Sweet Mother of Muppets @mugwump sounds like you and the concrete barrier went 12 rounds. Hope you're pain is not too bad. I'll ask KCC team doc to text you...

Jules said:

Sweet Mother of Muppets @mugwump sounds like you and the concrete barrier went 12 rounds. Hope you're pain is not too bad. I'll ask KCC team doc to text you...

don't follow in my footsteps here.

oh no sorry to hear, take good care! sending you healing vibes!

Get better soon JP!

You can always use speech to text.

Crap so sorry JP heal up quickly.

Hope you feel better soon JP and let me know if you need anything since I'm 5 minutes away!

mugwump said:

Jules said:

Sweet Mother of Muppets @mugwump sounds like you and the concrete barrier went 12 rounds. Hope you're pain is not too bad. I'll ask KCC team doc to text you...

don't follow in my footsteps here.

Follow? You know I like to race from the front. I was in the hospital last week to have a hernia repaired. "Robot" surgery they call it. Feeling much better a week out. Can't say I'm a fan but the results should be good.

Feel better JP!

@mugwump heel quickly lad !

All the best JP

I’m only catching on now. JP - hope you’re not in too much pain and that your recovery goes quickly 

So sorry to hear JP, sounds bad but I’m glad it wasn’t worse! Hope you heal well and look forward to seeing you back on the bike 

I'm just seeing your post. I hope the healing is going well and you're back on your feet soon.

call me Wolverine.

Yesterday, after evidence that some of my broken ribs not healing properly, I decided to undergo rib elating surgery. small incision, a cleaning out of muck, temporarily numbing internal chest nerves (maybe three months),then installing small, flexible titanium plates on three oh the broken ribs.

On the plus side, it doesn't feel like I'm being stabbed when I cough. better is that it should ensure that I can return to 100% lung function.  Dont know any negatives yet.  

Wolverine is your new name! glad is working! step by step, little by little!

Wow @mugwump I'm impressed. You must have seriously stacked it to break your ribs that thoroughly, not to mention your scapula.

I'm thinking more Dos Equis than Wolverine though "I don't crash often but when I do it's chest tubes and titanium..."

Glad you're on the mend!

you beat my rib count by 1!  In all seriousness though, I hope you have a speedy recovery and can get that chest tube out quickly.

looks like I'll be in for another few days at least.

On Wednesday, the rib x-rays seemed to indicate that my lung was adhering to the rib cage, so they pulled out the chest tube at 11:30pm.  The removal was pretty easy and I slept much better, even though I have a feeling of being locked at the bottom of the hold in a speed boat (I shouldn't be moving around at all when I sleep and have been using pillows to prob up my elbows rather than dealing of the tugging on my shoulders).

thing is, the lung did not adhere to the rib Thursday afternoon.  So they had to re-insert the chest tube.  It took three tries.  Which also means it's not coming out until Sunday at the earliest.  Definitely do not want to have one reinserted again.

Now, as for the crash itself.  I was picking up speed thanks to gravity.  I wasn't pushing hard, but I knew the little downhill would provide a nice boost.  I went downhill to go under the train tracks.  I was a bit to the right side of the road, though I was going fast enough I think to take the whole lane. There was what I thought was in insignificant pothole ahead.  I rolled over it. My left arm slipped, and the momentum took me leftward into a concrete barrier.  I probably scrubbed off no speed between losing control of my bars and hitting the concrete.  I guess I went shoulder-first into it.

Here's what it looks like: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.971422,-74.1249509,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sj8xbSvDR6GPVwbDO7pMaTA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?coh=205409&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTAxNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw==

The pothole is probably close to where that white car in the image is.  I went shoulder-first into the median.  Im hoping that with all the body trauma, the bike is ok.  

Yikes 
you have some crappy luck with crashes lately , 
feel better soon

Keep taking good care, good luck with the tube

You certainly picked an "immovable object" to arrest yourself on. Really sorry to hear you are stuck there for so long. Heal up fast.

Ah shit that’s so awful luck. Hope you heal up soon and can get a good nights sleep 

Matt Budofsky said:

Ah shit that’s so awful luck. Hope you heal up soon and can get a good nights sleep 

Last night's sleep was pretty decent.  

More importantly, the chest tube came out again today.  They're loading me up on chest x-rays to make sure my lung is ok.   Might have had three today and then am going to have another one tomorrow morning.  

Yes, I somehow picked about the most immobile object possible to crash into.  

In the past few days I've had some knee pain that has gotten progressively worse.  Specifically on the outside of my right knee, and it only hurts when riding (walking is fine).  I haven't made any changes to my position as of late so a bit confused as to what it might be.  It did start after the bear ride, so I think some if it could just be overuse, but took a few days and some light riding and it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

@mugwump I am just catching up. So sorry to hear. I hope you get well soon, and heal up as 100% as possible.

MaxBucksbaum said:

In the past few days I've had some knee pain that has gotten progressively worse.  Specifically on the outside of my right knee, and it only hurts when riding (walking is fine).  I haven't made any changes to my position as of late so a bit confused as to what it might be.  It did start after the bear ride, so I think some if it could just be overuse, but took a few days and some light riding and it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Check your bike. You seat may have shifted down. It may have tilted or slide forward or back. Check your cleats & pedals. If I had a nickel for every time I got random knee pain and it took me a week to realize one of my cleats was loose or worn out. Most recently I realized a plastic retainer (?) for a spring arm in my cleat was busted off.

MaxBucksbaum said:

In the past few days I've had some knee pain that has gotten progressively worse.  Specifically on the outside of my right knee, and it only hurts when riding (walking is fine).  I haven't made any changes to my position as of late so a bit confused as to what it might be.  It did start after the bear ride, so I think some if it could just be overuse, but took a few days and some light riding and it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

How do your cleats look?  If Bear was your longest ride by a decent amount, you might more rest than you think.

MaxBucksbaum said:

In the past few days I've had some knee pain that has gotten progressively worse.  Specifically on the outside of my right knee, and it only hurts when riding (walking is fine).  I haven't made any changes to my position as of late so a bit confused as to what it might be.  It did start after the bear ride, so I think some if it could just be overuse, but took a few days and some light riding and it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Any ideas or suggestions are appreciated.

Make sure you're getting lots of good stretching in as well. Long rides can lead to things getting tight in ways you're not used 

thanks all. @jules cleats were my first thought, but no problems there.  Will double check the saddle as well.  Probably will just take a few more rest days and hope that sorts it.

Back from Hackensackackackackackack.  Glad to have moved out of there and back into my place.

Next up is getting a good night's sleep.  Working on a pillow incline.  

One of the things about getting emergency care not close to home is follow-up visits that are back by the hospital.  Turns out I have to go even farther, out to Montvale.  And I just found out that northbound trains on the Pascack valley line (stops in Montvale) don't start until after 8 in the morning.  

Small steps.  And I did that today, too.  Walked a half-mile.  Wanted to move faster, but with one arm in a sling, not so easy.  Wondering if a fluo yellow sling would cast people out of my way faster.