Started riding regularly a couple of years ago, at the age of 40, and last year went for a long birthday weekend in a rural area. Riding was a big thing for me, the first exercise i could regularly manage since childhood, because of my advanced ankylosing spondilytis mainly. So I celebrated with a big solo 3-day rural ride.
Just a couple of KMs out of my accommodation at the end of the beautiful first day, I ended up crashing on a rural gravel trail. Breaking my nose and fully smashing in my nasal cartlidge, upper lip deeply cut and dangling, full of serious bruises and cuts throughout my body. Clothes ripped. Lots of blood.
I had to slowly patch myself up with the first aid kit I had (thankfully! never leave for a ride without it), then I had to slowly fix my bike (chain has fallen, gear got a bit bent, wheels had to be reseated and straightened etc), then ride the remaining distance to my accommodation, where I could get a ride to the local ER, where I spent the next couple of days instead of cycling, then moving to another hospital for the nose surgery.
I had to wait for over 12 hours at the ER overnight before I was seen, as it was completely overrun, and I was triaged as lower priority compared to other less fortunate souls. It was miserable sitting there for all these hours, in pain and with open wounds, slight delirious from tiredness, pain, and pain meds I was given while I wait. My whole body was a mangle of blood, bike oil, and dirt.
It was a serious blow, physically and mentally, but I was determined not to let it set me back, as it has done so much good for me on both fronts over the year building up to it. So I got back on the bike 2 weeks after the crash, just over a week after my surgery.
I checked Strava today, and since then I rode over 7,000 km, mostly trails and gravel of various sorts. No crashes since then thankfully!!
I’m determined to keep going until I physically can’t. It made the single biggest positive impact on my life, so it’s going to take more than this to stop me from cycling I reckon.
Jedi-in-EVE on
Congratulations! What a hell of an ordeal to go through, so I am very sorry that that happened to you. But wow, what a way to bounce back from adversity!
Keep on riding, good sir!
thetolerator98 on
I’m glad you’re doing better. What caused the crash? Loose gravel?
3 Comments
Started riding regularly a couple of years ago, at the age of 40, and last year went for a long birthday weekend in a rural area. Riding was a big thing for me, the first exercise i could regularly manage since childhood, because of my advanced ankylosing spondilytis mainly. So I celebrated with a big solo 3-day rural ride.
Just a couple of KMs out of my accommodation at the end of the beautiful first day, I ended up crashing on a rural gravel trail. Breaking my nose and fully smashing in my nasal cartlidge, upper lip deeply cut and dangling, full of serious bruises and cuts throughout my body. Clothes ripped. Lots of blood.
I had to slowly patch myself up with the first aid kit I had (thankfully! never leave for a ride without it), then I had to slowly fix my bike (chain has fallen, gear got a bit bent, wheels had to be reseated and straightened etc), then ride the remaining distance to my accommodation, where I could get a ride to the local ER, where I spent the next couple of days instead of cycling, then moving to another hospital for the nose surgery.
I had to wait for over 12 hours at the ER overnight before I was seen, as it was completely overrun, and I was triaged as lower priority compared to other less fortunate souls. It was miserable sitting there for all these hours, in pain and with open wounds, slight delirious from tiredness, pain, and pain meds I was given while I wait. My whole body was a mangle of blood, bike oil, and dirt.
It was a serious blow, physically and mentally, but I was determined not to let it set me back, as it has done so much good for me on both fronts over the year building up to it. So I got back on the bike 2 weeks after the crash, just over a week after my surgery.
I checked Strava today, and since then I rode over 7,000 km, mostly trails and gravel of various sorts. No crashes since then thankfully!!
I’m determined to keep going until I physically can’t. It made the single biggest positive impact on my life, so it’s going to take more than this to stop me from cycling I reckon.
Congratulations! What a hell of an ordeal to go through, so I am very sorry that that happened to you. But wow, what a way to bounce back from adversity!
Keep on riding, good sir!
I’m glad you’re doing better. What caused the crash? Loose gravel?