painful thing you do with rib damage. You can't get leverage to get up and over the side without using arms and stomach muscles that put pressure on your rib cage. Getting off low couches, out of beds, out of non-SUV cars and other basic movement you take for granted, now hurt and will for awhile.
The next morning we went to church. This is the second round of people telling you riding is way too dangerous. However, in the final analysis, most people wished me a speedy recovery while wincing as they looked me over. Just here to entertain, I guess like a side show freak in this case.
Every non cyclist tells you your sport is way too dangerous for them insinuating you're nuts for riding on the road. Next they start telling your stories of people who had arms hacked off or thumbs hacked off or heads cracked open or people getting killed. You of course are supposed to stand there smile and nod thoughtfully, rather than scream at them like you would prefer to do. Most of what they tell you is third hand information or worse, but it makes for great story telling, so they tell you.
Bless my dear mother-in-law. She is a true saint and I love her as much as I did my own mother. My mother in-law stopped by after church to drop one of our daughters off. I said hello, but I didn't want her to see me busted up unless I had to. Somebody ratted me out. She came over to the couch smiled like only a mom can and said, "well let's see how bad you are." She looked me over smiled and hugged me. She managed to hug me without hurting me or I didn't notice since I love it when she hugs me. Deborah's family was a huge and unexpected bonus that came with our marriage. She didn't chastise me or warn me or anything else like that. She just smiled and said to get better. Unconditional love, I knew what it felt like with my wife and now I know what it feels like with her family. I'm so blessed and I know it.
Today, I'm back at it trying to get things done and take care of the kids while they are on spring break. I'm still plenty sore, but the scrapes are healing probably as much from the tender loving care from my family as anything else.
Can I be pissed off for too long? No I can't. I get pissed off at the non-cyclists who don't realize crashes just happen sometimes. I've had a run of bad luck in the last few weeks, but I've thousands of miles and been hurt very little comparatively. Basketball guy can blow out a knee, right? Softball guy can tear a rotator cup, right? Even golf guy can bust something up, right? Well maybe not, they walk most of the time. My point is any sport a 40 plus year old is going to participate in has the risk of getting hurt. Get over it! I have!
Can I be pissed off at the pain? Sure, but that will lessen and go away in time. Will I stop riding? Not a chance. How quick will I get back on the bike. Within days, maybe even today just for a short spin. I have a cycling addiction and I'm glad for it. Nothing is going to change that. I'm going to ride until I can't push pedals, which means I have at least 40 more years of riding ahead of me.
Am I pissed off right now? No, not really, but crashing your bike touches off tons of irritations and pain that keep you from participating in the sport you love. That's the ultimate thing that pisses me off, but I'll get over it once I get back in the saddle again, SOON!
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