I am recovering now, the separation was severe enough that chances of healing without a plate were slight so I had one installed. After the surgery that Friday my exercise on the weekend was limited to walking a few miles but I did get on a stationary bike and the treadmill during the following week. I was riding again under two weeks out from the surgery but the specialist didn't really approve of that, it was risky. If you have it bound up, without putting in a pin or plate, it takes more care and more time before getting back into action.

timely thread, broke mine last night myself. Endo on the grass while cutting across the park near the house on my fat tire road bike, hit a hole just as I started down the back side of a hill. Calling a specialist today, but looks like I may avoid surgery from what the ER doc said.

Well, this certainly is a timely thread! I had surgery yesterday for my fractured clavicle. Last Saturday, I had a great ride with my bike club. I decided to get a few extra miles in, and branched off on my own after the ride was through. I don't remember hitting a bump in the road, but I do have a sickening memory of losing control and crashing hard. A Good Samariten stopped and called 911 (he also pointed out the bump I must have hit). The inventory?

* Fractured right clavicle
* Bruised ribs
* Pneumothorax (partially collapsed right lung)
* Road rash all over my right side
* Crushing headache for two days (CT scan was negative). Until I got home from the ER and sorted through the belongings the paramedics had collected, I didn't realize I hit my head--that's when I noticed my dented, cracked helmet. (That helmet undoubtably saved my life).

Wednesday, I had a chest tube inserted to vent the air and reinflate the lung. Yesterday was the surgery. My orthopedic surgeon is a great doctor. I've known him for years, and he's even a cyclist. After the surgery, he told me the damage was pretty extensive, and he had to put in a lot of hardware.

So, here I sit on the sofa, loopy on Norco with a machine circulating cold water around my shoulder. My wife is already telling me that cycling is too dangerous, and that I should give it up.

As much as I love cycling, the pain I've been through in the last six days has given me pause. For the rest of you--were you temped at all to hang up your cleats? When you did get back on the road, were you apprehensive of every car, every piece of debris in the road? How long did it take for your confidence to return?

If you're on norco get on a laxitive quickly. And DO NOT take it on an empty stomach.

My $0.02, this is way too soon for any kind if rational analysis of this sort. Just focus the next few weeks on getting better and then you'll probably also be able to make a better balanced decision about what to do. Also from personal experience, Norco and clear thought tend to be mutually exclusive.

Don't be too hard on yourself and heal well. Cycling's just a hobby after all.

Minimum 1 prune per pill. Unless you like the sensation of passing broken glass.

This is all well said in my opinion. I was concerned that I was developing an apprehension and that's why I rushed to get back riding. Everyone's different but I was taught from an early age that you get back on the horse that threw you, even if it's only for one ride you do it. It's taken a couple of weeks and I'm still cautious -perhaps overly cautious - but my confidence is returning. And I threw out the pain meds after one day, to get a clearer handle on it. I don't necessarily recommend this for everyone but I can state emphatically that it is possible and to me worth the risk.

It's good advice to wait until you can decide with a clear mind before making a decision, but it should be a decision of when, not if, you ride again. After that, then decide whether cycling is not in the cards.

[QUOTE=
* Road rash all over my right side
?[/QUOTE]

Tegaderm or Hydrocolloid Bandages for that road rash.

Actually my analogy would have been a VW beetle not broken glass but that works too.