We meet up with our riding buddies and the ride started. I got into a group with some friends from the Tri club and we were moving right along for the first 20 miles or so. It was at this point that I had dropped back some as I was chatting it up with my friend Karen. Her training plan has her training by HR zones and she was in the perfect zone and I told her I was going to catch up to the rest of the group. They had maybe a 1/2 mile lead on me.
I dropped into Aero and was holding between 24-25 mph and caught up to the guys. I had a nice grove going and felt like hammering for a little longer so I passed everyone and probably had a couple hundred yards buffer from the pack when I was approaching a left hand turn on the road. This turn is maybe 20- 25 degrees and I have actually practiced here in the past making turns in aero at this exact place.
Today I hit the turn a little less wide than I should have while still in aero at about 23mph and as I leaned a little to correct my rear tire caught some loose gravel and down I went. Looked like I was sliding into second base with a carbon TT on top of me.
Luckily the guys behind me were able to react quickly and no one else went down (or rode over me). This was around mile 22 and I finished off the 55miles and then got in a 4 mile run after the ride. This means I am okay but am going to have some soreness tomorrow and I got some fantastic road rash. My bike is fine as well. Her left brake lever lost some paint and the left side of the front skewer was acting funky. I wanted to get an extra 20miles in but decided to get the bike to the LBS since it was making some funky sounds in that front skewer and hub.
Here are some pics of the road rash. IMO, they aren't too bad but if you have a weak stomach you may want to skip these:
And the Grand Finale - My Hip:
Some of the pictures do not do the wounds justice because of my body hair.
The #1 Lesson Learned today was to shave my legs and arms even in the winter. The hair in the road rash is painful.
The #2 Lesson Learned today was that a shower and then Hydrogen Peroxide hurt worse then the crash.
The #3 Lesson Learned today was that if you must go down placing your body between the concrete and your bike is a very wise decision. My wounds will heal in a week or so, the pain of losing your favorite carbon frame would last forever!!!
I have had some smaller crashes in the past but this is the first time any significant wounds have occurred. I had on my helmet and my head hit the road pretty hard. The way I look at it this could have been a lot worse and if you are going to be putting 5k-6k miles on the road per year the chances are pretty good you will go down every now and again. Shit happens, wipe it off and get back in the saddle!
Thanks for Reading,
Jeff
Ouch!!!!!
ReplyDeleteaouch so sorry Jeff...this all looks painful..right elbow..that bruise is pretty nasty...
ReplyDeleteHoly crap Jeff, glad you're okay!
ReplyDeleteEvery cyclist crashes and now you'll have some new badges of honor! Glad you're okay and have a good attitude about the whole thing!
ReplyDeleteYikes, this is my worst fear. Glad you are ok.
ReplyDeleteHey. If you can walk away from a crash, then it was a good crash. Nice pics.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're okay!
ReplyDeleteOuch, ouch and ouch. Glad you are OK! Sounds like it's time for a new helmet, though.
ReplyDeleteTake care - hope you heal quickly.
New helmet time!
ReplyDeletethe crash helmet was already tossed on the work bench. I want to keep it because of the cool dent in the side.
ReplyDeleteI got a couple more so all is good. BUT it might be an opportunity to buy another ...hmmmm?
Wow, I am so sorry. ::shudders at pictures::
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you weren't more seriously injured.
Everything looks painful dude. Its good that you didn't break anything though and that the bike is ok.
ReplyDeleteJust getting back to blogging. It will be good to hear from you. Hang in there.
Oh man! Glad you are alright except for some scrapes.
ReplyDeleteBetween illness and the crash you are experiencing it all in this round of training.
I have to say I chuckled at the last picture. Not about the road rash, but the fact that you still have a bike short tan line. Here in the midwest, that is a seasonal thing.
Hope you are too sore/stiff in the morning.
Dang Jeff! You are hard core! Glad you are Ok. Tomorrow will be worse, so rest up.
ReplyDeleteGlad the wounds aren't any worse. That hip looks rough. Hope you're not too tight/sore in the AM.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are okay. Nice way to still finish everything up. That is what I call hard core, my friend.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are ok. Scary stuff! The hip road rash is goning to be a pain for a little while.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the club, bro! The scars will disappear, but the story will last a lifetime! Glad there was no lasting damage to your body... or bike!
ReplyDeleteI can see some serious bruising popping up around that hip already. Hope the next couple of days don't get too much worse.
ReplyDeleteJust glad you're ok! You will certainly feel this for a few days. Well done for still finishing the ride. Take care and rest well!
ReplyDeleteEeeek, glad you are ok. You could be in MUCH WORSE shape. Hope you heal quickly and are not too sore over the next couple days
ReplyDeleteOUCH! Road rash Does hurt no matter what! glad you and the bike are ok!
ReplyDeleteAfter checking that you were ok, my first thought was--oh man, I'll bet that shower was bad! And yep, you confirmed it. Glad you (and the bike) are ok.
ReplyDeleteOUCH JEFF!! That looks like it hurts like hell. How do you feel today? I am glad you are OK. You sound good mentally too, which is really important after something like that.
ReplyDeleteMan, does that mean I should shave my legs in the winter too?
Ohhh gosh I didn't need to see this, I'm scared enough about biking as it is.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are okay.
Glad you're okay. Kind of ironic since you mentioned you hadn't shaved because it was winter.
ReplyDeleteRegina - those tan lines are new from this week. I need to do some shirtless running because I look like casper the friendly ghost in those pics!
ReplyDeleteMandy - You got a few more months before the shaving needs to occur. That is both good and bad (-:
Katie - You are going to be fine and don't worry about crashing. I was going too fast for the turn and didn't pay attention to the gravel like I should have. I got careless - you will not do this (-: I was down for about 5minutes yesterday (picking gravel out of my knee and elbow) and got right back on the bike and was pulling a pack 5 minutes later. Just make sure you wear your helmet and snap the strap everytime it is on your head.
Kovas - I know right? On Saturday I was at the LBS with my buddy Patrick and the skinny, hairless, vegan mechanic was telling us we were too hairy for Triathletes. I told him we were hairy b/c we ate massive quantities of beef. Anyway, he was the one I handed the bike off too after the crash and showed him the hair sticking to to wounds on my knees - he was right, roadies and triathletes should shave because it hurts.
The hip one is awesome!
ReplyDeleteSorry about the crash, but good news it was "just" you and not the bike :-)
I took a good spill on RR tracks for my last crash. Stupid stupid stupid...but I think I've finally learned my lesson :D
The scars are AWESOME! It give me something to talk about when people see my knees...
Damn, that looks like it hurt. I am glad to hear you and the bike weren't hurt too bad.
ReplyDeleteOuch! Glad you are ok! New helmet time, for sure
ReplyDeleteI was smiling. Not because I was happy you fell or scratched your bike, but its kind of like nascar. Everyone likes to see a good wreck (I hope that didn't come off wrong).
ReplyDeleteI feel you man. I hit the pavement off my motorcycle at 50mph... same degree of scars... shocked you got that much just at 23mph or so!
Took about 3 weeks for me to heal up and not have the scabs splitting open whenever I moved my body.
I did peroxide the first 2 days.
I covered them during the day with neosporin on them and then at night I did my best to not move much at night to try and not stain the sheets because I left them uncovered to try and scab over.
I hope my first comment didn't come off wrong, IT BLOWS that you got hurt and f-ed your bike up. It looks FLIPPING AWESOME though :) Totally earned those battle wounds!!!
Hang in there man, get these all healed up and looks like you will have a lot of swimming ahead. Chlorine always heals my wounds fast.
Ouch! Take care of yourself.
ReplyDeleteI'm assuming you are OK so I'll say this. Big yawn until the hip, and then we are talking. Did you shred your bibs?
ReplyDeleteDUDE! That sucks! Sending you an email...
ReplyDeleteI truly thought it would be way worse and now I understand how you went running and swimming today as well.
ReplyDeleteDUDE!
ReplyDeleteI guess this turned out okay as you are not hurt much worse. even better the bike seems to be okay!
That it happened on a turn and location you are familiar with should be a lesson for ME!
great attitude bro!
D
No, yours is definitely worse than mine was. I'm just so impressed that you finished the ride and not only that but then ran after. That's the definition of a warrior and an Ironman!! Glad you didn't break any bones and that your bike is still in one piece. You'll be surprised how quickly that road rash heals up. Just make sure to put some high SPF sunscreen on those areas once it does heal or you'll have white patches that don't match your natural skin color. You don't want to walk around looking like that, right?
ReplyDeleteDo you know my friend Arnie? Maybe you can compare notes..
ReplyDeleteSeriously, your at 13 weeks out so time to start thinking "don't get hurt and screw up getting to the starting line". Sames true for pushing training and getting hurt.
Misery loves company - I crashed yesterday also. The nice weather brings crashes.
ReplyDeleteThe rash will heal. No joints were hit. Just chalk it up to experience.
I am glad you're ok!
ReplyDeleteOW! I don't know how I never made it by your blog since I see your name all over everybody else's. Anyway, sorry to hear about your crash, but at least you have a good story to tell. Any crash with no lasting injuries to you or your bike is a good one (or as "good" as crashing can be) in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteYour hands...was that through bike gloves or without them? The only thing I've enjoyed about winter so far is that all the extra clothes have kept a little extra skin on me when I've fallen.
I'm so glad that you are alright! Oh and the pain of finding road rash in the shower... nothing worse!(except maybe the peroxide like you said!)
ReplyDeleteOuch, glad you are ok
ReplyDeleteMatty forgot to tell you that a deer t-boned him that lead to that crash, then he went running after the deer, hoping to teach it a lesson
Gotta love hanging around parents while he was still out racing, just one of interesting stories she told me about Matty
Ow. Hoping for a quick heal for you!
ReplyDeleteOuch! Glad you and your bike are ok!
ReplyDeleteGreat write up! Foremost I am glad you are okay. The "could of's" - well could have been worse. Sounds like you owe our helmet a big thanks. I bet your hip and right elbow will be sore for a bit...
ReplyDeleteSorry about you kissing the pavement. I've been off the air but tegaderm helps a lot (speaking from experience).
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry about your accident. I cannot believe you used your body to save your bike's frame. I'm just glad you weren't seriously hurt.
ReplyDeleteOuch! Those probably hurt, especially the scars on your hips! Wee! I know the feeling, bro. What's worse is that other people saw you tumbling along. Good thing your co-riders immediately reacted or else we'd see dominoes falling. Hope you're all good to go for another ride, Jeff!
ReplyDeleteOuch! Yes, tomorrow you will have a sore body. Just be extra careful but anyways accident is just in the corner. phoenix accident attorney
ReplyDelete