 Thank you so much for your nomination of my entry, Time for a Rant for a Diarist.Net
award in the "best rant" category. If you have an on-line journal and are
so inclined, I'd thank you even more for your vote!
Congratulations to my buddies for their nominations too... Marn, Sunshyn, Michael, and Terri...and a BIG congratulations to Steve on being nominated for a
well-deserved "Legacy" award. Check out all the entries and vote your
conscience!
BOINK
8 June 2003
This was not how I planned to end Sacramento's Ride Against
Hunger.
It had been a lovely day--no wind, in stark contrast to last year.
Haggie was laid up with her bad arm from her recent bike accident, and Olivia has had to
give up biking because of her bike accident. (Maybe I just felt left out.)
Walt decided to ride with me this year--his first organized ride.
The plan had been to make the 16 mile ride, but by the time we reached the
turn around point we were both feeling so good that when Jenipurr, whom we met there, said
"C'mon...go the full 30 miles," we thought "why not?"
So we continued on to the end, very glad we had, and then started the ride
back to Raley field. We were pleased to see we weren't even stragglers. We passed a
lot of people still headed toward the end.
As we came into town, I saw the deep pothole a fraction of a second too
late and next thing I knew, I was flying off the bike. It all happened in slow
motion as I thought about Haggie and Olivia, tried to keep my glasses from getting broken,
and prayed I would not break my arm. I was very relieved to be able to stand, albeit
a bit shakily. I survived my first bike accident with only a scraped knee.
Walt fixed the bike frame...the handlebars and the tire went in different
directions...and after a bit of a "time out," we continued on our
way...the last 2 miles.
Raley Field was in sight when I had my second accident. The bike
lane is very narrow, there was a lot of traffic, and the lane ends with about a 1"
drop to the dirt. My wheel went off the edge and again I found myself on the ground.
This time I knew instantly it was much more serious. I thanked God I was
wearing a helmet when my head hit the pavement with a loud BOINK.
I tried to move and there was a sharp pain in my left shoulder. It
was all very exciting--I had bikers, passers by, police, firemen, paramedics and even a
metermaid.
In the midst of the chaos I remembered to ask Walt to take a photo--had to
be journal material in there somewhere.
I went by ambulance to Kaiser...definitely not the most comfortable
experience--especially curves and bumps.
I sat in the ER forever,,,
Bottom line (I'n getting tired of typing one-handed), my shoulder was
dislocated and fractured. Not sure how long I'm going to be out of commission, but
it's a safe bet I won't be biking again in the near future. |
