Hello all,

Well, my 3 week old bicycle and I have just had our first (and only I hope!) accident this morning. I was on my way to work with my roommate to pick up my check and then go to the bank to cash it. She has been riding over a year now, and I have been riding just over a month after a long hiatus. She was well ahead of me, and I was about a block or two from my work, when I decided to ride on the sidewalk instead of in the street. The driveway I was going to use to get to the sidewalk had about two inches of standing water, but I did not think anything of it, except that it would just clean the dirt off my tires. Well, I did not know there was moss at the bottom of the water, and when my front tire hit the little one inch ridge at the end of the driveway, it instantly veered left, and my momentum carried me to the right...

I remember thinking "This was not a good idea" I closed my eyes before the impact, and remember hearing the helmet hit the pavement. I could feel pain in both knees, my right elbow, and both my hands. As I am laying there, I am now thinking "How the heck am I going to get up?" Since my right leg does not bend more than 60 degrees, I would normally need something to lean on like a chair or desk to get me off the ground. Well, for some reason this driveway had neither.

A passing motorist stopped, and came over to see if I was okay. I remember hearing her voice, but not seeing her. I must have looked dazed and confused because she decided to call for paramedics. By this time Aspen ( my roommate/best friend) had realized I was not behind her and had returned to where I was. The lady who stopped was with her adult son, and he moved my bike out of the driveway and over to the side. By this time, a motorcycle cop had arrived to see if any assistance was needed. The lady (who I found out later was a nurse) said she had called for paramedics, but they had not arrived yet. So the cop gets on the radio, and has them expedite the call. Then he calls and tells them to come code 3. I didn't feel bad enough for that, but I was complaining of feeling nauseated, and I guess they felt I had a head injury.

A second Police officer arrives in a car, and blocks the entrance to the driveway behind the other officer's motorcycle. Then I hear an ambulance, and pretty soon, they are asking me all kinds of questions, and wanting to know how it happened, and if I was wearing a helmet etc. I told them I was, and that I felt okay considering the accident, but I had felt nauseous right after the fall, but not so much right now. They tell me I should go to the hospital just in case, so I agree and they take me to the hospital. The lady who stopped offered to take our bikes back home, and Aspen got to ride in the back of a Police car as they took her home as well.

As far as my injuries, it is mostly just the road rash from hitting the driveway. My right elbow got the worst of it, followed by my right knee. Somehow the back of my left hand got scraped up and I think the pinkie finger has a slight sprain. My right palm has a big red circle on it I am guessing from hitting the handlebars or the brake lever or something. My cellphone was destroyed. It will no longer work, even though the lights do come on. Since I keep it on my right side, and fell on that side, I guess it was too much for it to handle.

During the ambulance ride to the county hospital my lower back started hurting. I informed the EMT, and he said it was a good thing we were going to the hospital. Once there, they took X-rays of my back, but found no problems. They also took my blood pressure several times, and informed me it is way too high. It is supposed to be somewhere between 120-130, and mine was between 174 and 189! So it looks like I will be altering my diet, and going on blood pressure medicine.

I honestly don't think the bike accident injured my back per se, as much as it just aggravated the problems I have had with it since my auto accident in 1998. Right now, I am moving around very slowly so as not to cause anymore back pain. I called work and let them know what is going on, and will have the next 4 days off. I am scheduled to go to the clinic across the street from the hospital for a follow up exam.

When I got home, I took a look at the helmet and there is only a minor scratch on the right front side of it. I then looked at the bike, and other than a reflector coming off of the right side pedal (which I have already popped back into place) you can't even tell it was in an accident. So I consider myself very lucky today. No real damage to the bike, no damage to the helmet, only scrapes and bruises to me, and now 4 days off (5 counting today!) It could have been worse. If I had not worn the helmet, I am sure I would have suffered a concussion at the very least. And the passerby was a nurse, so it looks like the Lord was looking out for me today.

 

It sounds like you are ok for the most part, just going to be sore. It is nice to hear of complete strangers stopping to help. I believe the Lord was with you today. I hope you have a fast recovery, God Bless.

 

Thank you, I am sure the Lord was with me today. The people who stopped were not only kind enough to stop, but also called for help, and took our bikes back to the apartment. They will be blessed for that. She is a nurse in Las Vegas, and was out here visiting her son.

 

Doggone it, Jim!

Glad you're OK.

 

That sucks Jim...glad you're (for the most part anyway) okay, sounds like it could have been a lot worse!

The thing to remember about bikes (according to my dad anyway) is that they only have two wheels...they're going to fall over sooner or later!

 

So true, but this one needs to learn to fall over without me on it!

The back pain was so bad last night, that I did not get much sleep. I think the Vicodin that the hospital gave me wore off. It was so painful this morning, that I could not even get out of bed. I woke my roommate up and had her get me some Ibuprofin, and put one of those icy/hot patches on. Then tried to sleep for a couple of hours. I was finally able to get out of bed around noon. She put some stop pain stuff on my back, and I have been able to walk around the apartment slowly. I am hoping the worst is over, but only time will tell. I am amazed at how much pain there is for what looked like a simple fall.

 

Make sure that you buy a new helmet. Don't use the old one again. It may look fine, but the Styrofoam under the shell, more than likely, got compressed. Thus altering it's ability to absorb another impact. Helmets are designed for one use only. I usually destroy a helmet, so it can't be used again, after a significant impact.

 

Good advice. I am a member of a bike forum, and everyone there is saying the same thing. Helmets are cheap compared to head surgery.

 

I am really glad you are faired as well as you did. Pat and the bike forum are right. I am glad you are going to get a new helmut. Try to keep ahead of the pain with ibuprofen.

 

How are you getting along, Jim?

 

The wounds are healing, however, I have an interesting side effect to the accident. For some reason I cannot lay flat for more than an hour without severe pain in the lower left part of my back. I can move around all day, lift moderate items, sit, stand, etc, but I can only stay in bed for an hour or so, and then the pain hits, and I have to get up. So I have taken to sleeping on the love seat in the living room for the time being.

I was supposed to have a follow up appointment yesterday, but I had to work and I already missed 2 days of work and can't afford any more time off. So I will need to reschedule, and I'll let them know about the pain. The took X-rays of the lower spine, and found no problems, so I don't know what it could be.

I have been putting Absorbine Jr. on it before bed, and even some muscle rub stuff which smells like Ben Gay. Even been taking 600mg of Ibuprofen, but nothing seems to work. If it isn't a muscle ache (which it must not be since nothing is working) and the spine is okay, I don't know what else it could be. Another interesting thing about it is that I fell on my right side, and this pain is on the left. Go figure.

 

Glad to hear you're doing as good as one can after taking a spill like that.

I've been riding a bike (not bicycling, just riding it) and motorcycle, and i've always had grave concern about wrecking the motorcycle, but never really thought of wearing a helmet or other protective gear when on a bicycling. Of course, on my motorcycle, i haven't ridden without gear (helmet, jacket, and gloves at a minimum) in the last 6 years, when I took my first spill.

Maybe I'll look into buying a bicycle helmet for running around the park.

I hope you recover fast and well. God Bless those willing to stop and help you, I've learned that outside the motorcycling and Off-road community, you'd be hard pressed to get help when needed.

 

Glad you came out of it as well as you did. As far as the back pain find a good Chiropractor. All sorts of things get out of whack when to take a fall like that. Unfortunately I know from experience.

Good luck to you!

 

Thanks for the well wishes. Yes, if you are going to ride a bike, I highly recommend it. I never ride without one because you never know when you will fall. Obviously you don't plan on it. It just happens. You could be the best rider in the world, and all it takes is a little inattention by a cager and you are on the pavement. In this case, I was not hit by a car, but that doesn't mean it can't or won't happen. My helmet was $17.00 at Walmart, and the best investment ever made.

I rode my bike today, which is the first time since the accident. I was a bit nervous at first, but nothing happened, and I made it home in 39 minutes. It usually takes about 20-25 minutes, but it was 91 degrees today, so I stopped a few times to drink ice water. Normally I ride home at 8 or 9 pm, but today it was 3 pm.

Chiropractor huh? Didn't even think of one of those. Will have to run it by the doctor when I have my next appointment. maybe he/she can figure out what the problem is.

 

When you landed you prob twisted a muscle in your back and now its just taking its time healing.