Banged up…best practices?

[mass_biker]

JRA on a low traffic side street on a windy morning for a <1 hour constitutional…I reach back to tuck something into my jersey pocket that was working loose (taking one hand off the bar) when I hit a concealed (thanks, fall leaves!) dip in the road, and bang! down I go on my left side. Slow motion (self induced) wreck. Great. No head impact thank goodness. Some left crank and shifter scrape-age, and other than needing to bang the shifter back into place, the Ritchey is none the worse for wear.

On return to home base, the usual post-tumble evaluation and regimen ensued (got a few new holes and scrapes on the jersey, bust out the gauze pads with rubbing alcohol for the road rash etc.). So back to normal life (for a biker). Which means road rash management and regaining mobility around the joints of the ouchy spots.

Any best practices? I typically do Neosporin, and sometimes Tergaderm for the larger patches. And while I do intersperse running with cycling, I can’t fathom getting out there and pounding along (which means more on the indoor bike?) until less ouchy.

Eager to get folks’ feedback and guidance here.

MB