Guess it was my turn

[estilley]

Hot off a category victory at my first ever bike race out in Washougal yesterday I went to race the Battle at Barlow today.

Was on what felt like a pretty solid flat section when I hit something, felt the front wheel bottom out and took a trip over the bars.

An hour in the medical tent and a hospital visit later I saw just how broken my collarbone was. Two pieces basically stacked and rubbing against each other.

Surgery hopefully tomorrow and then the road to recovery begins. Anyone dealt with one of these before? I fractured my elbow once in a crash but it wasn't quite this immobilizing.

Keep racing out there!


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[shovelhd]

Twice, and a grade 3 separation in the other one. Whatever surgery you choose, I highly recommend something removable and that you have it taken out. My last break shattered the bone into six pieces. It was put back together with a removable screw. I have no lingering issues at all.

As for getting back on the bike, don't train until you're off the narcotics. Listen to your body and let pain be your guide. You should be able to do some trainer work fairly soon if your doctor clears you.

[joelmalm]

Ouch, that sucks. I'm sorry!
And way too early in the season to have that kind of injury...
I have no experience with what the recovery might look like or how long it will take. Do you think your CX season is over because of this?
But congrats on your victory! Which class are/were you racing in?
I will be doing the crusade this season!

[estilley]

Ouch, that sucks. I'm sorry!

And way too early in the season to have that kind of injury...

I have no experience with what the recovery might look like or how long it will take. Do you think your CX season is over because of this?

But congrats on your victory! Which class are/were you racing in?

I will be doing the crusade this season!



Well the good thing about it happening early is I might catch the tail end of the season. I'll definitely crank the stationary bike before work every day.

I was just racing in cat 5 as that's what everyone starts as now, but would be great to get in the 4, hopefully will be able to get enough more points at the end of the season.

This CX thing is so fun though! I ran XC and track in college so it kind of feels like the same thing but much more technical.




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[Tickdoc]

Sorry to hear this. Heal up and hope you get back out there soon.

[azrider]

That sucks man. Rest up and hope you have fast recovery.

[regularguy412]

Mine was in 3 pieces. No hardware inserted. Just a figure-8 brace pulled as tight as I could stand it. It'll be sore as H-E-double hockey sticks for a few days. I found that I could NOT sleep in the bed. Had to sleep kinda half sitting up in the recliner. I 'think' I climbed back on the trainer about 2 weeks later and had to kinda sit up straight -- couldn't come close to holding the bars. But I do think that the slow spinning on the trainer helped recovery.

I didn't ride outside for at least 8 weeks. Wanted a complete repair and didn't want to reinjure during the healing phase.

Hang in there.

Mike in AR:beer:

[spartanKid]

Welcome to the club!

I just broke mine in May. I didn't have surgery, mine was only about 0.5 cm displaced.

I was back on the trainer in 2 weeks and riding outside again in two months. I was racing again in 3 months. Not sure how old you are, but YMMV if you're significantly older or younger than I am (28).

Best of luck moving forward!

I strongly suggest getting something like this (http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-bedrest-gray/-/A-14328157?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=&adgroup=&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=s&device=c&location=9061285&gclid=CjwKEAjw652_BRDfkebVrdOGkDISJAD0Q2Ru3pavX6q8 KmAZnh76T1czzPhUt-rJcv3LO0UJCXpu3xoCu5nw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) that will help you sleep more upright in bed.

[joelmalm]

Well the good thing about it happening early is I might catch the tail end of the season. I'll definitely crank the stationary bike before work every day.

I was just racing in cat 5 as that's what everyone starts as now, but would be great to get in the 4, hopefully will be able to get enough more points at the end of the season.

This CX thing is so fun though! I ran XC and track in college so it kind of feels like the same thing but much more technical.




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Same here, cat 5, but I will (most likely) stay in cat 5 this season. Have not been able to do any training, Work...
But yes, It's so much fun! I did a handful of races last season and got completely hooked.
With that said, good luck with the recovery and hope that you're back in the saddle soon!

[dgauthier]

Broke mine on a bike path in June 2015 when an approaching cyclist on a trail bike spontaneously lost control and veered in front of me. I had a titanium immobilizing plate screwed in permanently.

For the first 6 months after healing it was kind of like wearing a watch: in normal day-to-day you forget about it, but if you stop and close your eyes, you can feel it's there. Now, even if I try to feel it by focusing on it and moving my shoulder around, I can't feel it. Pressure on the skin over the plate, such as from a luggage shoulder strap, is uncomfortable however, and that will never change.

Overall, I don't mind it at all. (It's the closest I'll get to wearing jewelry.)

[GScot]

1998. Hit from behind by a car. That was the worst injury though and occurred on my second bounce as I tumbled down the road side. I was all kind of beat up and pretty immobile for almost a week. No hospitalization and just the brace. Back to work inside a week and functional in about three.

[Jad]

Bummer--good luck healing. Keep moving and congrats on that first win.

[Idris Icabod]

Broke mine on a bike path in June 2015 when an approaching cyclist on a trail bike spontaneously lost control and veered in front of me. I had a titanium immobilizing plate screwed in permanently.

For the first 6 months after healing it was kind of like wearing a watch: in normal day-to-day you forget about it, but if you stop and close your eyes, you can feel it's there. Now, even if I try to feel it by focusing on it and moving my shoulder around, I can't feel it. Pressure on the skin over the plate, such as from a luggage shoulder strap, is uncomfortable however, and that will never change.

Overall, I don't mind it at all. (It's the closest I'll get to wearing jewelry.)

This is pretty much my experience (not the out of control cyclist bit). I did mine about 2 years ago and there is one of the 7 screws that goes in perpendicular to the other 6 that bumps out a bit. I lifted one of my children on my shoulders yesterday so that she could see over a bunch of adults and the shoulder is a bit sore today.

I was actually back on the bike in 3 weeks but for sure over did it on my first ride. Got 20 miles out on an out-and-back and realised how much discomfort I was in, but I've never been a stranger to stupidity.

From my limited research of meeting others who have broken it and their experience in recovery, I'm glad I had mine surgically repaired.

[estilley]

Thanks all,

I'm definitely considering the season a wash at this point. More fuel for the upcoming road season I suppose.

Looks like the surgery will likely be Wednesday, if of course it is approved by the insurance companies.

Currently well into the second hour of waiting at the doctor's office. Gotta love health care in the U S of A!


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[Matthew]

Thought my MTB race sucked yesterday but the only thing I broke was my chain!! Fixed it and about half a mile later it happened again. Done. $40 entry to do about 2 3/4 miles!! Oh, well. Good luck in your recovery. Matthew

[earlfoss]

I am now 5 weeks post-surgery for my broken collarbone.

My situation sucked because I had to wait 1 month after my crash to get the procedure performed. Road rash and scheduling issues were holding up the show. The displacement of the broken ends of the bone was significant, and if it had healed as-is I would have had shoulder issues.

In any case, I had a plate and 10 screws put in. The pain was tolerable post-surgery and I could tell that the geometry of things in there was more normal. I have regained most of my range of motion at this point and will be riding outside again around the middle of October.

Having the surgery put my clavicle on a more normal healing schedule of 6-8 weeks vs 4-6 months with no surgery. Having the plate installed was a no brainer!

https://s13.postimg.org/ocj5clodz/IMG_2246.jpg
https://s13.postimg.org/jrwyxo4on/IMG_2416.jpg

[redir]

Not too many can say they won their first ever bike race so congrats on that!

[estilley]

Thanks for all the kind words and stories of similar experience. Heading in for surgery in a few hours - could really use a glass of water and some food right about now!

Worst part might be staring at all the wonderful tubular setups i had just put together. Alas, there is always next year!

Now I'm wondering just how many screws will be in there...


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[earlfoss]

I'm sure they have told you already that you can opt to have the hardware removed at some point in the future. Nearly everyone I know has left it in. I intend to leave mine in unless there are major issues. The thought of another surgery just to have it removed is not appealing to me.

Like anything in this vein, there are pros and cons that you must weigh.

[cdn_bacon]

Hope you have a speedy recovery

[Corso]

I was lucky, in that I didn't need hardware. But for weeks, every time I tried to get out of bed in the am, no matter how I tread to roll out, it felt like i was breaking it all over again, like "groundhog day".

I followed doctors orders exactly, didn't try to rush anything, and I'm 100%.
Well, many other problems, but my collarbone is fine.

Welcome to the club, my advice is to come back slowly.

Forget to mention: I went down in a pack during the Pan Mass Challenge, charity ride, no race. Rainy day, got caught up with some squirrelly riders.

[Andy sti]

Hope your surgery has gone well!

Good on ya for giving cross a try. I was at Ninkrossi and Barlow too - I won both days and didn't crash so I guess my weekend went a bit better :). Did you go down on the downhill Sunday? Such great races here in OR, don't get discouraged.

[estilley]

Surgery went well. Was rambling on about metal fenders when I woke up from the anesthesia. 8 screws and a metal plate, can be removed if it becomes a nuisance.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160929/3536436a9780cbc8ed60af905c4b3614.jpg


Hope your surgery has gone well!



Good on ya for giving cross a try. I was at Ninkrossi and Barlow too - I won both days and didn't crash so I guess my weekend went a bit better :). Did you go down on the downhill Sunday? Such great races here in OR, don't get discouraged.

That downhill was nasty! But I actually went down in the perfectly flat and straight tree alley on the back side. Seemed like an odd place to crash but I must have hit something just right. Definitely not discouraged, the fire is burning hotter than ever now. And congratulations on your double victories Andy!


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[estilley]

Just got cleared to ride the trainer! Wahoo!!!!

Any tips for making it less miserable?


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[tiretrax]

Sorry to hear about the crash and fracture. I hope you heal quickly and ride faster!

[estilley]

6 weeks post surgery and totally healed. At least that's what the doctor says, no visible fracture anymore and 95% to full range of motion. Despite the great progress I'm still on the "wait until 12 weeks post surgery to ride outside again" plan. Seems kind of nuts to me.

Ive gotten past the emotional part of not riding and ending the season etc but I'm a little bummed to be beholden to Portland's public transportation system until the new year. It works, most of the time, but it's not free and it's definitely less fun than a bicycle!

Anyway, keeping the head up, and building the rain bike this weekend. Going to see how many miles I can log in 2017.

Edit: removed picture because it was massive


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[Andy sti]

Great news that you've healed so quickly! Continue to give it time and all should be well. Get that rain bike dialed - just looked at the forecast for the "wet side" and it looks like rain until June. Good luck!