rifraf

G'day Paul,
wonderful that your second opinion has managed to quickly determine the issue and you now have a plan to get it sorted.

The time will fly and the end result will hopefully prove to be much less /no pain and discomfort and a return to mobility and riding.

Nice to hear a story with what appears to be an expected happy outcome.

Best of luck with the operation and I look forward to reading an update when you've been under the knife and enjoying all the down time and reading opportunities.

Tourist in MSN

I hope you have much better luck this time. My first shoulder surgery was by the super expert. After two years I managed to get my doctor to approve a second opinion, they refused to say that the first surgeon screwed up, but the second surgeon fixed some of the mistakes of the first, some could not be fixed. But at least I did not need artificial joint, still using the natural hardware. All told, two surgeries and intermittent physical therapy for three years. A lot of pain, some of the pain I will have forever, and lost about five months of activity. But after hearing your story, I feel fortunate. I hope it all works out this time around for you. And I hope you have great insurance.

DropBarFan

I hope the surgeons aren't too rough but seriously, best wishes. With all the diagnostic tools it's surprising how different doctors' opinions can vary.

Not a book but Monty Python's "The Cycling Tour" is fun esp with the theme of how the random folks cycle-tourist Michael Palin meets are utterly unimpressed by his tour.

ColonelSanders

Why did you guys need shoulder surgery?


I am curious to know if one can take reasonable precautions to avoid needing such surgery, or if it is pretty much just luck of the draw genetically.

Paul Barnard

Mine was a defensive tactics injury from early in my Coast Guard career.

Tourist in MSN

I was riding my bike with a few friends. It was a very very windy day, I was riding down a bike path at high speed with a side/tailwind. And suddenly there is a tree down in front of me that I could not stop for. Hit it at probably about 18 mph. The initial MRI showed the doctor and physical therapist that I had a very bad shoulder dislocation. I said no, did not dislocate because when I got up off the ground, the first thing I did was move all of my major joints to test for bone fractures, and everything moved, although left arm was not very responsive. They showed me on the MRI a huge dent in the shoulder socket where the ball had been pulled out of the socket and then popped back in under enough force to leave a dent. Some of the nerves were damaged too, that was why my arm was not very responsive.

In other words, I ran into something at high speed and went flying over the bike. I suspect that my tight grip on the brakes meant that when I went flying that my left arm got yanked out of the joint to cause the nerve damage and dislocation.

I think I have said enough to answer your question, I would rather not write up a long dissertation on the next three years which I am sure nobody wants to read.

I was on my Thorn Sherpa, a pretty solid touring bike. The stem was badly twisted on the steerer tube, but I could find no other damage to the bike. Front wheel was still true, no dents in the top tube from a handlebar impact or anything like that, fork was not bent, etc. Brake levers were twisted on the handlebars, but that was easy to fix. I think the smaller branches on the side of the tree provided some cushioning so that it was not a hard impact on the bike. I used that bike later for my Glacier/Waterton Loop tour, GAP and S&O tour, and my Winter Florida Big Cyprus/Everglades and Keys tour. No shimmy, all of the frame is still in alignment, etc. The bike survived better than I would have hoped.

The mirror on the helmet was busted in two places.

I was quite lucky that the tree was on the ground when I hit it. If I had been there two seconds earlier, I might have run into the tree with my head or chest instead of running my bike into the tree. And in that scenario I would not have done any braking first. So, in that regard I am quite lucky. A friend of mine was in front of me, he passed that point before the tree landed, so he was quite lucky too. And he helped arrange for me and my bike to get home, so I was lucky that he was there, this was probably 20 miles away from my home. I then went to see a doctor within minutes of getting home. I have good health insurance. Over the next three years I had lots of co-pays and deductibles, but overall the health insurance was very good to have.

So, the lesson is when riding your bike you should avoid running into trees at high speed. And if you do, make sure you have good insurance.

Jim from Boston

Recommend a Book on Touring
Dittoes to all the well wishes for your recovery. I was off work for three months after a cycling accident, and sought after ways to fill my time, including becoming devoted to such TV shows as “The Andy Griffith Show,” and “Perry Mason,” old and new series; setting up an Excel spreadsheet to catalogue all the senders and messages in my get-well cards; and posting (with physical effort) to BikeForums.

+10 for https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/]. There’s never enough time to thoroughly read such interesting trip reports, especially for me having done a memorable cross country ride. Furthermore, it may be beneficial with your shoulder issue, that you don’t need to turn pages.

Jim from Boston

Years ago I read the first volume, of his trip across the US. I specifically recall he was certainly a man of his times. He carried a revolver, and once referred to an Asian man as John Chinaman. :

One memorable description was riding on a trestle railroad bridge, and as a train approached he had to hang on underneath dangling his penny-farthing bicycle.

DeadGrandpa

I recommend Journey To Ixtlan by Carlos Castaneda. Oops, while it's not about bicycling, you might find it helpful for developing a mindset crucial for taking journeys. Or you might not.

ColonelSanders

Thanks for that info.


Whilst my shoulders are both fine, I dread the prospect of ever needing a shoulder operation to sort them out.

ColonelSanders

Thanks for that info.


It is easy to forget I guess, how life can just throw these crazy things up at people.


One of my initial concerns was that you were instead going to tell me that just by logging in long hours on a bike, it was enough to wear away at your shoulder.


Also it showed how well built your Sherpa was to survive relatively unscathed from such a collision.

52telecaster

Thank You for the excellent link!

5kdad

One of the best, informative and entertaining books I've read in awhile, by Anna McNuff: "50 Shades of the USA: One woman's 11,000 mile cycling adventure through every state of America".

jargo432

It has already been suggested but I'll second Travels with Willie by Willie Weir.

WaveyGravey

I highly recommend "Life is a Wheel" by Bruce Weber. Written by the NY Times obit writer about his cross country bicycle ride.

skookum

I just finished The Cyclist Who Went Out in the Cold, by Tim Moore, an account of his 9000 km ride along the Iron Curtain Trail from Kirkenes Norway to Tsarevo Bulgaria on the Black Sea. Moore rode the whole way on a modifed East German built Mifa 900 shopping bike. It had 20 inch wheels and a two speed hub. It just goes to show, you can tour on any bike. You just have to want to do it.

brianmcg123

Pedaling the Ends of the Earth.

https://www.amazon.com/Pedaling-Eart.../dp/0671492896

I found a copy of this at my local library. Its about four friends going on a round the world tour in 1981. After I read it I looked up the author and he had accomplished a lot since then. I even emailed him to let him know how much I enjoyed his book and he replied "Wow, that feels like a million years ago...".

mantelclock

No Wrong Turns: Cycling the World, Part One: Paris to Sydney, by Chris Pountney
Excellent writing, long, but doesn't get boring as his adventures keep piling up.