I'm out of the picture for a few weeks.
 

I'm out of the picture for at least the next 2 to 3 weeks so I won't be participating in any ride reports.

While riding on a bike path through an underpass in Irvine 2 weeks ago, the bright to dark transition played a trick on me and I did a panic stop which threw me over my handlebars onto the concrete. Walked to Hoag ER (2 blocks away) with friends helping. broken finger, dislocated fingers, bruised and banged up all over. I need a new helmet. I'm pretty sure my helmet saved my life. I did not lose consciousness, but I did have the worst case of whiplash for the next 4 days. I was extremely lucky. For someone my age (65) to take a hit like that and walk (slowly) away from it was nothing short of a miracle.

I'm posting this 2 weeks after the accident and I'm just starting to be able to use my right hand to type. The bangs and bruises are healing nicely but there is no way I'll be back on a bike for at least another 3-4 weeks at best.

My bike is fine, it landed on me.

Glad you were well enough to walk away from it. I always get nervous when I ride down Mt. Baldy and hit those dark tunnels for this very reason. Has never happened to me on the bike, but I once freaked out while driving with my sunglasses and driving into a dark tunnel...

Sorry to read of your accident. Glad you are healing and hope you can get back on the bike in short order. Things like that have a way of affecting the ride long after the physical issues are resolved.

I'm definitely not wearing my sunglasses when I go through a tunnel any more. I will be dropping them onto my nose when I come to a bright to dark transition. The worst part about all of it was that it was just a trick of the light and there was no immanent danger.

I do thank you for all your concern and best wishes.

Good to ride with friends and fortunate to be close to a great ER. Glad you will be able to bounce back and have a sense of humor about it. I frequently use yellow tinted safety glasses in the morning overcast hours so I can see in the shadows better. Seems to work. I switch over to a brown tint when the sun comes out in force.

I gave up descending Mt Baldy Rd on my road bike. Just too much gravel and rocks to dodge on the way down. Descending GRR/GMR is just plain safer to me not to mention the fun factor.

One of the things that bother me is even though I'm held up here a home, between my left shoulder and banged up right hand there's really nothing I can do. I can move around but attempting anything like washing the car is out of the picture for now. Maybe another weeks and I'll be able to do that. At this point everything is just sore.

glad to hear that you'll be okay. those socal mountains will still be there in a few weeks. we'll hold down the fort until you get back.

sounds like you've got ample time to do some online new helmet research. if you come across any
tgtpu deals, let us know.

thanks for the status report on the bike. you probably already did but if you didn't, i'd check to make sure your rear der
didn't get slightly bent/tweeked and your shifting across all rings and the entire cassette is as you expect...before your next ride.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery hope you get back on the bike soon.
West
P.S. "The bike is fine it landed on me." LOL!

I had just bought a der alignment tool 1 week before the accident. I'm all set. I haven't had the strength yet, but you are right that the bike will need a thorough going-over before I start peddling again.

Thanks for all the kind words.

I'm so sorry to hear about this happening to you! Thanks for sharing what happened--I will need to be more careful in areas like that. I've had some close calls on sunny-then-shaded trails while mtb'ing. Hope you heal up quickly!

I have been looking but I would really like to be able to try one on before buying it. I have a very large head size 7-7/8 and sometimes a large doesn't cut it. And, with such a big head, the helmets that fit me can sometimes look way too big and goofy, so shopping in person is really my best option. I have an older helmet I can use in a pinch until I can get into a shop and try on some helmets and the virus scare passes. But, if something online does appear to fit the bill I'll probably pull the trigger.

I'm intrigued by that wave cell helmet Bontrager came out with. Good to hear you're mending!

A 4 week update:

This Tuesday it will have been 4 weeks since my accident. The pain in my ribs, shoulder and torso is only about 10% of what it was immediately after the accident, so that is huge. Although my ribs do remind me that something did happen to them each time I try and lift anything more than 10 lbs. The most serious thing right now is my hand. After 4 weeks I'm only able to close it about 1/2 way. With that said, I'm seeing an orthopedic surgeon on Monday. I don't think there's anything seriously wrong and that it really only needs more time to mend... but I think it's best to get it checked out.

Unfortunately I think I'm still about 3 weeks away from getting on my bike. I'm really looking forward to it.