...then he nodded at my walker so I guess he has me there.

I'll give you one of them (which might have been my fault but I have no idea because I can't remember it). The other one, no way. That guy just turned in front of me on a downhill after he had stopped for about 5 seconds deciding whether he was going to turn into a farm stand on my side of the road. I thought he stopped because he saw me coming at him and I did slow down to about 20.

If you have an adverse medical history, and idiopathic syncope (that is, you pass out without knowing why), you may wish to consider the risks.

Breaking one's pelvis is a very painful injury that many don't survive. You probably don't want to do that again.

Not to beat up on you, but never assume ANYTHING with a car. If you have to assume, assume that they WILL do the stupid thing, whatever that is.

You never win a collision with a vehicle. Never.

This, from another 58 y/o rider.

Keep riding!

Gary

YOU SIR, I applaud you.
That's the best mental healing you can have right there.
And I speak from experience.
Good job.

[TOUGH LOVE]Get back on that horse, but you'd better start exercising some better judgement or your next crash might very well be your last. One "serious" crash is an accident. The second "serious" crash is poor judgement. Get your head on straight if not for yourself then for the ones who love you.[/TOUGH LOVE]


-Kedosto

By a remarkable coincidence, I had a crash in 2007 that resulted in three fractures of the pelvis. Everything else, like the broken collar bone was more or less incidental by comparison. For what it's worth, at six weeks after, I was still using a walker.


Another coincidence: I also have a few moments of missing memory, and with no head injury at all. There must be a name for this.

They call it...uh...let me think...uhhh...brain damage. That's it!

Studded tires work great in the winter. I find piles of snow so much better to crash on than pavement.

As I mentioned, I had no sign of any head injury. Some one earlier mentioned a name for passing out without apparent cause. I may check that out, though I'm not planning to do it again.

Good move You'll have so much fun - Syracuse actually has enough snow to make a fat bike worthwhile. And when you fall, there's lots of nice fluffy snow, so it's hard to get hurt!

Here's wishing you a speedy recovery and a crash-free 2018.

Trauma can cause memory loss. Sometimes the memories come back a very long time later, sometimes they don't. It's kinda like whatever you are going through in combination with physical injuries you are receiving just turns off the tape recorder in the brain.

For the OP -
Are you crazy for wanting to get back on a bike? No. Biking is fun. (This is being said by a person who hates every form of exercise.)
Are you crazy for wanting to get back on a bike so soon? Oh heck yeah, your papers certifying you as crazy are likely already en route in the mail. I can testify to the fact that pushing yourself after injury will make the healing process slow to a crawl and can create chronic issues that wouldn't exist if you just sat on your butt and rested. Plus, people are not made out of a cookie cutter and while 6 weeks is a good average, your particular set of bones may need 12 weeks. Or longer.

Thanks, Rachel. I knew I wasn't the only one, and after a somewhat similar pelvic injury, it was two full months before I could hobble back to work.

Crazy? Nah. Just realize you can crash a fat bike too. Only owned one a week, BTDT a couple times already.

So where are the fatbike pictures.

I am sure crashing was your penalty for not posting.

Well, I’m glad you qualified that by pointing out healing is not a cookie cutter, one size fits all experience. My experience over the last 3 months was exactly the opposite. I did everything ahead of what the conventional wisdom said I should, and I’m really glad I did. I made some people nervous, such as the physical therapist - or even mad at me in the case of my closest family members - but you know, my body, I used pain and mobility as my guide, did what I felt was safe and within my ability, and I trimmed total recovery time by a third. Originally, I was told 12 weeks on crutches and in a leg brace, got rid of both by 8 weeks. 4 weeks with a cast was pretty set in stone - well, fiberglass, but I ditched the follow-up splint entirely in about a week. Both the ortho and hand surgeon seemed happy and impressed with my progress, and I sure was.

And I have some now-funny memories, such as my older sister going home mad after she stopped by to “care for” me - which was her code for “you should sit in a chair for the next 12 weeks with your leg up and watch tv” - which was unrealistic, because I don’t watch tv and don’t sit around under ordinary circumstances. So, 6 days after my accident, I was back on my weekend summer project, a total redo of my landscaping. So, using a combination of a walker and crutches, with a broken leg, broken hand pre-surgery yet, and rotator cuff injury, I was out there cutting out overgrown shrubs, digging out old soil from planting beds, and making trips to Lowes for 2 cu ft bags of soil and mulch, 20 bags at a time, pulling and loading it mostly by myself. And I was out there the next weekend, after surgery to put my hand back together with titanium screws. And the next weekend. And so on.

I wasn’t being cavalier or trying to be macho, I was just doing, slowly and carefully, what my body told me was ok. And I think that, by keeping moving, working my muscles, moving my joints, it really sped my recovery.

Bottom line, OP, listen to your body. Do what feels doable as long as it feels safe. But don’t feel like you have to do something - or avoid doing something - just because of what “they” say.

In this five page thread: https://m.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=1126822

[MENTION=434743]DaveQ24[/MENTION] You are a good example of a lack of a cookie cutter. You healed faster than expected. I stand by my statement though, the OP is crazy to be planning a ride through the snow based on the expected healing time. Realizing you are healing faster as you are healing is one thing. Planning something major based on the standard model when you are at the beginning of healing is not smart.

I also stand by my statement that pushing yourself can cause a lot of issues. My AC separation was misdiagnosed as tendonitis. So instead of being told to rest it I was told to do weight lifting exercises. And now I'm at a point where I have arthritis from cartilage damage and despite PT getting me to where I have full use of the shoulder, I have non-arthritis pain that is not going away and I can't even take an aspirin for it.

Minnesota 3.0 Fat Bike is one nice looking bike.

keep on doing!

Absolutely spot on right! I’ve faced and won some major battles in my life, I’m trying to do everything I can to maximize my well-being. But I’m not going to sit in a chair and hide my head under a blanket because life has risk.

I was literally about a second or maybe less from a sudden death or serious injury Tuesday evening on my way home from the gym - because some idiot in a minivan driving in the far left lane on a 4 lane (each way) divided highway decided he/she just HAD to get into the drivway of a Home Goods store on the far right, and did a near 90 degree sudden right across all 4 lanes of traffic - on a road with a 55 MPH speed limit. I barely missed a head-on at 55 MPH with the rear passenger side of the minivan - not that I did or even could do anything, it was all instantaneous, timing and luck saved me. Fortunately it was 8:30 at night so traffic had thinned out; I believe I was the only driver seriously at risk of colliding.

I hope that idiot driver doesn’t kill someone just because he/she is too stupid or lazy and inconsiderate to go a 10th of a mile to the next turnaround and loop back through to get to a frickin’ Home Goods. That type of high-speed risky driving maneuver could be justified - arguably - if driver were a cop and he was making that 90 degree high speed right into the ER driveway with his critically wounded partner in the passenger seat. A home decorating crisis don’t really rise to a life or death standard.

But where does any of that leave me? Well ... I can make the best informed choices I can, safe vehicle, drive carefully, and so forth. Which is why I suggested to the OP in his situation to consider some safety gear- if full body armor feels like too much, at least knee and elbow pads. After that, it comes down to fate. Why worry about the unknowable?

But, having heard the same comments last summer, I know how the OP feels, and I see it like this - at 58, he’s a big boy and can decide for himself what level of risk he is willing to accept when performing a legal activity in order to achieve the desired outcome.

I beg, respectfully, to differ! It's a lot of fun to go out in the snow and ice... with the right equipment. My choice is a mountain bike with studded tires (Nokian "Extreme 294" if anyone is interested). I'm 67, so I'm not riding through deep powder, but rides on quiet, snowy trails are a lot more fun without worrying about ice under the snow. Even more fun is riding on frozen lakes, provided conditions are safe.
Steve

I commuted by moto for several years, every day, year round, until an incident just like yours, except I was going the same direction as the 90* turner, but I had too much closing speed, and not enough road. Thanks to my full 'Buzz Lightyear Super Suit,' my only injury was a badly separated shoulder, from being the first part of my body to strike the ground.

I too, was determined to get back on the horse, and rode the bike home from the repair shop, although shortly in to the trip, I discovered that, while the bike was fixed, I certainly was a long way from recovered.

I returned to riding, albeit not full-time, and after a year, put the moto up for sale. I just wasn't ready to deal with the intensity it took to ride at the levels from before the accident.

I applaud the OP's decision to return to riding (when the PT says its OK) and I like the idea of the fatbike.
The natural environs of the fatbike; the towpath, singletracks, are much lower intensity, and while tumbles and falls are much more likely off-road, the stakes are much lower.

Also @ the OP, find a Physical Therapist who works with athletes / sports injuries, or is a athlete themselves. They will understand the mindset, and plot a recovery track that works with you better, so you won't be tempted to 'sneak out' and push yourself before you're ready.