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| The Off-Side Chainstay Acquired Some Scratches When I Fell |
I went to our primary care physician for a follow-up visit. I got referred to an orthopedist for my still-hurting shoulder. I also got advice about how careful I should be riding my bike while I continue to heal. "
Back off if you find you can't stand the pain, but you won't make things worse, and therapy probably won't help." Pretty simple. Actually, I felt it prudent to back off a bit from his recommendation and translate that into "
Don't ride so hard that the pain distracts me from what's going on with traffic."
And so it went. I picked today to ride for the following reasons:
- No Doctor appointment today!
- No rain today!
I also noticed that the road on which I fell has experienced substantial added work. They've finished their new median, which should help motorists from crashing head-on into each other as often. I don't think it'll do anything good for local neighborhoods or businesses. Having ridden it this morning and again on the way home, I can't say it does anything to help encourage cyclists. I DID think of another (legal) way to avoid getting swamped by a crowd of overtaking morning motorists due to poor signal timing. For whatever reason, the eastbound lights don't have timing problems so the afternoon stretch on FM1709 is drama-free.
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| The New, "Improved" FM1709, Sporting its Freshly Poured Median |
BTW, my doctor did not forget to remind me to get rid of the old helmet. He appeared a bit curious about my intention of using it for simulation testing. He'll have to wait for the video. I also stopped by to pick up a "Wally World Best" helmet, since my previous winter helmet melted when I made the mistake of leaving it in the car on a hot day.
On the way home, I noticed that the bike hadn't gone totally unscathed. I'll have to be careful with the touchup paint. I also noticed dirt and dried blood on my gloves. Those gloves were beginning to fall apart anyway and I got a new pair at the HH100.
While at it, I had a chance to rate "bike riding pain" with other versions. From 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst of the lot (
about a 3 or 4 on an absolute scale so we’re not really talking serious pain even for a perfect “10”), here’s how shoulder pain when cycling to work stacked up against other pain producing activities:
- Cycling – 1
- Stuck in MRI machine while they scan my shoulder – 2
- Making a left turn signal while cycling – 3
- Cycling when encountering an unexpected pot hole or rough pavement – 4
- Showering after riding to work – 5
- Driving – 3 (5 if steering, using left arm to make a turn)
- Working at the desk – 5
- Sleeping (by early morning) – 6
- Drinking coffee from a large (or heavy) cup using my left arm – 7
- Reaching forward to turn car lights on – 7
- Reaching up into kitchen cabinet with left arm – 10
- Seeing the chainstay scratches – 10 (actually, this was more a mental anguish)
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| MRI is More Painful than Cycling |
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4 comments:
I think that when we sit at a desk/workstation or at the steering wheel of a car, we put more pressure on our necks and shoulders than we do when we're cycling.
Or maybe we're just less stressed when we're cycling.
I hope that your healing completes itself.
Riding a bike and hurting is still better than driving a car and hurting.
Hope that shoulder gets better soon!
Glad you're back on the bike. Through a couple of different injuries now I've found that the doctors were very optimistic when they told me what I was allowed to do. When I tried their suggestions it still hurt.
I hope you continue to heal well. Maybe the shoulder will sort itself out, or hopefully at least it will be handled relatively easily.
The chainstay scratches aren't bad at all. You're lucky it wasn't worse for your bike.
I hope your physical pain goes away quickly. Seeing the scratches on your Tricross brings me mental anguish as well. That part may take longer to heal.
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No Need for Non-Robot proof here!