Sunday 18 May 2008

Smack-Crack-FARK! Redux

As some of you may have witnessed, there was a pretty large crash on Thursday night down at the Point. At the bottom of the pile was yours truly. It really started off innocuously enough - the swarm moved left and a rider got a bit too spooked by it. He came across me, crashed into the curb and sent me flying. On my way through the air, I hit one of the traffic sign poles and broke both the tibia and fibia in my right leg. The damage was pretty bad, but the surgery was successful. I will be on crutches for about 3 months, won't be able to drive for about that long, etc. Not bad for the first time I hit the deck, huh?

I've got to say a big thanks to all of the people who stopped to help. Most people probably weren't aware of it as it happened, but the whole group stopped the next time through, only to be shooed away by the cops on scene.

There's really not a whole lot to say about it, except just try and be careful. Also, remember that the whole pack is counting on your skills. For all I know the guy who went down in front of me may have had the skills of Oscar Freire, it just seemed like this was a pretty avoidable incident. Isn't it great that the guy who went down first was able to ride away with relatively minor injuries? Really, I'm just thankful that it wasn't worse. I very easily could have gone headfirst into the pole and been killed, so I have that to appreciate.

My team was incredibly supportive through the whole thing, Mrs. Wagon and I owe them a tremendous debt for all of their help.

Stay tuned for the x-rays. They are NASTY looking.

11 comments:

Stephen said...

Sorry to hear about your injuries. Heal up quick.

Crap! I hope my first time hitting the deck isn't that bad.

Chuck Hutcheson said...

Hey man, I broke my tibia and fibula after being thrown from a horse Feb 1st last year. I have a plate, four pins and six screws now. After not cycling since 2000 I decided to get back on the bike to get some strength in my leg. It is crazy how much motivation you have after being stuck on a couch and crutches! It will be over before you know it and you'll be flying again in no time. Good luck.

Bryan Vaughan said...

Wow. First, I'm glad to hear you are ok and surgery went well. I'm totally impressed with your attitude about the whole thing. I hope others pick up the ball and get the word out to stay safe on those rides. It's hard to swallow all the risks in racing to crash hard on a group training ride.

To echo Chuck, I have 7 screws and a plate in my tibia to fix a wicked spiral fracture years ago. Those bones heal well and your muscles jam out the watts for cycling. Get well soon!!!

Kyle Jones said...

Dave I hope you get better. I will still like to read your blog on finance still. Drew told me what happened yesterday at wilmington. Man that just sucks. Road rash sucks but to break something is pretty bad. Take care,
Kyle

Jim said...

Sorry to hear about the crash, get well soon. I'd say look on the bright side but there isn't that much of one.

I guess if there is an upside, even with just one leg you can probably still outclimb Kyle, and by extension, me. So at least you got that going for you, which is nice.

1km2go said...

I saw you guys tangled and go down, but the pack reacted and moved away. On the next lap, you were laying down and the word was a borken leg. Get well soon and good luck.

fabsroman said...

I hate reading things like this. I hope you get well soon.

One of my teammates, Lance Lacy, called me today to tell me that he went down hard at Wilmington and probably has a broken hand from it.

What is up with all the crashes?

Crashing is the only thing I hate about cycling. I did the Bicycle Place ride once, and there were way too many people for my comfort. It felt like a race, but without any rules whatsoever. I try to avoid the huge group rides.

Get well soon.

RayMan AKA StingRay said...

Holy Crap Dave.

I'm really sorry to hear about your crash and extensive injury. I'm cringing just thinking about it. Keep up a really positive attitude.

I thought my shoulder separation was bad, but broken legs are way worse.

I wish you a successful recovery.
RayMan

Anonymous said...

Get Well Soon. I am speechless.

Looks like it is time to start a steady flow of rum and tonic.

I hit a car once and got a compound fracture in my right arm, plate with 4 screws, and lost my front teeth. But it was nowhere near as bad, because I was riding a trainer again in two weeks. I am a chef though and I couldn't lift a heavy stock pot for months. Forcing myself to use the arm was the best rehab though and I beat all the predictions on the recovery time.

Good Luck

Stormyva said...

Sorry to hear about your crash!

Chuck Wagon said...

thanks for the good thoughts everyone. after one day on the couch i can tell that this will be more boring than a winter's worth of trainer workouts. chuck and bryan you both have me beat - i have one measly plate and only 3 pins. can't wait for live giro to watch tomorrow.