Hey Ho and Dow I Go!

[Lewis Moon]

I've been radio silent for a bit because I volunteered as tribute to the "Tribe of the Cautionary Tale"... yet again.
Skip to the fun part: I decided to ride a very popular trail in an urban park in a large metro area... on a Sunday. Oops.
I was rorting down Vigilante in Papago Park, a downhill trail that has been groomed for one way traffic and is marked as such on Trailforks, when I met a rider coming in the opposite direction. He was coming out of a brushy section so I didn't see him until it was too late. We clipped handlebars and I went down like a 200 lb sack of concrete. No sliding, no tuck and roll, just a very abrupt stop at the earth/sky interface. The other rider was nice enough to offer help but I decided to just shake it off and ride home. This is the Way.
Fast forward a week and a half and I'm in the emergency room at 1am with a Doc telling me I have five broken ribs, with two displaced... and the reason it felt like I was breathing out of one lung was because one of those displaced ribs was now bleeding into my thoracic cavity. Two days in the hospital later, I'm having a chest tube pulled and they're carting off the liter of blood they drained.
The take home messages: 1) if you like to ride fast, don't pick a Sunday in a popular urban park. 2) if you're injured, don't try to be all hair shirt about it. See a doctor. 3) never rely on other riders to read the trail map or even the trail.
It hurts to laugh...

[mtechnica]

I’m glad you’re ok. My worst crash to date was on a MUP with a similar situation except I broke my collar bone and got a concussion. That’s kinda crazy it took so long to get bad enough to go to the hospital though.

[OtayBW]

This is the Way.
Huh? Wha? Is this written in the Veluminati or something?

Fast forward a week and a half and I'm in the emergency room at 1am with a Doc telling me I have five broken ribs, with two displaced... and the reason it felt like I was breathing out of one lung was because one of those displaced ribs was now bleeding into my thoracic cavity. Two days in the hospital later, I'm having a chest tube pulled and they're carting off the liter of blood they drained.
The take home messages: 1) if you like to ride fast, don't pick a Sunday in a popular urban park. 2) if you're injured, don't try to be all hair shirt about it. See a doctor. 3) never rely on other riders to read the trail map or even the trail.
It hurts to laugh...
Wait! Wut? A week and a half???
Guess I would suggest not to tough it out if you hit the deck hard. That is not the Way.

Glad you're alright (or getting there) and that you still have a sense of humor. I'd say a little lockdown sounds pretty good right about now?!?

[paredown]

Jeebus--broken ribs are worse than taking a beating!

Heal up fast!:)

[AJosiahK]

dang scary stuff, glad your healthy and sharing on the other end of that story for sure.

[NHAero]

Glad to hear you are pulling though Lewis. Amazed it took that long to figure you had broken ribs. I've been there and no fun!

[Ken Robb]

Based on personal experience with broken ribs/punctured lung I think you may feel better in a couple of months. :crap: At the risk of sounding preachy I remember some of my motorcycling partners asking me why I slowed down so much for some corners when "you know this road well". My answer was I know the road but not what might be IN/ON the road when we get to a part that has limited vision. Some of them liked my advice to not ride faster than you can see. Others thought I was a bit of a candy-ass. Some of them are still alive. Some aren't. Of course I got run over by a car when I was doing 40mph in a straight line so sometimes fate doesn't care how careful we are.

[skijoring]

Lewis, didn't you have a crash thread from last year ? I detect some sort of pattern. Be careful dude!

[wc1934]

Wow - the stupidity/carelessness of others - what an ordeal- mend quickly my friend.

[Tony T]

Wow, sorry to hear this. Glad you’re on the road to recovery.
Get well quick.

[Lewis Moon]

Lewis, didn't you have a crash thread from last year ? I detect some sort of pattern. Be careful dude!

I hit a chunk of road debris on the way to work at 4:30 AM a couple years back. Broke 3 bones and a subdural hematoma. Two injuries in 50,000 miles... They just happened to be close together.

[Louis]

Glad to hear that you're on the mend.

However, in your case I have to think that showing up at the ER these days with symptoms like "I'm having trouble breathing" leads them down all sorts of incorrect paths.

[AngryScientist]

gah, that sucks. glad you're healthy enough to laugh about it now. heal up!

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/98/cf/76/98cf7624015401cbfba1eb733640b428.jpg

[exapkib]

So sorry to hear about the collision. Here's to quick healing!

(I will admit: when I saw the title of this thread I thought it was another thread on the stock market.)

[Spinner]

Good healing to you Lewis. A good reminder to all that we are not invinceable.

[rallizes]

Wow - the stupidity/carelessness of others - what an ordeal- mend quickly my friend.

this is the thing sometimes

you can do everything perfectly and then run into some not so perfect guy

hope the healing goes easy!

[merckxman]

One of my own cardinal rules, " to not ride faster than you can see."
Based on personal experience with broken ribs/punctured lung I think you may feel better in a couple of months. :crap: At the risk of sounding preachy I remember some of my motorcycling partners asking me why I slowed down so much for some corners when "you know this road well". My answer was I know the road but not what might be IN/ON the road when we get to a part that has limited vision. Some of them liked my advice to not ride faster than you can see. Others thought I was a bit of a candy-ass. Some of them are still alive. Some aren't. Of course I got run over by a car when I was doing 40mph in a straight line so sometimes fate doesn't care how careful we are.

[tylercheung]

I hit a chunk of road debris on the way to work at 4:30 AM a couple years back. Broke 3 bones and a subdural hematoma. Two injuries in 50,000 miles... They just happened to be close together.

ouch, hopefully good luck from here on out

[tylercheung]

Huh? Wha? Is this written in the Veluminati or something?

Wait! Wut? A week and a half???
Guess I would suggest not to tough it out if you hit the deck hard. That is not the Way.

Glad you're alright (or getting there) and that you still have a sense of humor. I'd say a little lockdown sounds pretty good right about now?!?

I think it is a quote from The Mandalorian Star Wars TV show. It is a very trendy thing to say these days! The Mandalorian has a fancy steel armor suit though so he can say such things after falling off a mountain bike...

[zmudshark]

Based on personal experience with broken ribs/punctured lung I think you may feel better in a couple of months. :crap: At the risk of sounding preachy I remember some of my motorcycling partners asking me why I slowed down so much for some corners when "you know this road well". My answer was I know the road but not what might be IN/ON the road when we get to a part that has limited vision. Some of them liked my advice to not ride faster than you can see. Others thought I was a bit of a candy-ass. Some of them are still alive. Some aren't. Of course I got run over by a car when I was doing 40mph in a straight line so sometimes fate doesn't care how careful we are.
^^^^This.
Riding in the early morning in the desert has really highlighted why MTB helmets have visors. Swooping down a trail at warp zillion is pretty scary when your eyes have trouble adjusting between shadows and full sun. Sunglasses just make it worse.
So...can someone recommend an MTB helmet with a visor that fits like a POC Octal Raceday and has outstanding ventilation?
Fit is paramount...I can't wear Giro w/o getting a flat spot on my forehead.

^^^^Not this

I quit hiking in the early morning in The PHX Mtn Preserve because of this behavior.

[fmradio516]

Wow sorry to hear this. So did your lung collapsed? I have a similar story. wiped out on the bike, black eye, hurt shoulder but was able to ride home. Week and a half later, I felt a weird sensation in my upper chest area when i took a deep breath. Not alarming at all and didnt hurt whatsoever. Coworkers convinced me to go to the ER and yup, lung collapsed. Was supposed to go home to NY for a couple weeks christmas vacation. Spent all that time in the hospital; finally got out christmas eve. That was horrible.

The real kicker is that because it collapsed once, theres like a, i dont remember, 30%? 50%? chance it will happen again at random FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!

[weisan]

Oh man Lewis....you are like Peter Pan.

[mulp]

Wow, this sounds painful. Heal up quick!

[YesNdeed]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We can all likely relate in some way, I know I can, and I hope for a strong recovery for you.

[OtayBW]

I think it is a quote from The Mandalorian Star Wars TV show. It is a very trendy thing to say these days! The Mandalorian has a fancy steel armor suit though so he can say such things after falling off a mountain bike...
Well, if I knew he had a steel armor suit, I never would have questioned anything! ;)

[oldpotatoe]

Thought this was about the DOW jones..:eek:

YIKES...heal quickly!! And broken ribs/breathing issues is nothing to scoff at during this time when lung issues are so easy to contract..

But..how's the bike??:)

[Lewis Moon]

Thought this was about the DOW jones..:eek:

YIKES...heal quickly!! And broken ribs/breathing issues is nothing to scoff at during this time when lung issues are so easy to contract..

But..how's the bike??:)
Bike seems to be OK. It's getting a shock rebuild while I'm down.
The lung never "collapsed" it was just limited. I'm working a lot with a breathing thingy to increase my capacity. What really bugs me is the blood loss... Still fatigued from that.
I'll start back on the road when the doc gives me the high sign. I still want to race XC, but it will wait.