If you get into a fight with Mother Earth and proceed to lose, here are some tips to consider.
1. You will be sore the next day. Very sore. You may never figure out if those ribs are cracked or extremely bruised. It all hurts.
2. All of those tiny "scabs" you think you have along with the rest of the abrasions may actually be thorns. It is your job to determine which are scabs, which are thorns and which are freckles. Good luck with that.
3. The thought of hitting that same trail again will be a bit intimidating. Don't let her win. At the very least you can walk down that hill if need be. (I'll let you know tomorrow who wins, fear or bravery...sometimes known as stupidity if you are going too fast)
4. Most importantly, after a concussion, you are supposed to rest a lot. Sleeping with your 3 yo for the first two nights will NOT help you accomplish that. Put the little booger in his own bed and proceed to get some sleep. Well, maybe not that first night. You can sleep with him that night because someone would normally be waking you up every 2 hours to make sure you were still alive anyway. Yeh, they still recommend that even though one study showed it didn't really seem to make a difference. Of course being miserably tired the next day does seem to get you some extra sympathy. It's your call.
Hopefully this post will help you if you are ever stupid enough to not put the brakes on in a timely manner when mountain biking. Oh yeh, ALWAYS wear a helmet. I'm so thankful I did.
Showing posts with label Ouch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ouch. Show all posts
Friday, May 30, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
A doosey!
All the way home I'm thinking that part of the song that says, "Another one bites the dust!"
I took a tumble on the mountain bike today. Okay, that is putting it mildly. That's the way I prefer to look at it. The fact is I was coming down the hill too fast, a stupid piece of scrub brush was right there at the turn and my hand just didn't squeeze that brake enough or at all...I'm not sure. I do remember my bike going down (actually my friend's bike...it's okay, the bike that is) and my head slamming into the ground...because it hurt. Since my helmet is 20+ years old, I quit using it and was using Susan's, until I got around to buying my own. Now I will be buying 2 helmets because I just don't think you should use it again if it is cracked. I also remember sitting up and realizing I was moaning rather loudly...and I didn't care. I also said, "That hurts!" No one was around to hear it anyway. It was hard to breathe too. Mostly because I got the wind knocked out of me although I may have cracked a couple of ribs. What I don't remember is how I got from the point of the crash to the canal bridge. I do remember hiking the bike over the barrier but the next thing I remember is being kind of dazed. I couldn't readily remember what day it was. Then I remember glancing back up the trail and wondering how I got where I was. I pulled out my cell phone but then wasn't sure why. Oh, I must be checking the time. Sheesh. I looked later and I had pushed the button to dial home but after 37 seconds, I hung up. Can you say, "Disorientated"? You know, when you are the one who crashes and smacks your head on the ground, it's not very likely you'll call 911 although it would have been justified. Ah heck, they aren't going to do anything for you anyway. I mean, have you ever looked up "concussion" online? All the articles say to seek medical attention but then the next paragraph tells you they can't do anything for you. Huh? Okay, if you are vomiting, having a seizure or disorientated for an extended period of time then I would definitely advise you to seek medical attention. As for me, I biked the rest of the way to my town (I was in the adjacent one...in T.H. for those who get that). I was really glad I had driven the truck and parked it at Goodwill so I saved myself an additional 6 or 7 miles of riding.
After such an adventure, I realize I might want to go to bed now verses midnight (because I'm on the computer). So I'm going to go figured out what part of my body I can lay on without wincing too much. Thankfully the headache is gone. Now I just get to deal with the beat up ribs and abrasions (there are very few by the way). It could of been much worse. I guess that prayer I sent up about keeping me safe as I hit the trail worked.
I took a tumble on the mountain bike today. Okay, that is putting it mildly. That's the way I prefer to look at it. The fact is I was coming down the hill too fast, a stupid piece of scrub brush was right there at the turn and my hand just didn't squeeze that brake enough or at all...I'm not sure. I do remember my bike going down (actually my friend's bike...it's okay, the bike that is) and my head slamming into the ground...because it hurt. Since my helmet is 20+ years old, I quit using it and was using Susan's, until I got around to buying my own. Now I will be buying 2 helmets because I just don't think you should use it again if it is cracked. I also remember sitting up and realizing I was moaning rather loudly...and I didn't care. I also said, "That hurts!" No one was around to hear it anyway. It was hard to breathe too. Mostly because I got the wind knocked out of me although I may have cracked a couple of ribs. What I don't remember is how I got from the point of the crash to the canal bridge. I do remember hiking the bike over the barrier but the next thing I remember is being kind of dazed. I couldn't readily remember what day it was. Then I remember glancing back up the trail and wondering how I got where I was. I pulled out my cell phone but then wasn't sure why. Oh, I must be checking the time. Sheesh. I looked later and I had pushed the button to dial home but after 37 seconds, I hung up. Can you say, "Disorientated"? You know, when you are the one who crashes and smacks your head on the ground, it's not very likely you'll call 911 although it would have been justified. Ah heck, they aren't going to do anything for you anyway. I mean, have you ever looked up "concussion" online? All the articles say to seek medical attention but then the next paragraph tells you they can't do anything for you. Huh? Okay, if you are vomiting, having a seizure or disorientated for an extended period of time then I would definitely advise you to seek medical attention. As for me, I biked the rest of the way to my town (I was in the adjacent one...in T.H. for those who get that). I was really glad I had driven the truck and parked it at Goodwill so I saved myself an additional 6 or 7 miles of riding.
After such an adventure, I realize I might want to go to bed now verses midnight (because I'm on the computer). So I'm going to go figured out what part of my body I can lay on without wincing too much. Thankfully the headache is gone. Now I just get to deal with the beat up ribs and abrasions (there are very few by the way). It could of been much worse. I guess that prayer I sent up about keeping me safe as I hit the trail worked.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
