It says a lot about the last two months when this morning's routine felt very ... well, routine. Get up -- slowly -- creep into the kitchen, down some pills, sit down, gather thoughts and strength.
And a few minutes later, when the drugs kick in (just ibuprofen today), the day begins. That was how things worked for a few weeks after the previous "really big crash." It may take longer this time, but I'm guessing that's how this one is going to go, too.
At the very least -- and this is me looking on the bright side -- I can still write. That didn't make me a ton of money, but it didn't hurt. So I'll be able to stay on schedule this week and keep the money coming in.
Oh, and here are some thoughts I collected while in the hospital. When you have large stretches of free time over four days, you think of things.
- I think the Felt might be cursed. Ever since I called it a POS, repeatedly, in late March/early April, it's been on the ground three times.
- Old people are pretty bitter ... about everything. I listened to one guy bitch and whine about his son-in-law for about an hour. I finally just closed the door.
- The health-care system may be overwhelmed. I know I'm not a high-priority case (young, healthy except for the broken back, etc.), but I had to wait a long time for assistance after hitting the call button.
- Hospital food gets a bad name (in some places). I ate some pretty good stuff. The coffee sucked, though.
- I have a pretty tolerant wife, though she might restrict me to bike rodeos from now on.
- I have no idea how I'm going to shave. I can't bend over, and I don't feel comfortable standing in the shower without the brace.
I think that's pretty much it. Coffee awaits.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
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10 comments:
First off, since I haven't been in touch with the civilized world since last Thursday, just know that I'm sending healing vibes your way.
As a bike wrench, I believe you are right about bike jinxing. Having the downtube issue threw the whole mojo off on the bike. UPGRADE TIME!!!
Again, hope you feel better soon and like Roxy mentioned in another post, take this time to just sit back (or stand, whichever's more comfortable) and enjoy the other parts of life. Then ease back into cycling, one mile at a time.
well, I'll need to do a lot of writing to be able to pull off an upgrade, even at the amazing prices I have at my disposal. And if I did do that, I'd like to keep the Felt as a TT bike.
Yeah, I have plans. I just don't have the means to execute them.
I'm now four weeks into my own cycling hiatus. You'll be happy to know that life continues and is actually tolerable. In fact it's pretty scary how your schedule can fill up once you've removed cycling from the agenda.
I've taken time off before for health reasons. Mostly for chronic knee/back issues. Oh, and there was that organ donation. My experience has been that even after a few months off, the fitness comes back pretty quickly. It's frustrating to lose that peak performance, but getting back to it is part of the fun.
Of course, being a cyclist is more than being fast on a bicycle. But, you know that.
I'm really glad that you can get up at all. Obviously you are more aware than most of us how close you came to not walking again.
As far as old people being bitter, I think it's because God is mean to them. When I was 3, I had to go to the hospital to get my tonsils removed. That's how they fixed tonsils back in the 60's. Another thing they did in the 60's was put 3 year olds in the same room with dying 80 year olds who smelled like cigarette smoke.
With your fitness level, you'll recover quickly. I guess now you need to complete your reverse-order injury triathlon and take up swimming.
why not go the practical bicycling route, get a long haul trucker or similar, and just relax on some great camping excursions. it'll last you for the rest of your life, and the investment won't break down like the comparatively plasticine wares of the racing world -- saving some money.
bicycling is so fun when you give up caring about trying pass or not be passed. i like averaging 17mph on a comfortable practical ride and not risking my health. i've been there, and am so glad i got out of the game.
if you want fancy pants, get a rivendell or a custom steel road frame and just enjoy the world from bicycle with no goal in mind.
i'm glad you're out of the hospital, they suck something awful to be stuck in.
OK, firstly stay positive at all costs - a positive attitude will conquer anything...believe me I have a personal battle going on at the moment and on my negative days have felt kicked and beaten, but on the positive days I just know that everything is going to turn out fine and this would have all been a small hiccup in life....
Frustrating and annoying, and no doubt leaves questions about "why do I do this" and "what should I do", new bike/no new bike, racing/no more racing...etc etc.... believe me as time moves on you will work it all out and have a clearer picture of what you should do.
Your support network (and it looks like you have a good one) will help you.........nothing beats a good support network, when life gives you hiccups.......
Get better soon.
I completely agree about the hospital food...and I also completely agree about the hospital coffee.
Heal up man!
mark -- I'm probably going to spend July and August doing a lot of writing to ease the burden on finances created by this whole thing. I'll have time -- might as well do it.
fred -- for the record, it was about a quarter-inch. Maybe less. Pretty close, really. And I had a single room, which was pretty awesome. Can't play xbox until late hours with an old person next door.
But you need to think again about the injury triathlon. If you hurt yourself swimming, you drown. No thanks.
erik -- noted. And I see the benefits. But that's not the kind of cyclist I want to be. I want to compete. Maybe later on, when I'm tired of racing. But for now, I'll choose speed and pushing the limits. I'll just dial it down a notch. Maybe.
buttsy -- I have a pretty clear picture of how I want this to work out, actually. I know what my goal is, even though it's months and months away. But until then, you're right -- I'm going to need support.
matt -- good, I'm not totally nuts.
I said "Oh No" when Ryan told me about your crash. Do what you need to heal well.
As one who came to biking later in life, good bike handling takes time. I'm reminded of the saying, "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." Pushing the edge but not going over is a balancing act. Several years ago when I had trained into the best biking shape of my life, I landed a jump poorly and broke my left clavical. It felt great to have new power, but I didn't have the skills to control it well.
Clavicals are easy, vertibrae are not to be messed with. Doug L. had several spinal column incidents before the one last Fall (on a mtb)took him off all bikes for good. He almost became a quad; now he uses pain management techniques to aid the medication.
May you have wisdom to evalute and respond well to this incident in order to get off your severe crash path.
good luck!
positive energy
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