I tried a slope that was a liiiiiiiittle too advanced for me Tuesday, hit the brakes a little hard, and went over the handlebars, and found out I was subject to the laws of gravity-- landed on my left elbow, and broke it. Seriously. My first broken bone and it had to be my elbow. So now I'm typing one-handed... I'm doing everything one handed. Some things, like putting on socks or inserting contact lenses, are much more of a challenge than they were pre-injury. I also cannot flip people the bird when driving, without taking my one good hand off the wheel and thus forfeiting any control of the car. I'm out of commission for six weeks. No biking, and no guitar, meaning I have to back out of touring with Hagar and Roth. Could be worse.
BK: This is the type of thing you are supposed to get out of your system around 13. Were you one of those kids who had to stay inside and play the violin while the rest of your friends were out getting concussions and compound fractures or something?
I know how you feel I am just now getting back to normal since breaking mine in early February. Hopefully you are right handed. Did they cast it? THey did not cast mine and I was able to start doing some things(contacts, socks basic eating chores) after about a week to a week and a half. It took me 2 weeks to be able to put my shoes on and 3-4 to be able to tie them myself. I still have some pain when i push on things certain ways. Good Luck. The worst thing for me was sleeping. I was forced to sleep on my back which i thoroughly hated, CK
You become an adult at 18, but you can stay immature indefinitely. I too, love to mountain bike, and will take on ALMOST any trail or track. (Quick Tips: Always use the rear and not the front break when on an incline, also....when you are airborn, if you fear you are rotating too far forward or backward, mash down on the front break and stop your front wheel from spinning. You can control the bike in the air much better that way.) Man, a broken elbow, that has to HURT!!!!! Could have been worse, you could have impaled yourself in the butt on a large stick or tree branch. I read somewhere that a mountain biker had that happen to him.
No, I was just always really good at injuring myself, and I believe it's important to play to your strengths. Castor: Glad to hear you're almost all the way back. I am right-handed, so I can write OK. But anything that takes 2 hands is out, as is (also) playing the git-tar. I have a cast on it, but I'm going to the orth. surgeon Monday to have it looked at (they'll probably recast then). It's most likely a Type 1 radial fracture, which doesn't usually require surgery or pins/bolts/etc. I bet I'll be back oin the bike by the end of May. HOOP-T-- I hear you on the braking thing... problem was that I was mashing the back brake & still sliding on loose dirt, heading right for a "cliff" (10-15 ft drop)... I still havn't learned to ditch the bike, so instead of bailing, I tried to stop. lol. You are right about it being worse... I will post a funny link to what worse is when I get home.
Do you ride with clipless pedals? I swapped mine out for platforms so I can actually ditch the bikequicker, not to mention I raced BMX when I was younger, so I am used to them anyway.
At least you being a righty is good news. Mine was a fracture of the radial head. Luckily the place where the fracture was was situated right where the bone naturally rests . So casting it or anything else was moot(not mute). It did hurt like a b!tch though for a few days. the worst part though is that I do a lot of typing for my job and for fun so it really slowed me down.Hope you have a speedy recovery.
OUCH! Hey Kagy, do you feel a bit euphoric the moment you lose it and you know you are going to wax... or do you just close your eyes and brace yourself?
Actually your front brake does the largest percentage of your braking. You have to be careful to modulate it on the steeps, and to redistribute your weight on the downhills. If you only use your rear, you end up tearing up the trail, and have less control since a wheel that is sliding out gives you very little traction or control. I've been riding mountain bikes for about twelve years and haven't broken anything yet, but have ridden in the toughest stuff in central Texas around Austin and on the Ho Chi Minh in Houston. Crashing is part of mountain biking, just don't use your arms to try to break your fall. Roll, baby, roll.
Damn, I forgot that link. HOOP-- no clips for me. Hadn't given them much thought (meaning I'm neither for them or against them, just didn't get them when I bought my bike). I am considering them now, since a) I like to ride in the rain and wet shoes slip off pedals easily, and b) I think it would make some of the more advanced stuff I try a lot easier. Castor-- Pain hasn't been too bad, except when I try to use my left arm for anything. I'm taking Alleve, that seems to do the trick. rockHEAD-- usually euphoric. This time was unexpected and would prob'ly have been scary if I'd had enough time to think before hitting the ground. Woofer: this particular slope was criss-crossed w/ roots. That's what actually sent me over the bars-- heavy pressure on front brake, bike hit upraised root and lost all momentum. I've usually been good at extracting myself from the bike, but this wreck caught me so offguard that I didn't have time to brace myself or try to break my fall. Just landed flat on the elbow. I can't wait to heal up and get back out there. 1st order of business: go right back to that mother****er and ride down it.
I don't, but I don't see why you couldn't. Actually, no one that bikes with me, and none of the bikers I see on the trails wear them either. Helmet...that's all. Maybe gloves. I wish I could get my hands on those JT pants I used to wear when I raced BMX. They had a padded but, thighs, built in guards for your shins too.
I'm gonna ask the orthopedic surgeon if he thinks an elbow pad would have helped prevent the fracture. If so, I'll probably start wearing them.
Man his must be catching. I saw a good friend of mine yesterday and he fractured his arm in the exact same place I did. The only difference is that he was skateboarding when he did it. He is in a sling for 3-4 weeks. I guess I started some epidemic CK
And following the visit to the orthopedic specialist, the verdict is... NOT BROKEN Whoooooooooo hooooooooo!!! I'll be back on my bike next week, week after at the latest. Goodbye, evil cast and stupid sling. Hello, sitting around scratching my arm for an hour.
