I fell off at the first Banana Belt race on Sunday. This race is known for its crashes. It’s early in the year and the course and distance are easy enough that even those still holding their holiday weight can make it to the screaming fast downhill finish. Also, because its so early, ambitions are at their peak. Everyone KNOWS they can win this one. I guess that’s why the sprint started at 1500m. 1500m! Obviously it wasn’t going to stay in a neat little single file line all that distance so I was vigilant and used all my strategies to remain on two wheels. Well, I hit the deck at about 150m and at 40mph. Some say I flew elegantly over the barricade. I also heard that I slid limply underneath it. I say, I’m glad I ended up in the soft stuff six feet off the road.
Urgent care picked the gravel out of me and took x-rays of my limbs. They offered to slice my arm open more to make sure the gravel was all out and explained that anesthetic wouldn’t be effective for the procedure. I declined and asked them to seal me back up. The doctor handed me a guaze pad and an ace bandage since apparently there wasn’t enough live skin around the hole to stitch it up.
As of Wednesday I am still leaking the red stuff but am also happily spinning on my rollers…. Dreaming of my come back.
First of all I would like to thank all my teammates for helping me find out how to login to this site. All of your responses about ride plans and sicknesses and jersey designs was really helpful to me to figure this out. Granted, I know my computer expertise is legendary.
Second- unless the weather changes for the worse, I am recommitted to riding my bike, and that is nice, at some point the drive up to the mountian gets old and the struggle to relearn all the technique I figured out a week ago gets traded for enjoying doing something I know how to do with friends. When the switch in my head happens, it is a easy desision to make. I will say the draw to skate skiing does keep me awake some nights. We watched “The Day After Tomorrow” ,with that attractive kid from “Donnie Darko”, i was thinking-maybe with gobal warming I will be able to take hot laps and V2 intervals around Laurelhurst park until April? You all can join me!
So that deep chest cold is old news. Totally played out. Turns out, all you have to do is wear a neckerchief while riding through France during a cold snap and everything’s better. So, what’s your body up to now? It’s moved onto PROblem number 2: knee tendinitis. How pro is that? I was putting out too many wattz, too often and my body rebelled. I tried visualization, positive affirmation, healing gesic-balms with essential oils blessed by black belt monks- effing nothing worked! I couldn’t believe it! I even wore my 1994 replica Laurent Brochard Vorld Champ do-rag!
I give it one more week, then amputate and install a Ti knee and carbon re-curved lower leg.
Okay, so apparently I have to post to this site to stay on the team…seriously, what about riding a bike! Devin gets to be on the team because he”s a “model”…whatever! I’ve watched Top Model! I know what it takes! Ferocity! That’s what! Devin can”t even walk in pumps to save his life! Much less strut…Molly thinks he’d be a good spokesmodel or whatever. He doesn’t even know his angles! I sense a PBSNTM throw down coming… it is so on!
but I’m sick, not ill. Bronchitis with a side of tendinitis thrown in for good measure. I got an awesome head cold and tried to walk it off, but the tendinitis kicked in hard and I couldn’t even walk. So now I’m army-crawling it off- leaving a snot slick behind me the whole way. I’m like a mucousy Exxon Valdez- there’re volunteers desperately washing off ducks and otters that got caught in my wake. As for training- I’ve been coughing pretty much non-stop, which has done wonders for my abs. I may not win a bike race like this, but I can take my shirt off and shame the actual winner into submission. Best yet- I don’t even have to ride around getting cold, I can just sit in my truck coughing until the podium ceremony. The season is looking up!
