California rides

FWIW the bump will never go away. I have two, one on each side. Each
healed differently. The first went smoothly, healed in six weeks.
The other took about four months. The bump is due to the extra bone
being piled up.

Good biking

Jim

Chuck Anderson wrote in message news:T37Xc.45668$9d6.22285@attbi_s54...
Michael MacClancy wrote:

On Sat, 10 Jul 2004 21:39:13 GMT, Chuck Anderson wrote:




But - - - - - I'm so glad to be back on the bike and able to go to my
"church" again. I've done that ride almost every day this week and I can
feel my old self coming back. Not sure when I can tour again, probably
not this year (unless I do a southerly route later in the year).



Chuck,

What's the latest on your collarbone?


Thanks for asking. I've been thinking I should post a summary of sorts,
as I received a lot of advice and good wishes here.

Two big conclusions:

1. I guess I got paranoid about the healing process. I was very worried
about what was going on in there - for a good 6 weeks. As the bones were
not set (aligned), they healed in a bothersome way. I can still feel the
end of the broken bone (no pain). To understand how it sets, extend your
index fingers and point left and right at each other - nail up. Now
overlap them (right over left) about one inch. That's what my left
collarbone now looks and feels like - about two inches from the shoulder.

The emergency room doctor was very upbeat and optimistic. He was a young
guy who said he had broken his twice - in bicycle crashes. He explained
that the collar bone (clavicle) is the most mendable bone in the body
and that no surgery is needed. He gave me a sling and said I'd be good
to go in 4 weeks.

The follow up doctor (a week later) was an ass. Once he realized I
didn't have insurance ($$), he didn't want to give me the time of day.
He indicated that some clavicle breaks won't heal without surgery. I
asked him if that meant a break like mine and he silently nodded yes. He
handed me a figure eight brace, said come back in a month, and walked
out the door. That was it.

For the next two weeks I fretted about the lack of any apparent healing
(and the end of that bone sticking out). Not having medical insurance,
the prospect of surgery was overwhelming. I figured I'd be out near
$10,000 if that were necessary. So, ..... three weeks later .... I
decided to get pro-active and I sought out another doctor - an older,
experienced GP. Am I glad I did. He instilled optimism. After poking
around, he said it seemed like I already had "sticky" bones. He agreed
with the first doctors treatment, but said that his bedside manner left
much to be desired. He assured me that all was going well. (And now I've
finally found a GP that I trust. My previous trustworthy doctor retired
10 years ago.)

Whatever. I made it into a mentally torturous ordeal for a good month -
not to mention the depression from having to scrap my much needed
Germany - Austrian Alps tour. Finally, about mid June - 6 weeks after
the crash - as I started getting mobility back, I finally believed that
I was healing just fine.

That "bump" is rather disconcerting, but as I've learned, it's also
quite normal.

2. Why did I slam a pedal into the ground so hard and crash so violently
out of control? That really bothered me. It's very unlike me. I've been
in many close calls and reacted fine. I've ridden for decades and never
caused myself to crash. I'm sure now that I was simply very
undernourished. Past bonked. I'll be sure not to ever do that again. I
was hammering away at about 20 mph - in the last few miles of a 35 mile
ride I've done for years - about to finish the ride in one one of my
fastest times. Going through a 90º turn on concrete bike path - I kept
pedaling (hammering away, I was) when ....... BAMMMM!!!! I simply f***ed
up. My brain and body were depleted and I crashed to the ground like a
rag doll.

I'll not do that again.

So, .... I've got a LOT of mobility back now. The hardest thing to do is
extend my arm out to the side, palm down and then raise my arm straight
up in the air. Essentially, I can't do that yet. A good form of therapy
is to hold my arm out to a wall and walk up the wall with my fingers -
forcing myself to reach higher and higher. I also noticed, while playing
with my 6 year old grand daughter at the playground, that hanging from
monkey bars is still out of the question. Other than that, I am really
quite fine now. After 3 - 4 weeks of riding again, I am back to the same
level of conditioning that I was right before the crash. I was taking my
cycling more seriously this year, trying to do a 2300 foot climb at
least 4 times a week, if not every day - sometimes turning around at
1600 feet (it's a 14 mile ride all together and includes a quarter mile
section of 18%-19% grade in the last mile of climbing). I'm back to my
best time for that ride now, and able to do it daily .... if I have the
time.

One odd thing I've noticed is that I can not make myself ride no handed
sitting comfortably straight up. My body insists on leaning to the left
and I have to bend to the right at my hips (grabbing the saddle) to
compensate. I've got to work at that one (I love riding no handed).
Strange how the mind/body can work outside of your control.


Thanks for the advice and support.