shrinkboy

last week at Superdrome in Frisco, our B group (which included everything from fast juniors, guys in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, and this one older fella in his 60s-me) was approaching the first point sprint in a 30 lap points race. we were flat out at 30+mph when a guy up track lost control and came down track in front of me in the sprint lane. it happened in nano-seconds. i went over him and splatted on the concrete apron.

hit my head hard enough to break my helmet (but no head injuries, thank ya), popped my collarbone-stage II separation-lacerated elbow (sutures), massive, multiple contusions from left armpit all the way down to my hip and thigh. abrasions everywhere. i spent a week in a vicodin/valium ibuprofen haze. it was like getting tossed out of a moving truck in my jammies. hardest hit i've ever taken, and i've taken several over the years, but none, thank goodness, from a car.

and with all that, i can say it was almost, but not quite really serious. nothing that will alter my life or ability to function, work, or even ride a bike, eventually. but, i had been making good progress, was cracking into the top 5 on some events, was beginning to solve the mystery of the elimination race, and was really getting somewhere.

i know i don't need to make any decisions now, but...the idea of another crash at speed on the track, well, i just can't go there...if that ever happened again, i don't think i could handle that. this week has been a real mean mother of a ***** with constant pain attending just about every movement.

i'd like to hear from others who've been there, and how you handled it. i look forward to hearing from you

carleton

I'm glad that you are OK.

If you are reluctant to race mass start, I know LOTS of people who only do time trials and are completely happy with their track life.

misterwaterfall

I didn't get banged up as bad as you, but I did get hit by a car about a year and a half ago. I had to do some thinking about the risk/reward of continuing to ride kind of like you are with respects to racing on the track. I decided to keep on riding as much as possible with my reasoning being that I got my one crash out of the way early. Statistically speaking, bad crashed don't happen often to most riders, so if you've already taken care of your you should be good for a while.

And before anyone tries to correct my supremely screwed up logic, just let me be. It helps me sleep better at night.

gtrob

haha I like that reasoning. Ive already had a bad crash, what are the odds I'll have ANOTHER one


Im not sure what the racing season in Dallas is like, but I imagine you are probably looking at spring before you race again anyway, so you have a while to think about it, come back slowly. I wouldnt make any firm decision either way, get back to riding first, worry about racing later.

Number400

It's only a bad crash if you cannot bounce back from it. Heal up and as long as the itch is still there then you are good to go!

Brian Ratliff

I've been there. Not so serious as you experience, but my last was scary with a pretty good knock on the head and, apparently, the unconscious limp-doll slide to the apron (so they tell me).

The bolded statement is key. Spend some time not thinking about your bike or the crash. Get off the pain drugs; if you can stand the pain without them, do it. I am of the belief that pain is there for a very good reason and dulling it with drugs (I'm talking about the vicondin/valium more than the ibuprofen) impedes the healing process because part of healing is stressing, in very tiny ways limited by the pain response, the injured areas. Heal up. Realize that your depression is almost completely caused by pain right now. Once you heal, reevaluate your racing. Get into a low stakes race when you feel ready and just sit on the back. When you get dropped, just lose a lap or roll off the track. Don't be afraid of taking time off racing or even a full season. Nobody is forcing you into this sport.

Time heals the mental wounds.

What I wouldn't do, which is what I've seen some people do, is quit entirely without getting back into it at least once. Mentally, that is a killer. If you make the decision to quit, do it out of full realization that you could continue if you wanted. In other words, make a calculated decision based on the risks. Don't make the decision out of fear. Realize the risk of a crash you just sustained has always been there; the fact that this risk has been realized once does not make racing any more or less dangerous than it was prior to the crash.

texbiker

Sorry to hear of your crash. It sounds like it roughed you up physically and mentally. Another poster had a good idea: give your self time to recover before making a final decision. I have been in several crashes. One was my fault and another was getting side swiped by a SUV. The first one was life threatening and the other was not so bad. I decided to get back on the bike because I enjoy riding and the thought of not riding was worse than the risks of more crashes. I don't race and ride as a fast recreational rider.

I hope you have a speedy recovery.

zizou

Sorry to hear about your crash!

After my second big crash this year i started to wonder why i put myself through it (not just my body but the expenses involved with entry fees, the bike and clothes...i had an expensive new skinsuit on for the first time and it was ruined after less than 5 minutes of racing!) however after about a week I started to miss it again and hoped my injuries would clear up so i could get back on the boards. If you dont feel like you are missing out then there is no harm in having a break, its supposed to be fun!

For me at least the toughest part since returning post crash is the mental doubts. I dont have them all the time but there are situations where i get a little nervous during a race which is making me back off slightly or have a split second hesitation that i didnt have before and that has had a negative impact on my results.

700wheel

I've never been in a serious crash.
But if you decide to give up racing you could always participate in other ways; official, volunteer, spectator, or just ride for exercise (at least no road traffic to be concerned about).
Hope you recover from your crash soon.

taras0000

I'll second what Brian had said. He nailed the whole post crash check list you should go through. I've crashed numerous times and have been hit by five vehicles over the years. Take your time to recover physically, and let the mental part take you where it may. Don't be afraid to think (weighing the pros/cons), but also don't be afraid to try. The last thing you want to do is cripple yourself psychologically to the point where you're either not enjoying the activity, or regretting walking away from it.

My own take on things: I always looked at the odds. Then weight the risks/rewards. Then looked at the odds again. I was always more comfortable with the thought of a million enjoyable moments vs the one bad one. YMMV.

Dalai

Not good to hear shrinkboy. I am 7 months on from something similar so still going through the same questions as you just minus most of the pain. End result for me was a plated collarbone and due to the impact and time immobilized a frozen shoulder! Three months off the bike (there were some Z1 trainer sessions sitting upright cradling the arm in those months but that doesn't count) and 15 physio sessions so far has my shoulder finally getting close to full mobility.

I do intend to race again, even bought a replacement frame for the track bike written off well before I could ride or even drive but still haven't built it up or raced in any form yet. Mainly at the physios recommendation due to the still extremely weak shoulder (only up to red theraband and 1kg weights), but in a way I am happy he has made that decision for me. As I am still apprehensive about getting amongst it again for the fear of being kept off the bike or from any exercise again for such a long time again rather than the actual thought of crashing... I have always been active my whole life (was a professional athlete in a completely unrelated sport) then settled on tris for a decade after dabbling in surfing and whitewater kayaking, so really suffered mentally at not being able to do anything! Made for an amusing sight around my neighbourhood when the surgeon allowed me to run but not yet ride; middle of winter shuffling around in the rain with the arm still in the sling, wearing a huge smile due to being active again!

Focus for me is just enjoying being out on the bike at the moment. Have already spent some time on the CX bike hitting the dirt roads and trails just out of town, I am going on an offroad 4 day credit card tour with some mates in a couple of weeks and already booked leave to ride a 900km solo bikepacking trip next May. Perhaps some of this other riding is my way of avoiding getting back racing, but my fitness is still nowhere near the level I was at racing before the crash so see this other riding as a way to get fit and hopefully loose some of the weight I gained over winter.

I have been adding some efforts into my rides with the intention to race my clubs regular Saturday afternoon track in a months time where bunch sizes are small. I will use this to regain some of that confidence needed plus use it as training with the plan to contest the National CX series I was forced to miss this year.

Dalai

I have using my non racing time to good use and volunteering at a number of my clubs events...

shrinkboy

all kinds of good feedback, fellas. thanks to all. i did quit all meds earlier this week with the exception of one daily dose of ibuprofen. i'm not normally a fan of big pain Rx i.e. vicodin, etc. but this was on a scale i've never experienced before. i can only liken it to the compound fracture broken tib/fib i got as a high school football player. i just came in from a 20 mile road ride, and felt pretty good. surprised at how tired it made me after only a week and a half off, but...i got it done. more tomorrow. Superdrome, thanks to Ryan Crissey, is now doing a developmental series on Tuesday nights- not racing, but practice, with coaches. i'm going to get back on the horse next week.

will report back next week, and thanks again

Brian Ratliff

Good to hear. Heal fast and get back out there!

PS: you sound a whole lot better mentally than the last post you wrote. Glad you are feeling better.

shrinkboy

thanks Brian. that thing really jacked with my head, no doubt.

bungis

Thanks for sharing.

Curious about the elbow laceration, were your elbows covered by a skin-suit or long sleeve jersey? If so, what material?

Edit: Also, what helmet?

shrinkboy

short sleeve jersey; Lazer something or other helmet.

Velocirapture

Good to hear!

No doubt at all that a bad crash messes with one's head in a big way. If it didn;t, that's when i would worry the most. O_o