Finally happened to me...

[CaptStash]

It seems like for most cyclists, a serious crash is likely more "when" than "if."

So it's been four days and I am finally feeling up to writing about my bike crash. I got -up early on Sunday morning in Seal Beach and was having myself a lovely, if "spirited" pre-flight home ride when I hit a dip in the road (PCH at Warner). I think I was humming along at 22 mph and went down hard and fast, The fire dept. did a bang-up job scraping me off the pavement and transporting me to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. A half dozen good Samaritans helped before their arrival. So here's the laundry list: Good size laceration above my left eyebrow (plastic surgery fixed it that Monday), broken scapula, two broken ribs, broken clavicle (surgery was here in Seattle yesterday) and a very small pneumothorax (which is not a Dr. Seuss animal, but should be). I am doing way better since they stabilized my collarbone. The helmet is toast, but my brains are fine, which should tell you something.

As to the bike, at first glance, it appears that the only damage is to the tape, and some scuffing on the shifters. It stayed in So Cal, and I am not in a hurry to collect it anyway as I won't be using it fir a while. :-(

Be careful out there!

CaptStash....

[Bruce K]

Probably would have been worse (if one could imagine worse) if you had time to react/think about what was happening.

Glad you are already on the mend.

Heal up fast.

BK

[tuscanyswe]

Sorry to hear. Sounds as you are pretty well off all things considering. Beeing able to write about your accident a few days after is a pretty good thing as far as serious crashes goes..

I think US doctors are likely on top of things but i have a friend here who just the other week had to go back in and fix her collarbone after a crash that the doctors dident want to try and fixate while healing. So now that it was more or less healed it dident do so in the right place so they are going to take a piece of here hip bone and put in the collarbone and let her "heal" again..

Doctor even said that her first accident should have probably been fixated with bolts and then she wouldn't have needed this surgery now instead..

Then again i have at least 5 other friends who have broken their collarbone and its turned out just fine doing nothing.

Best of luck and a fast recovery!

[donevwil]

Heal well and fast Capt.

For such a painful event it sounds like all those who could help did and were on their game, that's great to hear.

What helmet were you wearing if you don't mind my asking?

[Matthew]

Wow, real bummer. Hope you heal quickly.

[radsmd]

Healing vibes going your way. Sucks to go down in a place away from home.

My wife and I went down on our tandem while riding the Amalfi coast in Italy. Luckily only injury was a fractured metacarpal in my left hand. It was also the next to last day of our trip. Thank heavens my wife and bike were not hurt. Could certainly have been worse.

[MattTuck]

Sorry to hear that!

Best luck with healing up. I was just out in your neighborhood when I was in Seattle a couple weeks ago. We walked the Discovery park loop... thought of you.

Guess you'll be riding vicariously for a while. I'll try throw up a ride report with pictures if I do any noteworthy rides.

[Clean39T]

Glad you are ok and were in any area where first-responders could get there quickly..

By "hit a dip", do you mean broken pavement? Was it an unsafe spot in a bike lane that needs to be marked? I ask because if you hit it and crashed, it's likely someone else will sooner or later too...and maybe CalTrans (or whoever is in charge), should send someone out to mark a warning stripe or something.

[William]

Ouch, that sucks!

That said, glad to hear that it wan't worse and you are on your way to recovery. Kudos also to the good sam's that helped you out.


Speedy recover Cap!






William

[572cv]

Many deeply sympathetic wishes for a speedy and solid recuperation, having been at least part of the way there within the past year. do your PT! push the envelope, but listen to your body's reaction. Being back on the bike is gratifying and sobering at the same time. I am very cautious still. I just decided to buy new glasses so I can see the road better. :)

Mostly, the rest of the 'line out here is glad you're gonna be ok. Hang in there!

[CaptStash]

Glad you are ok and were in any area where first-responders could get there quickly..

By "hit a dip", do you mean broken pavement? Was it an unsafe spot in a bike lane that needs to be marked? I ask because if you hit it and crashed, it's likely someone else will sooner or later too...and maybe CalTrans (or whoever is in charge), should send someone out to mark a warning stripe or something.

It probably should be fixed, but I'm unlikely to be back down there for a few months to check it out.

CaptStash....

[Jad]

Ouch--here's to healing and glad to hear your head seems alright.

Take your time and take it easy. Good luck!

[OtayBW]

YEEOOOW!!! Heal up El Capitan!

[CaptStash]

Sorry to hear. Sounds as you are pretty well off all things considering. Beeing able to write about your accident a few days after is a pretty good thing as far as serious crashes goes..

I think US doctors are likely on top of things but i have a friend here who just the other week had to go back in and fix her collarbone after a crash that the doctors dident want to try and fixate while healing. So now that it was more or less healed it dident do so in the right place so they are going to take a piece of here hip bone and put in the collarbone and let her "heal" again..

Doctor even said that her first accident should have probably been fixated with bolts and then she wouldn't have needed this surgery now instead..

Then again i have at least 5 other friends who have broken their collarbone and its turned out just fine doing nothing.

Best of luck and a fast recovery!


What I have learned is that they often don't need to repair collarbones as they tend to set themselves and heal stronger than original. In my case, the broken scapula allowed my whole shoulder to "float" which meant lots of pain, deformity and longer healing, so surgery was called for and resulted in nearly instant relief.

CaptStash....

[rePhil]

Crashing sucks. Heal quick.

[ultraman6970]

Get well soon... :)

[firemanj92]

Bummer, hope you recover quickly

[gasman]

Captain- I'm glad to hear it wasn't worse. Heal up well.

Best of luck.

[dbnm]

Get well soon. Glad you had a helmet on.

[sokyroadie]

Get well ASAP. Glad help was close by.

Jeff

[Epicus07]

It takes a great deal of force to break a scapula. I'm glad you're ok!

[Ken Robb]

I had all that and MORE. Doc foxed my clavicle on Day One but when he got into repairing my scapula Day Two he decided that plates and screws should be used to tie the whole shoulder area together so clavicle and scapula would be held in place while they healed. I was lucky that he was able to use metal bits that did NOT have to be removed 6 months later so I avoided a third surgery down the road.

Lots of PT got me almost good as new. My surgeons and PT and OT providers congratulated each other on the top-notch work they all had done. :beer:

[ptourkin]

Tough to read these but I commend your attitude and wish you the best and quickest recovery.

[Mzilliox]

glad you have more sense than ego and wear a helmet or this would have been a different post. heal fast brother and fight the good fight again one day.

[NickR]

What a bummer, especially since it was you're last day. To a speedy recovery!!

[Seramount]

heal quickly, brah...

[soulspinner]

Heal and get back on...

[estilley]

Ouch. Heal well.

I broke my clavicle into two pieces last fall.

Still walking around with a plate and 8 screws. Feels pretty good. Will leave it in there forever if I can.

Hang in there!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bheight1]

Broke my clavicle 4/8, no surgery, was able to ride trainer a couple to few weeks later, but frankly enjoyed the "break" for awhile without riding. 8 weeks post, and I'm starting to get outdoors again. You have more injuries but enjoy the break!

[weisan]

Capt pal, hope you fly past this slight turbulence soon.

[RonW87]

I hit the deck myself yesterday.
Chain unshipped as I sprinted to catch a green light. Felt like slomo as my helmet hit pavement and my head hit the inside of the helmet. Helmet did its job. Got away with just bruised ribs and road rash.

Heal fast cap'n.

[PacNW2Ford]

That sucks, heal fast!

[shovelhd]

Hang in there Stash and Ron.

[Tickdoc]

Yeesh. Sorry to hear and heal up quick! Already had my crash for the year ( fingers crossed)

Sending healing vibes your way!

[bitpuddle]

Ouch. That sounds bad. Best wishes for a quick recovery.

[tuscanyswe]

What I have learned is that they often don't need to repair collarbones as they tend to set themselves and heal stronger than original. In my case, the broken scapula allowed my whole shoulder to "float" which meant lots of pain, deformity and longer healing, so surgery was called for and resulted in nearly instant relief.

CaptStash....

Thats great for u!

Yeah its just that when the collarbone dont heal well it looks like a lot of work to fix ;)

[mcteague]

Thats great for u!

Yeah its just that when the collarbone dont heal well it looks like a lot of work to fix ;)

So true.

Tim

[paredown]

Jeebus, I hate seeing xrays when they have had to use screws to hold broken pieces together!

Heal fast, Cap'n and Ron. The rest of you--be safe out there.

[sw3759]

glad your on the mend Captain..most all of us unfortunately have been there and it sucks and everyone always hears "it could have been worse" but it always seems pretty darn crappy when you have all that time to think about it.
sadly,i know full well that clavicles don't always require surgery.broken 3 so far and no surgery's yet but I'm kind of lumpy.last time the x ray tech said "what a mess" when looking at my x ray of my re-broken right c-bone.

[duke]

You always were an over achiever.....I was never able to do that much damage in one crash. Let me know if I can do anything to help you out.
E.

[estilley]

Might as well add mine to the mix!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170604/0a795188f4cf058cdf9d6e68e75eedd5.jpg


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CaptStash]

Now one week since the crash, and three days post surgery. Feeling much better. Ribs are less annoying and shoulder has mostly stopped hurting. The broken scapula still sucks though. No opioids today so that is a huge step.


Thanks for all the kind words.

CaptStash....

[shovelhd]

One thing that helped with both the pain and healing of my shattered collarbone (six pieces, removeable rod) was a cool tank. It's a cooler that you fill with icewater which feeds a fabric bladder that wraps around the shoulder. I was off the opioids in three days.

[mbrtool]

Stash and Ron..speedy recovery.

Ray

[tuxbailey]

Yikes. That felt painful just reading it. Hoping for a speedy recovery.

[rwsaunders]

Good karma sent your way.

[PQJ]

Ouch. Glad to hear you're on the mend. There are only two kinds of cyclists - those who have crashed, and those who will. You're now in not so elite company!

[RonW87]

Stash and Ron..speedy recovery.

Ray

Thanks. I'm obviously not as bad as Stash. But when these things happen and you can't get on the bike for a while, it reminds me of:

http://cinetropolis.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Apocalypse-now-4.jpg

"Every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker, and every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger. Each time I looked around the walls moved in a little tighter."

[benb]

Crashed my MTB 2X on Saturday. Nothing requiring going to the doctor but I'm changing about 3 bandages. Right calf (chainring, good thing it wasn't the disc rotor or I'd be writing a thread about having lost my right leg! ;) ), left shoulder, my back, and my right forearm.

I've never really had a "JRA" crash on the road like the OP, especially when riding straight. Every crash I've had I can say exactly why I crashed, it is clear what happened.

I would really be wanting to go back to the scene and try to figure out why I crashed.. you shouldn't just have a serious crash JRA on straight road, even if the pavement quality is absolutely horrendous. Gotta be something, even if the cause is "momentary distraction/loss of concentration."

I didn't reride the sections of trail that I crashed on this time.. sometimes I do, though usually I bail before I crash and don't fall, then I consider whether I'm going to tackle the problem differently and re-ride. But I did stop and go over in my head exactly what happened and make sure I understood what caused the crash. (Reaching technically on an uphill through a rock garden, had to get up about a 3-foot rise, spun rear tire leading to stall out, etc.. need to get new rear tire, ended up falling over to the left as when I put my left foot out it landed on rocks and I couldn't catch myself...)

Hope you're healing well.

[KidWok]

Saul,

So sorry to hear about this. Happy to stop by for a visit and catch up. Heal up soon.

Tai

[thwart]

Hope you heal fast and completely.

Glad to hear the squash (brain) wasn't injured... the other parts are much easier to fix.