I know what you're all thinking-am I ok, what happened, was I in a crash, etc. Yes I was. But that I will get to later. I've got to tell you about the Firecracker ride first!
So I got up early on Thursday morning for the Firecracker Ride, a 50k and 100k cycling event that leaves from All Star bike shop in Saltbox Village in Cary, NC, for Multiple Sclerosis research. This is a chilled ride, it isn't timed, just a fun ride to get out, celebrate the 4th of July, and help out a good cause. Regardless, we all were going to treat the ride like a race anyway, let's be real. So, we get to the race and register, then ride around the parking lot waiting for the ride to start at 8am.
This is a picture of the over 1000 amazing people who came out to support the ride, and the other picture is of me under the start banner. I lined up next to the Capital Cycling Club, a group of riders who seemed very fast. We started out at 8oclock, and started to casually ride out of the parking lot. Once we got on Kildaire Farm road though, the pace quickened. We started rolling down this road in excess of 26-27mph. I stayed tight on the CCC guy's wheels, and just was catching an easy draft, having a good ride. We caught up with the Lonerider Cycling team, and those were the two big groups that established themselves early in the ride. We approached the big hill on Kildaire Farm road, you guys know, the big one the is super long and winds up towards Penny road? Well, to get home from work, I have to climb that hill. I thought to myself, even though this is a huge peloton and it's really early, this is MY hill. No one climbs it better than I do. So, I went off to the left of the peloton and started to climb the hill by myself. I quickly pulled away from the group.
In this picture, it's hard to see, but that is me, with a big smile on my face, pulling away from the main peloton, in the left-hand side of the picture. I led all the way up to just across Penny Road, because I sat up on the pace and waited for the group to catch up, then tucked myself back into the group and caught my breath. I sat up and talked with people in the group, until we got to around 25k, where we started another steep incline. I was third in line for the leader, and when it was my turn to pull, I started to pull well. I went straight up the hill and when I looked back, I had distanced the pack again! But after a while, I sat back into the group and just hung out, again talking with friends and making new friends. In fact, I passed my boss at one point descending down a big hill, which was awesome to me. So, the overall ride was a lot of fun, and I was getting a ton of great experience drafting off of experienced roadies.
Finally, I'll tell you guys about the crash. We were approaching 70 kilometers, and truthfully, I was feeling like a Tour rider. I remember a plethora of details very well: We were descending a good hill, I was about 15 riders behind the front of the race, and I looked down at my computer and I was going 57kph. Jordan lake was approaching on my right, and it looked very pretty. Then, it gets hazy. I believe someone on my right started to get wobbly and lose control, but I'm not for sure. The next thing I know, I'm looking up at three other cyclists over me and in the one closest to my face, in his sunglasses I see my reflection-I'm on the ground, my arms are sprawled on the asphalt and I'm bleeding heavily from my face and ear. I couldn't feel the right side of my jaw, and my whole body felt bruised and scraped. He was saying words but I couldn't understand him at first. A few seconds later, I could hear him, and then I started responding. I would later learn I had been unconscious for quite a while and was very unresponsive for a span of time, not sure how long. Even now, I cannot recall crashing. But, the man who was helping me got someone to call 9-1-1, and he called my mom for me. The ambulance came quickly, and they put me on a stretcher. This was a very surreal, scary moment for me. When I woke up looking at those cyclists, my first thought was "Is this real?" After all of how this year has gone, another crash wasn't possible. At least I thought. Once I was on the stretcher, the EMT's strapped me down and carried me and another man involved in the crash into the ambulance. The EMT asked me a few basic questions and wrote down my answers, and then told me he was going to start an IV. Guys, I hate needles. I absolutely HATE them. So I kind of got a mini panic attack in my head, but I contained it. He started the IV and got some fluids pumping into me, and I was good to go. We were quiet for the rest of the ride to UNC hospital, which kind of freaked me out. Once we got to the hospital, I got unloaded and taken into the ER. As they were checking me in, I'll tell you guys: I was on a backboard, you know, one of those things that keeps your neck in a neutral position in case you have a neck injury; but out of all my injuries, my butt hurt the most. Backboards are the most uncomfortable things EVER. I couldn't wait to get off the backboard and into a hospital bed, to be honest. Once I was off the backboard, I was rushed into a CT scan, an ankle X-ray, and a pelvic X-ray. The CT scan revealed that my jaw was broken, which made sense, but my pelvis and ankle was OK. I was relieved to hear this, and I'm glad that I wasn't too badly hurt. The doctors came in very regularly to keep checking my vitals, and were all spectating my wounds. I had road rash all over, mostly on my legs, knees, hips, shoulders, arms, elbows, and face. Other areas too, just not as bad. I tore my jersey in the shoulder area, and my cycling shorts have a HUGE hole in them in the right hip where I made impact with the ground. My helmet is also broken from impact, but my bike survived with some damaged shifters and scratched bar tape, which I was relieved to hear. Anyway, the doctors recommended immediate surgery for my jaw. I agreed, and went into surgery shortly after. The surgeon installed screws into my gums and wired my jaw into place. This has forced me onto a liquid diet for the next 6 weeks. So, on the plus side, maybe I'll lose that weight! Haha after the surgery, I had 4 stitches put into my face for very deep holes in my face from the road. I was up all night, constantly awoken by doctors, nurses, and pain. So, when the morning rolled around, I was delighted to be able to watch the Tour de France from the comfort of my hospital bed. It was a great stage. But, all in all, that was my crash in a nutshell. I tried to sum it up so I don't force you guys to sit and read this huge article, but this was my big one. My big crash that puts a lot of other stuff on hold. I'm still adapting to this new lifestyle, but I'm getting used to it.
If anyone knows any good recipes, please comment with good liquid recipes! I have to thank all of you for being concerned, all of my friends and family have made this so much more bearable for me. This has been a life-changing experience, and I hope to be able to influence some of you positively with this story.
This has really been a life-changing year for me, and it's taught me so much. I'll follow up with additional blogs after, but just make sure to keep your head up and stay motivated. I love all of you guys, as fellow triathletes, athletes, and followers.
If you are training this summer, be careful, and just be smart. It's never any fun when you get hurt.
Happy training!
So glad you weren't hurt any worse. Stay strong and get better soon.
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