Saturday, March 16, 2013

Crash Karma Caught up to Us

Soooo... I was just saying in my last post how I hadn't had any crashes yet due to my new pedals. I guess I was tempting fate, and apparently fate has little to no willpower once tempted!


The thing is... I wasn't even moving! There was construction on the bike path so the detour took us out onto surface streets and had us crossing a very busy intersection with one of those special cut out right turn lanes. I hate those because you have to cross the turn lane before getting to the island where the cross walk button is, and it's tricky especially when there are two or more bikes trying to navigate it all.


So CatMan was ahead of me, and I looked and saw that there were no cars coming, so when I saw him moving forward I thought he was going to cross the turn lane and stop on the island, so I started to pedal... unfortunately he was just moving closer to the street to get a better look, and when I looked up I nearly ran into him.


I slammed on the brakes (even though I was hardly moving) and even though I only had one foot clipped in, it happened to be my left foot, and the bike happened to be leaning to the left and well... over I went.


I didn't do any real damage. Just got a bruise on the palm of my hand and knocked a few things out of alignment on my bike.


The crash gods were not so kind to CatMan though. We had beautiful record-breaking 76 degree weather today, so we decided to go for a nice long ride. The thing is, warm weather in Denver this time of year is generally caused by down-sloping winds coming off the mountains, and it was gusting up a storm. I was having real trouble keeping the bike steady.


Anyhow, we got about 20 miles from home and I'm still not exactly sure if it was the wind or what happened, but all of a sudden CatMan's front wheel slid off the edge of the path... this wouldn't have been a huge problem except that there was about a 3 inch drop off the edge of the concrete and his wheel caught against the edge and down he went.


I'll spare you all of the gory details but suffice it to say he has a cracked pelvis. It's a closed fracture, and it's only in one tiny area of the smallest part of the pelvis, so the doctors say he's supposed to try to walk on it as much as he can stand - he couldn't walk at all after the crash so I don't know how that's gonna go. At the moment any movement is excruciating.


It could have been much, MUCH worse, so I'm really grateful that he's OK. Thank god he didn't break a hip or hit his head or do something more serious.

Heavy sigh. I can't help feeling that it's my fault since I'm the one who tempted the crash gods.


Anyhow... I guess I'll have some time to dedicate to my garden this spring since long bike rides with CatMan will be off the table for a while. And really, I think I ended up with the better end of this deal.


I'm really, REALLY thankful that neither of us got more seriously hurt than we did... but geez! At the moment all I want to say is:

POOPY BUTTS!!!!!! THIS SUCKS!









18 comments :

  1. Ooh I"m glad you're alright! Be careful out there! :( i'm in knots laughing at the snail on the thistle though - LOL!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks. I guess we all need a little reminder now and then that we're not invincible!

      Delete
  2. UGH! You're right, it could be worse, but a cracked pelvis?! I can't think of any movements that I'd want to do with pain in that region. I'm sending some good thoughts your way!

    And I love the new background - I can't wait for spring :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for the thoughts. It sure sounds painful doesn't it? Anyhow, glad you like the background. I made it a a few years back for one of my background websites. I love, LOVE making seamless backgrounds. Perhaps I'll have some extra time to make more since I won't be riding much! :-)

      Delete
  3. It doesn't seem fair. Nice weather= miserable time (with lingering miserable times). I hope Catman feels better everyday. Does he have a kitty near by to act as a heating pad?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know... we're just finally coming into good biking weather and bam! Sigh.

      Anyhow, he's cuddled up with his kitty, Pooky - who is probably really gonna enjoy having his lap more often!

      Delete
  4. A cracked pelvis is such a miserable injury. Sorry to hear about your biking mishaps.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much. He said he's feeling a tiny bit better today... but he wasn't sure if it was that he was figuring out how he can and can't move or it's just the drugs! Either way, I'm glad his spirits are up, and that he's experiencing less pain.

      Delete
  5. Owey, ouch. I'm glad you are both "more OK than not."

    ReplyDelete
  6. oh no that sounds dreadful! Im terrified of coming off my bike and breaking something. I hope he heals quickly. Lots of good fruit and veg, & organic meat if he is not vego. Poor Catman. Its not your fault though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rue... I hope he heals quickly too. At the moment the biggest problem is that he hasn't been able to get comfortable enough to sleep. I suppose at some point he'll get tired enough that it won't matter, but it's horrible to think of him being in so much pain. Sigh.

      Delete
  7. Oh gosh, so glad you're okay! I'm so sorry about catman though. It's just the start of the season though, any chance he might be well enough to ride in the summer or the fall? Hope he feels better soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's hoping he'll be able to, but I think we're just gonna have to wait and see.

      Delete
  8. Hi Cat,
    I'm just catching up on some of your old(er) posts. I hope CatMan is on the mend. In the words of my physical therapist, "Ya' gotta get back on the horse!"

    Thanks for your well-wishes over at Demandra's blog. Karma wasn't on my side this past fall either. The day before I was to go in for a consult with a surgeon (for benign issues) I was struck by a car in a lighted crosswalk (crossing with the signal) while out for a run. Of course, the reason I was out there in the first place was to try to cheer and toughen myself up for what I knew was coming the next day. Nothing broken, though, just bruises which healed. Went ahead with surgery as planned. Going for PT helped me physically, but also helped me get my head together and motivate me after both.

    So, here's to getting back on the horse -
    Janeen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. OMG... I'm so glad you're OK - from both issues! Talk about a slap in the face from the universe!

      I've gotta say, more and more I'm finding interactions with automobiles to be a somewhat harrowing experience. A few years back I got hit on my bike by a woman who saw me, waved me on, then got distracted and hit me anyway!

      I don't know if people are just too distracted, or if there are just more people on the roads or what, but it seems like every day lately, the news has a story of a biker or pedestrian being hit.

      Anyhow, I'm glad you're feeling better, and hopefully CatMan will be able to get back in the saddle again. At the moment he can't get across the room without the aid of a walker though, so I have a feeling it might be a while!

      Take care and thanks for the visit!
      xoxoxo,
      Cat

      Delete
  9. Yikes, I thought this tale would end after your fall (I had three low-speed or not moving at all falls after first getting clipless pedals and shoes), which would have been quite enough! Sending healing thoughts for CatMan!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Melissa,

      It's a bit scary how quickly it all happened and how such a little thing could have such big consequences. I had a similar wreck at a different place on the path... wheel went off the edge and I tried to correct. It's all making me think that the thing to do if you go off the path is to either steer away from the path and then try to come back on perpendicular, or to just stop. Whether or not I would be able to remember that in the "heat of the moment" is another question.

      Anyhow, thanks for your healing thoughts.

      Delete

I welcome your thoughts so please leave me a comment and I promise I will respond.

On older posts I've had to enable comment moderation to prevent spammers, so don't worry if your comment doesn't show up right away - unless you're just commenting for the sake of embedding a link, in which case I really wish you wouldn't waste your time or mine because I'll just delete it.

Thanks, and have a fabulous day!