Biker395 

Well ... went for a short lunch ride last Thursday with a friend and got more than I bargained for.

We had a nice ride along the coast and stopped at a cool cafe for a bite while it drizzled a bit outside. Then we headed back to where she parked her car.

i crashed riding home. I have almost no memory of the crash, but witnesses though I hit a big rock. I have no idea how I would have missed it.

Apparently, I broke my fall with my face. My helmet has a big depression and crack in the front. It looks like it slid down, and whacked my nose, as that was broken. I might also have broken a maxillary sinus and for sure, my left wrist. Oh ... I may also have a slight fracture of my occipital condyles. Scary.

Im not sure if I had a loss of consciousness, but definitely have lost my memory of events immediately before and after the crash. A Good Samaritan picked me up and I asked to go home(!). When my questions became repetitive, he brought me to the ER instead. Good move! I vaguely remember the ride to the hospital and being in the waiting room, but just barely.

Anyway, back at home and going through a series of doc appointments to get checked out. So far, so good. I was lucky!

Who knows ... maybe I’ll finally get that nose job I’ve always needed out of this. lol



The suspected rock.



The Good Samaritan.

horatio 

Glad you’re ok. Could have been so much worse.

Now, how’s the bike.

Clipped_in

Wow, glad it wasn't any worse. Maximum kudos to the good samaritan!

big john

We've had enough of this! No more please. (Heal fast, Vic)

jppe

Dang Vic!! I really hate to hear that. At least you still have your sense of humor! I wonder if you went over the bars???

Unfortunately I know all too well about hitting rocks......at least you won't have to get a "nose replacement" like I did my hip! Heal up fast and hopefully there wont be any lingering effects. Hopefully that broken wrist will heal sooner and later and not bother you riding in the future as well. I guess this throws a kink into your commuting as well? How are we going to continue to get those gorgeous sunrise and sunset photos**********?

Biker395 

You know what they say ... either the bike gets the damage or you do. As far as I can tell, the only damage to the bike is scraped-up brifters.

berner

Sorry to hear the bad news. These bad things can happen in an instant so though I try to maintain focus and my eyes on the road, I wonder just how careful and focused we can be. I catch my attention straying now and then. Not often but then a crash does not take long.

bpcyclist

I am so sorry this happened to you, @Biker395. Super scary and maybe good for your future cycling that you do not recall much. I hope you get healed up quickly!!

JanMM

Good to hear that your bike seems OK! Sorry about the wrist and nose. You could get one of those recombinant bikes to ride until you can bear weight on the wrist/arm.

rumrunn6

I was cringing as I was reading ... no pics of the face & helmet? good on you for shouting out the good samaritan, was it the guy or the gal? or, I guess the guy is you? nose doesn't look too bad! & you've still got your smile & teeth! so she grabbed you & the rock?

get well soon!

dicktill

Best of luck for a quick recovery!

Will miss your great stories until then.

Biker395 

The Good Samaritan was the guy in the left ... he and his wife just moved from (no surprise) Minnesota. He’s one cool dude and I wanna stay in contact with him.

Here’s a photo of the helmet:




And you’ll love this ... what is left of my sunglasses:




I’d include a pix of my face, but oy .., 🙄

rumrunn6

oh dear Ok got it

bruce19

When I crashed and broke my neck my nose got bashed too. It had to be surgically repaired and straightened. The interesting thing is that I had broken it 50 yrs. before returning a kick off in college. It had never been addressed and I always had some minor issue with breathing. Nothing major though. But, after getting it fixed I was able to breathe perfectly once again. Strange how life evolves.

Mad Honk 

Welcome to the "Over the Bars Club"! I did that riding home about 35 years ago, three days in the hospital, and permanent brain damage: it left me with a sense of humor! My physician came in looked at me cocained my nose and set it. Racoon eyes and an aluminium guard for two weeks. Glad you made it through alright. Smiles, MH

OldsCOOL

Oh no! That’s scary stuff having the lapses of memory. Thank God you are going to be ok. You met some really good people. Take care and be patient with recovery. I wish you well.

rumrunn6

wutz that DIY thing sticking out of the helmet? light mount? any 2nd thoughts about modifying a helmet after your crash? curious, cuz I tend to attach stuff to my helmet too

Biker395 

It’s what’s left of my “Third Eye” rear view mirror.

Carbonated

Sorry to hear about your accident. I always looked forward to your pictures.
I hope the doctor reports continue to be favorable.
Keep us up to date on your progress!

UKFan4Sure

Glad you are OK. My Son-in-Law wasn't so lucky. He was riding last spring when a lady opened her door and her dog suddenly ran out of the car into his path. He had ZERO time to react and went over the bars in his effort to stop. Of course, he was clipped in. The lady loaded her dog and skedaddled as quickly as she could, leaving a dazed and hurt guy on the side of the road in agony. He managed to call my daughter and sent her GPS coordinates before becoming nearly incoherent.

Here are the before and 3 day after photos of the "damage"..... Took him 6 months to recover.

Biker395 

Well, here is the latest: I already knew my left arm was broken, and there were some suspicion that my right arm might be broken too. Just imagine – having both arms broken. There is not a lot that you can do for yourself with two arms in casts.

Lucky for me, my right arm wasn’t broken. Here is the cast on my left arm.




Today, I go to see the maxillofacial surgeon, to see how much damage there was in my sinus area.

Good times! One upside is that I’m learning how to use the speech to text features of my phone and it windows 10.

BTW ... I’m still feeling pretty damn lucky. A cyclist friend of mine had a similar fall while descending GMR on NYE. He got a pretty serious TBI from that and is still in the hospital in rehab. 🙁

leob1

Looks like you tried to protect you helmet with your face!
Kissing concrete is never fun, I've had the experience and really hope to not repeat it.
Spend your convalescence picking out your new drive train upgrade. You don't want to mix old parts with new, so replace the works.
Good luck and heal up for the spring.

jppe

Sorry about the broken arm...here’s hoping for a good report on the sinus and facial injuries. Hopefully you’re not having any post concussion issues.

big john

Back when I was driving tow trucks a coworker fell while clowning around and ended up with casts on both arms from wrists to above the elbows. I was keeping him company at his place and he would take a cigarette out of the pack, set it on the edge of the counter and grab it with his mouth (he couldn't get his hands near his face) then light a burner on the stove, bend down and light the cig. Fortunately his girlfriend and his mother would help him with everything else.

Biker395 

So you have a pretty good idea of what I'm talking about!

My SO has already informed me that if it comes down to that, she's hiring somebody!

One nice side benefit is that I am learning how to use talk to text with windows 10. I just might use that to do my job more efficiently in the future.