So I wanted to see if anyone had anything to say about insurance for people with our exhilarating yet somewhat dangerous hobby.









Basically, I'm thinking its time to reduce my coverage - I'm a freelancer, so I don't have employer coverage, and I'm just paying for more coverage than I need. So, that means I'm probably moving to a higher deductible plan. This would all be a no brainer...if I didn't intend to race my bike as much as possible for the next few years. Let's face it, crashes are part of the deal.









So, has anyone ever paid out-of-pocket for a broken collarbone, or other common semi-serious injuries? Other thoughts/philosophies on this issue?









R.

The bill for surgical removal of my sons ganglion cyst in his wrist was between $10,000 and $15,000. The bill for my daughters surgical insertion of a Ti rod in her forearm was closer to $30,000. These both involved general anesthesia in a hospital OR. These were the bills presented by the hospital, but I doubt very much that the insurance company paid that much. Not sure how they would handle a "self-insured" individual.

One thought/philosophy would be to move to France or Haiti where healthcare is free to the individual.
David

Definitely very expensive out of pocket, I paid 15,000 for what amounted to a very big cut. Sorry, don't have much substantive to say on the issue, just wanted to add my anecdotal experience that paying out of pocket sucks.

The health care in France is not free... Just the insurance premiums are much lower (universal or compulsory insurance).

Yon

The health care in France is not free... Just the insurance premiums are much lower (universal or compulsory insurance).

Yon

Check NY State sponsored health insurance....

Check NY State sponsored health insurance....

When racing a USAC event we are covered for accidents. There are some limits, and it starts as supplemental, so whatever your insurance doesn't cover. If not insured, the insurance by USAC should cover charges (again, up to an amount)

There are probably much better options for NYC freelancers, but USAC also offers additional insurance -- year round -- health insurance.

http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2589

Disclaimer: you'd be a fool to think anything I just typed is fact. Do your double and triple checking.

cheers

Posted By: eloyWhen racing a USAC event we are covered for accidents. There are some limits, and it starts as supplemental, so whatever your insurance doesn't cover. If not insured, the insurance by USAC should cover charges (again, up to an amount)

There are probably much better options for NYC freelancers, but USAC also offers additional insurance -- year round -- health insurance.

http://www.usacycling.org/news/user/story.php?id=2589

Disclaimer: you'd be a fool to think anything I just typed is fact. Do your double and triple checking.

cheers

fine print. if you do not have primary coverage, the deductible is $5,000.

Hey all,
Yesterday afternoon I was out on a usual loop out here in Jersey. On a gentle descent a black BMW suddenly made a right-hand turn with no signal... I went OTB and into the ambulance. Now, the break is pretty bad, but my real concern is sitting around on my butt doing nothing for the next few weeks. I imagine there are some of you who have had collarbone issues, and so I turn to you...

What should I expect, and is there anything I can do to keep my legs in somewhat decent shape while I'm recovering? If anybody's got advice regarding this type of injury, it'd be much appreciated. In my head I have this dream where I sit on a trainer for the next two months and watch the entirety of netflix instant.

From a sweaty hospital bed,
one very morphine filled konrad

man, sorry for the bad break.

Get healthy and rested, that should be your first priority. I will add more about recovering from collar bone breaks which I have experienced, as I'm sure many others have as well.

konrad!

oh man - i'm so sorry this happened to you.

lots of people here have broken their collar bones and the advice they get is always the same - CHILL OUT!

don't worry about your legs, as they will come back quickly once you're ready to train.

worry about healing yourself 100% properly.

lots of people who didn't are still nagged by the old injury months/years later.

did you hit the BMW? did they stop either way?

all my best,

-wm

Thanks guys. Yeah, I got cut-off as they pulled up into a driveway. Tried an evasive turn with them but got clipped by the front bumper. The options were to turn with them, out into oncoming traffic, or slam into their rear bumper... I wasn't TRYING to pass on the right or anything, just got forced into a poopy situation.

The driver did stop and stuck around for the police report.

So sorry to hear this!! Heal up, hope you feel better soon

So I broke a collarbone as a result of a drunken intramural softball collision. ouch!

One thing I highly recommended is doing lots of physical therapy and range of motion exercises. (With the thera-band and other tools) I started to slack on them when I thought I was heeling and I ended up having lots of discomfort when I started riding again. And even months down the road.

I did do some riding on the trainer once I was a little ways into the healing process, but you have to keep in mind that a broken bone is very serious and takes a lot of time to heal. So rest rest rest rest. Think of it as an unplanned mid-season break.

One thing I read somewhere along the line is that muscle atrophy can be delayed in the hurt arm (or leg) by exercising the non-hurt arm or leg. Apparently your body will try to maintain the muscle mass to prevent imbalances or something along those lines. Food for thought.

Konrad:

get a hulu plus membership for the month ($8) and watch all 6 seasons of Always Sunny In Philadelphia

also, read the Flashman novels by Fraser

Mike: Wow, that's pretty interesting! I'll definitely keep that in mind... worst comes to worse, I have to lean into pictures with my right arm to show off my one massive bicep for the months following recovery.
Will: The first thing I asked for was my laptop for that sole reason. Unless I'm watching Always Sunny, 30Rock, or have a few beers in me I can't relax enough to fall asleep.

Speaking of beers, anybody know of a viewing party type of deal for Roubaix this Sunday?

oh no! konrad, sorry you have to go though this. you know what they say... there are two types of cyclists: those who have broken their clavicle, and those who are about to ;-)

FWIW after having mine pinned and plated i was back to work and back on the trainer about a week after surgery (even with a severe break of 4 pcs.) but was told I couldn't do anything with a risk of falling on the arm/shoulder for 8 weeks and then thereafter was told that i could ride but should avoid group riding / racing, or off-road riding.

To keep somewhat fit I rode the trainer, ran a little bit, and did squats with a hip belt so I could hang the weight instead of supporting it with my shoulders/back.

I wish you the best luck and hope you heal up fast, buddy.

Sorry about your crash and bone break. Hope you continue to feel good with the meds... and the beer (though take care mixing them, as you don't want to fall on that shoulder again!).

Recovery --after my collarbone break, I was off the bike for 6 weeks, then started a few short trainer sessions, then got on the bike almost 8 weeks after the initial injury. My legs and cardio felt quite good. I think I only lost a small amount of endurance and I'm not as young as you are, by a long shot. Of course, my break was fixed-up surgically, which made the shoulder quite strong quickly --the pain wasn't bad at all, just some sharp pangs when I rocked the bike out-of-the-saddle... that went away after a couple of months on the bike.

Definitely enjoy the time-off --especially getting to watch all the bike racing!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery...

-Norm

p.s. I'll keep you apprised of Spooky delivery as I get more details.

Konrad -- sorry to hear about your injury. Heal up quick.

Konrad, sorry to hear about this, heal fast! Make sure you take your time and don't jump back in too fast. The temptation will be strong.

Also, perhaps we can use this thread as a jump off point for general cycling health related stuff (and injuries). I'm currently trying to gradually come back after experiencing some tendonitis in the rear of my left knee (popliteus tendon). I took three weeks off the bike completely and have started very slowly to ease back into it.

I've always used fixed position (non floating) cleats. But perhaps I need to try some float? From the internet digging that I've done it doesn't seem like adding some float would do much for the muscles/tendons in the back of the knee. I also just came across this interesting piece by Joe Friel:

http://www2.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2007/01/cleat-position.html

That kind of radical cleat positioning seems really strange and highly suspect to me.

Also, I've never had a true bike fitting. I've never seen the need as I've never had any problems with my positioning until now. Perhaps now is the time?

Thanks in advance for your input!

E

Eric --

My friend has knee problems and benefits from Speedplay cleats with unlimited float.

From http://www.cptips.com/knee.htm :

Posterior (knee pain)

* Reasons
o hamstring/gastrocnemius
o neurovacular bundle
* Causes
o saddle too high or too far back
o too much pedal float
o leg length discrepancy with no correction for shorter leg
* Possible solutions
o lower seat (in small increments) or move seat forward
o limit float to 6 - 8 degrees
o set seat for longer, not shorter, leg with correction for the shorter leg

The mid-foot cleat position always interested me. I switched to Speedplay pedals because they have a fore/aft extender plate that allows you more cleat adjustment in that plane. Being on the taller side I figured I would benefit from having the cleat farther back on my shoe. I tried placing them well back from the ball of my foot since October and just recently moved them forward again to a more standard positioning "under the ball of the foot".

What I seem to notice is that the closer the cleat is to mid-foot the more it pulls you over the pedals, in other words it seems like it would be better for time trials or shorter efforts where you're suffering a big gear and you're putting most of your weight "over the pedals".

OTOH, With my cleats farther forward I notice I get a little more "finesse" with my pedaling -- specifically at the bottom and top center of the pedaling circle.

I think this makes sense from a bio-mechanical perspective; if your cleat is nearer to your mid-foot it becomes more difficult for your ankle to negotiate the pedaling circle at the top and bottom. A secondary effect of this would be that the mid-foot position reduces the effectiveness of your ankle/foot as a lever in the pedaling circle -- e.g. if my cleat is at mid foot I can't drop my heel as much, nor push over the top as well since the cleat is farther back and takes longer to engage the muscles at this point. In road racing since we're spending most of the time sitting well behind the bottom bracket this allows for a more even pedaling circle. It is also better for slower cadence climbing, in my opinion.

But then again I never tried a true "mid foot" position. I probably wouldn't stick with it for longer rides.

Thanks John!

Interesting that they mention too much pedal float as a possible cause but they say nothing of not having enough. I have been riding with my cleats farther forward for a few years. I seem to remember reading something about making the distance from your ankle to the pedal longer to create more of a 'lever' effect. But then again, I just found this (below). This from Steve Hogg (cyclingnews.com):

Most of the information out there suggests that ideal cleat position is when the
centre of the ball of the foot is positioned over the centre of the pedal axle. For
a host of reasons that there is not enough space to argue in this article, I
would strongly disagree with this for the majority of road riders. Position the
cleat so that the centre of the ball of the foot is slightly in front of the pedal
axle centre. For an approximate guide to cleat positioning in various shoe
sizes, try this:

Shoe Sizes
sizes 39 – 41 centre of ball of foot 8mm in front of pedal axle;
sizes 42 – 43 9mm in front;
sizes 44 – 45 10mm in front;
sizes 46 – 47 11mm in front;
sizes 48 – 50 12mm in front.

More here:

http://www.cyclefitcentre.com/pdf%20final%20docs/SHOE%20AND%20PEDAL%20ARTICLE%208_final.pdf

this really sucks.

I don't know Dan and have never met him, but just hearing about this type of incident makes me cringe.

http://danzmoliksmedicalbills.chipin.com/mypages/view/id/2222141a9a10e2b8

http://nyvelocity.com/content/event/2011/tdf-viewing-party-dan-zmolik-fundraiser#comment-92387

That sounds terrible.

Zmolik is one of the good guys. He came out forever ago and I raced with him when he was just a cat 4. Thanks for posting this. I heard about the crash and wanted to get in touch with the thing. Anyone who can help out please do.

Keith

Anyone have experience/suggestions for dealing with a cycling-related chronically stiff neck? Mine is on the right side only - a pretty serious barrier to riding as much as i'd like. Feel free to contact me off the forum. ksattin@gmail.com 973 809 5272.

any and all ideas are welcome.

Kevin,

2 thoughts. Both roundabout and not directly related to your stiff neck.

1) Do you consider cycling to be the cause of your stiff neck? I'm hypothesizing that maybe uneven shift levers, a slightly skewed saddle, or something else in your riding form / fit could be causing an imbalance that causes the right side of your neck to be stiff only. Or - do you stare at a computer all day - and is it it on the side of your desk?

2) I've found that many aches and pains are in some way connected to my back. A foam roller can do wonders to loosen up a stiff back (hamstrings, quads, etc.) and help overall body aches.

http://www.amazon.com/Foam-Roller-6-x-36/dp/B000Y4W9VA/ref=sr_1_3?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1323429203&sr=1-3

Occasional trips to the chiropractor and a massage every few weeks has done wonders for me.

@ Ryan do you have a chiro you like? I basically view the entire profession as a bunch of quacks but good LORD do I have a couple of joints that need crakin'...

@Jules

I had one I liked but he's in Manhattan now;

Cooper Chiropractic & Wellness Center
450 Park Avenue South, Suite 2B
New York NY 10016
(212) 679-4233

Yeah, I know people see them as quacks but my first hand experience is that a couple years ago I had terrible discomfort and pain in one spot in my mid-back (right about where the spine really tips over in that aero position) and after a few treatments it went away. It would come back here and there but as long as I went about once every 6 weeks or so it would never get too bad. I did that for 18 months or so and the problem went away completely, so now I don't go at all. I think it's been about a year since my last visit.

Also, I just enjoyed it. Laying on the rollers with the electrodes on, and getting the hard teas tree oil massage they gave me felt damn good!