Originally Posted by scozim

Well, 2020 has come to an end for me for riding. Was 48 degrees today with some wind so off on the Nishiki Maxima I went for 20 or so miles. It was a fun ride until 2 minutes from home. As I was coming down a slight downhill 2 minutes from home in our neighborhood, one neighbor's dog decided to take chase. He had been a problem earlier in the year but they had gotten their electric fence fixed. Well, pavement work in November on the corner I was quickly approaching took out part of that fence and the neighbor hasn't fixed it. Out on the road comes the black lab. I yelled his name a couple of times to try and slow him down but it didn't work. As he got to within 6 inches or so of my leg and growling loudly I reached down with my right hand for the water bottle and hit him square between the eyes. Then all hell broke loose ....

He either hit the back of my bike or the front drifted off the side of the road (the dog had been pushing me over to the right). The handlebars pivoted violently and, at 20 mph or so, I slammed into the pavement. The left hip hit first and the then the head impacted hard into the asphalt. The bike spun and we pitched into a 5 foot deep ditch with a foot of water or so in it. Not sure if I lost any consciousness but as soon as I realized the bike and I were sitting in water I grabbed the top tube with my left hand and, with blood pouring off my face, scrambled up the bank. I knew it was not a good situation when I got back to the road and texted my wife to call 911 for an ambulance. My left hip really hurt and both hands were numb. With prior C5-C6 cervical fusion that really bothered me. 7 hours later the numbness has finally gotten better.

In the end, I got my first ever ride in an ambulance. Those guys did a great job warming me up. Lying on cold asphalt and partially wet I was shaking pretty fierce. I was still able to crack some jokes in the hospital with the staff. I have 3 stitches above the left eye, mild concussion, a fractured pelvis and am really, really sore. I've never been through 15 rounds with Mike Tyson but I'm pretty sure it probably feels about as bad as I feel now. Non-weight bearing for awhile so I'll just have to get ready for 2021.