There was a big crash, and then I didn't want to write about it. So I didn't write about anything. But now I am back

Where have I been you ask?  Those of you that are my f/b friends will know that it May, at the Horsey Hundred, I lost control of my bike at mile 54ish of the 100 mile ride, just inside the boundaries of Woodford Co, KY.  I wasn't sure how to write about it.  It was definitely very scary.  I was thankful that it was part of an organized ride with SAG support AND extra insurance, although so far my insurance has covered the majority of my bills.  I was riding with Valerie at the time.  She was ahead of me on a steep 10% downgrade hill with a sharp more than 90 degree turn at the bottom.  The guys, Austin, Ryan, and Kent, had already ridden ahead.  I went into the turn way to fast, and a man had crashed ahead of me (didn't see it happen), but there was a different man screaming to slow down.  So I slowed down, but way too quickly, lost control of my bike, and slid across the road, and finally came to a stop by going hands and headfirst into a rock wall on the side of the road.  The guy in front of me was not so lucky.  He didn't hit the wall, but hit the ground and then tumbled over the guardrail just ahead of the curve.  I was just so thankful to not be moving anymore.    Someone rode to get Ryan, and Valerie stayed with me.  EMS and SAG were on their way.   I just needed a hug from Ryan so badly!  I was able to move around, and a couple riders who were medical personnel stopped and assured me that I would be OK.  Everything hurt, though.  I mostly had flesh wounds and contusions.  Ryan came back and SAG came and took my bike, which had the rear wheel knocked out of the frame, and Ryan's, as well as the other gentleman's bike (Craig).  Then the ambulance arrived and Ryan rode in front with me and Craig in the back.  I was in much better than he was.  After an entire afternoon and evening at the UK ER, I was discharged with several stitches in my left elbow and a major abrasion and contusion on my left knee, and abrasions on my left shoulder.  I was wearing my SOAS kit that I had wanted so badly, and it was soaked through with blood and dirt.  It shows really well on the hot pink and white that I had chosen.  Plus, I had a brand new white Pearl Izumi cycling bolero that I had just purchased the day before since it was cooler and I needed something to cover my arms and shoulders to stay warm and not look like a tri dork in a sleeveless top and sleeves.  My white bolero was put in a hospital bag and I didn't want to look at it.  It took the brunt of the fall and saved my skin.  I left the hospital in socks they provided to me (those bike shoes were NOT going back on to walk outside), my tri kit, and a blanket.  Kent, Valerie, and Austin finished the ride, and picked up my bike and Ryan's from the start, and brought them to us in the hospital.  They arrived just shortly after I was allowed to go home.  I was really bummed.  I hurt everywhere, I ruined Ryan's ride, my ride, and I had no idea what condition my bike was in.  I was supposed to ride 100 miles again in 2 weeks.  ARGH!  I was thrilled that I had no real season ending injuries, but I needed some time to recover for sure.  I had almost signed up for Muncie the night before this event.  I was super happy I didn't.  The price was going up, but I figured it was better to wait and spend an extra $25 and know with a good certainty that I would be able to do the race.  Instead of sign up, have a huge crash, and either do really poorly or put myself in a dangerous situation to race unprepared just because I had paid for it.

I have a bunch of pictures from the crash, my wounds, my outfit, ect.  Since right now as of time of posting it, I pretty much just have some scarring, I'm going to skip all the gore and just show you the picture of the road where I crashed.  I have a sizeable lump on my left elbow/forearm, which really hurts to ride in aero.  Its improved a lot since May, though.  I'm happy to say that since this incident, I went on to ride in the Michigan Mountain Mayhem (2 weeks later, very painful and short), Triceratops Tri (not my best, but hey, I was out there doing my thing), worked on a 5K series, the Oldham County Grand slam (two more to go), Muncie 70.3 (I was able to do it, yay!), and the Tree Farm Relay (no crashes this year, isn't that amazing!!!).

Also, here is a picture of Valerie and I in Frankfort, in front of the state capitol.  This was about 10 miles before the crash.  BTW, Ryan is the best husband and washed my SOAS kit as soon as we got home.  It came out looking great!  All the spots came out except for the tiniest spot on the back under my shoulder.  A few days later, I took the shrug out and soaked it in hydrogen peroxide.  All the blood came out, and it had a few dirt spots remaining.  The tear under my elbow was very clean, and it stitched closed easier than my elbow. I put a couple more small tacks in the shoulder area, and I wore the whole outfit again at MMM two weeks later.  The bike was OK too.  A few "flesh wounds" for it too, but nothing terrible.  It's worst wound was sustained at MMM last year when I dropped my chain.

I have lots of recaps to catch up on, PLUS some exciting news about my fall schedule!!!  I will be blogging about the Louisville Sports Commission Half Marathon in exchange for an entry!  Yay!  I did the inaugural race in 2011, and had to skip last year because of too many events too close together.  I just love fall half marathon season!  I'm glad I know about this one early because I can put it on the calendar and not let too many other things interfere.  I do have ICEMAN, but hopefully that won't wear me out too much.