Well, as of yesterday after my appointment with the Doc, my bike is truly broken in, scuffs, scratches, and all. I wrecked twice on my way back to my apartment from my doctor’s office, the first time of which was right in front of my doctor’s office window (hopefully he didn’t see me wreck, but he gave no indication of having seen it when I talked to him). The second wreck was while stopping at a stop sign at one of the busy avenues in my neighborhood, and I have to admit that I laid there for a minute because it hurt. I then scrambled up and got me and my bike out of the street to inspect the damage, both to myself and to the bike (this was the worse of the two wrecks). Yes, there were some gouges in the aluminum parts of the bike, but minor, and everything still works, so we’ll just say that I don’t have to baby it anymore. It’s broken in. Now, me? I might be broken. I don’t think so, but it sure felt like it when I wrecked and it feels more like just soft tissue damage this morning. It doesn’t look as bad as it feels, but I did actually scrape up my left knee through my thick pants, so I hit hard. That’s really all that hurts bad this morning. I was so dejected at having crashed not once, but twice before reaching my apartment that I walked my bike the rest of the way back to my apartment in my bright high-vis yellow-green safety vest with the reflective silver stripes on it.
I ended up calling my doctor because I was dejected and wasn’t sure the plans that we had agreed upon for treatment were going to work out for today like we had planned during my appointment. For instance, I’m supposed to be at the climbing gym doing what I love to do (climbing) right now, at 0600 hrs, but my knee is stiff, swollen, and hurts really bad this morning. My mom should be calling in about five minutes to see if I can come out and help her mow at the field. That’s not happening, either. Anyway, my coaching moment with the Doc included me telling him what happened and, after asking if I broke anything first, of course, him admitting that he falls off his bike sometimes, too (which is shocking, because this is a guy who bikes regularly and can take a serious downhill hairpin turn at 23 mph on his bike and not even blink). I told him nothing was broken, but that my left knee was swollen and I really did a number on it and several other body parts, like my left hand and wrist, my left elbow, my left hip, my left everything… I was lamenting about being fat and falling off my bike and being embarrassed, but he brought out the positive aspects of it, as he always does – “Well, this is one of those cases where having an extra layer of tissue isn’t a bad thing. It kind of cushions you. And you have good bone density.” He had been telling me that he’d fallen last Fall and was proud of his good bone density because he didn’t break anything (he’s in his mid-60’s). “Well, you need to get some ice on that knee and whatever else hurts. Everybody’s embarrassed when they fall off their bike. Get that knee up and get some ice on that knee.” I asked him what to do about our plans today since I wrecked. “Well, Chris, just get some ice on that knee. Get some ice on that knee.” We discussed the fact that I was getting grilled by my husband about why I was falling off my bike, too. Of that, the Doc said, “And tell Jerrold to be nice to you. Tell him to be nice, for once.” We laughed. “Okay. Ice that knee.”
So, instead of climbing this morning (my mom just called), I’m going to drive out to the field and sit in a chair, possibly tending a burn pile and probably reading a book while my mom mows out there. I don’t want her out there by herself and I don’t think climbing or biking is a good idea with my knee swollen like it is this morning. I bruised it deep. For something that hurts like it does, it sure doesn’t show! Like most things that should show more damage than they do for the amount of pain they cause, this knee injury is proving to be incognito that way, except for the redness and swelling. I’ll hobble around on it. Nothing’s broken, praise God, and I hope I never break anything major! I bounce pretty well, and I’ve always been stretchy, so I’m pretty well protected unless there are sharp objects around… I do have pretty tough skin, too, though. I’m thankful that I’m relatively, with the exception of pain, injury-proof!
CLIMBING 4 THE REST OF US 