0 comment Thursday, October 2, 2014 | admin
*disclaimer* - This story does not involve bike commuting, but does involve a bike commuter, and the specific reason why he will be getting a ride to work tomorrow.
Yesterday, I raced in my first Xterra (offroad triathlon), and while it was a beautiful venue, and we had great weather, the race did not go all that well for me. The event was held at Wellington lake at 7700 feet, and entailed a mile swim, 20 mile off road bike, and 5 mile trail run.
So full of excitement at this point... if I only knew how I'd feel in an hour
I had an awesome swim where I was probably in the top 10%, and I started well on the bike leg. We went down a potholed dirt road called "Buffalo Plunge", and since the sun was still low in the sky, the pine trees shaded all the potholes and dangerous spots in the road with dappled sunlight. I made it through the first three miles of the plunge fine, I just felt like I was getting the hang of it when I hit a pothole that I didn't see, my left hand bounced off the bar, and I wiped out hard going about 17 mph downhill. I took most of the impact with my right forearm, and gouged it badly, then rolled onto my shoulder and helmet before stopping. After a few minutes of dazedness and getting help from a fellow triathlete who stopped, I straightened my seat and rode down to the ambulance station, where they bandaged me up (the first time).
I got mostly patched up, and told I probably needed stitches, but I felt alright, and decided to keep riding to see if I could finish the race. I took a moderate pace for the remaining 16 miles, and had a pretty nice time... considering.
After the bike leg transition, I took the opportunity to get new bandages before the trail run; I'd like to thank the Park County volunteer fire department at this time, their bandage work was very professional. I walked most of the trail run, picking up to a jog only on downhills and the last mile, the arm hurt quite a bit, and I didn't care to swing it much. Taking my time at the aid stations, I did get to see a guy puke up a quart of yellow liquid, I think he had it worse. I finally came in at about 4:30, an hour behind where I would have liked to come in, and second to last in my division (I hope the last guy had a good excuse), though I think I'll count it as a personal victory. I still have an unbroken record of finishing every race I've ever started, so I've got that going for me.
The conclusion of the event was much more anti-climactic, there was no "stick-to-itivenss award", and instead I had to fill out some incident reports. I got my wounds thoroughly cleaned by the EMTs, it hurt something horrid, and wrapped up a third time, with instructions to go to a hospital for professional cleaning where they could pick out any sand or gravel they had missed.
I was also there by myself, and after getting help putting my transition and gear and camp in my car, I drove over 20 miles of washboard, back to highway 285, and back to Denver. My sister took me to an urgent care, and after a little over two hours of cleaning, anesthetizing, and painkilling, they sent me home with a mummy wrapped arm and a big prescription for painkillers.
The gouge in my elbow - you could see my muscle moving at the apex of the wound.
Divot in shoulder.
Road Rash, worst I've ever had (and that's saying something)
All wrapped up.
I slid several feet on this.
The rest of the slide was mainly on this arm. The whole thing is a bit swollen at this point.
And in case you were wondering, yes, it hurts pretty badly.
Yesterday, I raced in my first Xterra (offroad triathlon), and while it was a beautiful venue, and we had great weather, the race did not go all that well for me. The event was held at Wellington lake at 7700 feet, and entailed a mile swim, 20 mile off road bike, and 5 mile trail run.
So full of excitement at this point... if I only knew how I'd feel in an hour
I had an awesome swim where I was probably in the top 10%, and I started well on the bike leg. We went down a potholed dirt road called "Buffalo Plunge", and since the sun was still low in the sky, the pine trees shaded all the potholes and dangerous spots in the road with dappled sunlight. I made it through the first three miles of the plunge fine, I just felt like I was getting the hang of it when I hit a pothole that I didn't see, my left hand bounced off the bar, and I wiped out hard going about 17 mph downhill. I took most of the impact with my right forearm, and gouged it badly, then rolled onto my shoulder and helmet before stopping. After a few minutes of dazedness and getting help from a fellow triathlete who stopped, I straightened my seat and rode down to the ambulance station, where they bandaged me up (the first time).
I got mostly patched up, and told I probably needed stitches, but I felt alright, and decided to keep riding to see if I could finish the race. I took a moderate pace for the remaining 16 miles, and had a pretty nice time... considering.
After the bike leg transition, I took the opportunity to get new bandages before the trail run; I'd like to thank the Park County volunteer fire department at this time, their bandage work was very professional. I walked most of the trail run, picking up to a jog only on downhills and the last mile, the arm hurt quite a bit, and I didn't care to swing it much. Taking my time at the aid stations, I did get to see a guy puke up a quart of yellow liquid, I think he had it worse. I finally came in at about 4:30, an hour behind where I would have liked to come in, and second to last in my division (I hope the last guy had a good excuse), though I think I'll count it as a personal victory. I still have an unbroken record of finishing every race I've ever started, so I've got that going for me.
The conclusion of the event was much more anti-climactic, there was no "stick-to-itivenss award", and instead I had to fill out some incident reports. I got my wounds thoroughly cleaned by the EMTs, it hurt something horrid, and wrapped up a third time, with instructions to go to a hospital for professional cleaning where they could pick out any sand or gravel they had missed.
I was also there by myself, and after getting help putting my transition and gear and camp in my car, I drove over 20 miles of washboard, back to highway 285, and back to Denver. My sister took me to an urgent care, and after a little over two hours of cleaning, anesthetizing, and painkilling, they sent me home with a mummy wrapped arm and a big prescription for painkillers.
The gouge in my elbow - you could see my muscle moving at the apex of the wound.
Divot in shoulder.
Road Rash, worst I've ever had (and that's saying something)
All wrapped up.
I slid several feet on this.
The rest of the slide was mainly on this arm. The whole thing is a bit swollen at this point.
And in case you were wondering, yes, it hurts pretty badly.
Labels: Bike Crash, Bike Racing, Road Rash, Scabs, Stick-To-Itiveness, Xterra