Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Rider Down


What can I say, now that the "I told you so" field is wide open, I can't treat my bro like that. The fact of the matter is this, the learning process comes with some consequences, and we all have to experience them. Road biking is no different.

S'quatch busted his arm flipping over the bars of his road bike. That's right- he wrecked on the pavement and sprained or maybe broke his wrist last night. Oh bitter fate! Oh cruel temptress speed!

The details are not important- a dog, a swerve, a crossed wheel, a familiar and sad story. The blame goes where? The dog? The swerve? I say this is an indictment of road biking itself!

My treatment reccomendation is two weeks off the bike completely, take up walking and treading water as cross training, and get some damn x-rays. S'quatch on the other hand (no pun intended) is hoping to put some kind of Wal-Mart brace on it, skip the x-rays, and ride on!

You have to admire the guy's spirit.

That's all for now. I'm headed for the golf course with Tommy Torso. Sorry Dr. D, wish you were joining us.

I ask you all, for the sake of your inner children...

If there is any possible way you can skip out early, call in sick, or quit your job altogether, I ask you- why not today? Why not right now?

-Juancho

10 comments:

Sascha said...

Because no one ever takes a header when mountain biking. That sport is 100% safe!

sasquatch said...

Yeah, I'm going, I'm going. But this is the injury that shifts the gossip at the office. This is where I go from the guy who rides his bike a lot to the klutz who gets banged up a lot. Medical attention twice in the same month because of a recreational choice doesn't fly in the professional world. This morning when I called for the x-ray referral the business manager at my doctor's office asked, earnestly, "So, are you going to park that bike?"

Juancho said...

All those people are the enemy and must be crushed.

Yes- Mountain biking actually is 100% safe- Thank God.

hitops said...

It's true the details aren't all that important, but the dog was blameless. Like any snafu, it stemmed from a chain of unfortunate events, without any one of which there'd be nothing to report. Chalk it up to the ambiguity of language. It's a shame the same word -- right -- can mean OK, yes, and turn here. Think I'll start signaling like the other roadies.

Anonymous said...

Safe being a relative term I would have to side with he MTB Mafia- the dirt, like those who ride it, is softer. I would much rather crash in the grass or the sand or the mud or the dirt before hitting the pavement.

Juancho said...

Hmmm, the Nascar theory is strong.

Dogboy- you must pay for your insolence!

Anonymous said...

Riding above one's skills almost always results in unintended consequences. Just 'cause you're old and "been ridin fer 50 years", doesn't mean you have good skills. More than likely, it means you have a bunch of slow-speed bad habits to break.

"Le'Tour syndrome" certainly brings out the worst in amateur riding.
But I guess that 5-minute super-star sprint is worth the slow&sloppy hour to follow. I'm not accusing s'quatch of any errors of hubris, but two bad accidents in a row is usually nature's way of saying, "you are about to strike out." So let's wear those helmets, and be prepared for ANY situation in front of our wheels.

hitops said...

The soapbox runs strong in this thread. Having witnessed the first of Sas' recent crashes and been involved in the second (tireburn on the calf -- small ouch), I don't think we're lookin' at the cycling equivalent of "Smokey and the Bandit" syndrome, when every Shmo raced out of the movie parking lot after watching Burt do his thing. With vacations, back yard renovations, and work, I doubt Sas was paying much attention to the Tour de Testosterone this year. Our man's always been accident prone -- just ask his pa. Ridin' with his half-deaf and capricious pal Hitops just ups the ante.

Juancho said...

HT- At risk of leaving S'quatch exposed to liability I have to say, I don't think you had any culpability in this latest mess. Tha't all I'm going to say on that.

anonymous- get yourself an identity so we can single you out for persecution sometime too. It's fun!

sasquatch said...

Damn, I'm taking it on the chin in this blog-off. Sheesh. Now where did I put my damn walker?!