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Off the bike for 10-14 days
- Thread starter volklgirl
- Start date
volklgirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Good News, Bad News
Yesterday was a mixed bag:
The Good News: the stitches are out and I can once again walk like a normal person and return to biking.
The Bad News: seems I was right to be concerned about the area that was oozing. There was an area of about 1" that was infected and only healed at the subdural layer. When the stitches were removed (that hurt like a son-of-a-b**** in that area!), the infected area and about 1/2" on either side opened up. So, more antibiotic ointment, oral antibiotics, and doctors visits are in my immediate future. The scar's gonna be a DOOZY!!!!
Oh, and the doctor said "yes you can bike, but if you get dirt in that I'll be pi**ed." How cool is she?
Yesterday was a mixed bag:
The Good News: the stitches are out and I can once again walk like a normal person and return to biking.
The Bad News: seems I was right to be concerned about the area that was oozing. There was an area of about 1" that was infected and only healed at the subdural layer. When the stitches were removed (that hurt like a son-of-a-b**** in that area!), the infected area and about 1/2" on either side opened up. So, more antibiotic ointment, oral antibiotics, and doctors visits are in my immediate future. The scar's gonna be a DOOZY!!!!
Oh, and the doctor said "yes you can bike, but if you get dirt in that I'll be pi**ed." How cool is she?
volklgirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yes I am.snowhot said:
Yes I did - Thank You!!snowhot said:
You can come to our beginner's bike thing on June 2 and bring friends :D :D :Dsnowhot said:
People keep asking me if our ride will really be 'slow' since they know us. The answer is YES, since both of our guides and clinicians are on the injured list (possibly 3 if Chet gets the nod to at least hang around and answer questions). :( I have the leg thing, Ali has a herniated disk and is in PT, and Chet had back surgery a week ago. Some group we are, huhn???
volklgirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Yippee!!
I've finally had 2 consecutive nights without 'ooze' and can now leave it uncovered. :D The crater that opened up from the infection appears to finally be healing and filling in. The non-infected area is already sealed up and the scab is starting to flake off.
Here's the pics from day 18:
Clicking each one will give you a larger view and take you to the file where you can view other injury pics.....scroll through the rest of them at your own risk.
Overview
The infected area
After a total of 23 days, I finally got back on the bike. Yee Haw!!!!!
I got a set of multi-directional release cleats for my shoes which are working perfectly, and my full suspension bike now has a bash guard covering the chainring that did the damage
. My first real off-road riding will be this weekend when I host a Beginners Mountain Bike Ride and Clinic....I'm excited but a little scared. It's really weird how something stupid like this messes with your head looong after the actual wound has healed.
I've finally had 2 consecutive nights without 'ooze' and can now leave it uncovered. :D The crater that opened up from the infection appears to finally be healing and filling in. The non-infected area is already sealed up and the scab is starting to flake off.
Here's the pics from day 18:
Clicking each one will give you a larger view and take you to the file where you can view other injury pics.....scroll through the rest of them at your own risk.
Overview
The infected area
After a total of 23 days, I finally got back on the bike. Yee Haw!!!!!
I got a set of multi-directional release cleats for my shoes which are working perfectly, and my full suspension bike now has a bash guard covering the chainring that did the damage
. My first real off-road riding will be this weekend when I host a Beginners Mountain Bike Ride and Clinic....I'm excited but a little scared. It's really weird how something stupid like this messes with your head looong after the actual wound has healed.
liquidfeet
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So how about a description of this bash chain ring cover thingy? Got pics?
Any advice to help others avoid the pain you've gone through would be great. Every day I go out and ride ... I fall, clutz and pushing-the-limits person that I am. Sometimes I contact the pedals, the chain ring, and of course often the rocks and roots. I refuse to wear protective coverings, but maybe at least giving the BIKE protective coverings would work.
Congratulations on making it through this big ordeal. Yah done goode, girl.
Any advice to help others avoid the pain you've gone through would be great. Every day I go out and ride ... I fall, clutz and pushing-the-limits person that I am. Sometimes I contact the pedals, the chain ring, and of course often the rocks and roots. I refuse to wear protective coverings, but maybe at least giving the BIKE protective coverings would work.
Congratulations on making it through this big ordeal. Yah done goode, girl.
This is a very timely topic. ;)
Last weekend, I fell while hiking my bike down some big boulders. I slipped, my leg went through the space between the 2 wheels and under the chainring! :( So I now have 3 parallel tracks of 5" long running down the front of my lower leg! (Sorry, no pictures, not in the habit). Fortunately, I don't usually wear skirts so no one sees it except my biking buddies, who're perfectly accustomed to such "minor" injuires. The mark look a lot worse than they really is.
And today, I went to a All Girls Ride. And what' more special than the fun and commeradie of mtn biking girls? Every girls in the group (6 total) have scars on their leg that're bigger and nastier than mine!!! :D
Last weekend, I fell while hiking my bike down some big boulders. I slipped, my leg went through the space between the 2 wheels and under the chainring! :( So I now have 3 parallel tracks of 5" long running down the front of my lower leg! (Sorry, no pictures, not in the habit). Fortunately, I don't usually wear skirts so no one sees it except my biking buddies, who're perfectly accustomed to such "minor" injuires. The mark look a lot worse than they really is.
And today, I went to a All Girls Ride. And what' more special than the fun and commeradie of mtn biking girls? Every girls in the group (6 total) have scars on their leg that're bigger and nastier than mine!!! :D
lil mountain girl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
a bashguard is basically a cover for your cogs -- mine covers the front cogs/chainrings.
it's circular and allows you access to your chain/cogs for cleaning but, at least in my case, it also can restrict you from shifting -- the bashguard covers the biggest cog so the chain won't fit.
and as for protective covers for your body, you may want to reconsider on the leg armour.
it's relatively cheap and can be your best friend!!! :D
i recently went on a ride without leg armour and ended up bashing my shin on a log sticking out from the trail -- oops! :o
not to mention the countless times my platform pedals have spun into my shins -- spiky metal hurts!!!
happy riding!!!
it's circular and allows you access to your chain/cogs for cleaning but, at least in my case, it also can restrict you from shifting -- the bashguard covers the biggest cog so the chain won't fit.
and as for protective covers for your body, you may want to reconsider on the leg armour.
it's relatively cheap and can be your best friend!!! :D
i recently went on a ride without leg armour and ended up bashing my shin on a log sticking out from the trail -- oops! :o
not to mention the countless times my platform pedals have spun into my shins -- spiky metal hurts!!!
happy riding!!!
liquidfeet
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've been googling body armor and have found lots of varieties of knee/shin guards for bikers, as well as elbow/ankle guards. No one I know uses these things, but I am thinking of doing the shin/knee thing. The chainring bashguard, if it restricts the use of the large cog, just won't do for me.
Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the info.
liquidfeet
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh, but you have to try! It's wonderful. You'll love it.
I just got done with my daily ride. I am now no longer afraid of the trails that are too hard for me. I just do them anyway and haul the bike up and down the most difficult parts walking beside it. So what? There's nobody there to see me do it; I get to try the same difficult passages over and over again until one day I may be able to do some of them; I get to enjoy the terrain; and I can work on my skills the best way - by using them. It sure gets the heart rate up, so I still get the fitness benefit.
So go ahead and try anything on your bike, and don't worry. Just get off and walk when in doubt.
I just got done with my daily ride. I am now no longer afraid of the trails that are too hard for me. I just do them anyway and haul the bike up and down the most difficult parts walking beside it. So what? There's nobody there to see me do it; I get to try the same difficult passages over and over again until one day I may be able to do some of them; I get to enjoy the terrain; and I can work on my skills the best way - by using them. It sure gets the heart rate up, so I still get the fitness benefit.
So go ahead and try anything on your bike, and don't worry. Just get off and walk when in doubt.
volklgirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I keep forgetting to get pics of the bashguard, but mine doesn't restrict shifting at all. You can get them to replace the outer (big) chainring so you only have the middle and small, or you can get the kind like mine that bolts to the outside of the whole mess, allowing you to use all 3 rings. The trick to putting one on is to determine if you want to 1) space the bash ring out to allow room for your derailleur to move the chain onto the big ring, or 2) raise your front derailleur so it moves over the bash ring while shifting. Since my bike currently shifts flawlessly (the way I like it), I chose not to mess with the derailleur mounting at all, and spaced the bash ring out instead.
Here's the link to mine - scroll to the bottom to the Chainring Guards
https://www.salsacycles.com/chainrings.html.
There's a guy in Oregon that makes them for cheap, cheap, cheap!!! BBG bashguards are available in a variety of colors, sizes, and bolt patterns for $10 (he's also selling some on e-bay). His e-mail is [email protected]. Here's what his look like: https://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/a2/f8/c93d_1.JPG
Here's the link to mine - scroll to the bottom to the Chainring Guards
https://www.salsacycles.com/chainrings.html.
There's a guy in Oregon that makes them for cheap, cheap, cheap!!! BBG bashguards are available in a variety of colors, sizes, and bolt patterns for $10 (he's also selling some on e-bay). His e-mail is [email protected]. Here's what his look like: https://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/a2/f8/c93d_1.JPG
But you will miss the mountain! ;) Imagine what the non-skiing people miss?
You can wear armors to protect the skin but a lot of us just don't bother. Majority of the scratch and scrapes are superfacial anyway. So we just got used to them and know it'll go away on their own.
The best way to get started mountain biking, in my opinion, is actually take a clinic at one of the ski resorts. At least that's how I got started. I was skiing at Mt. Snow late spring some years ago, and saw this flyer about mountain bike clinic... the rest, as they say, is history! ;)
[EDIT]
This is pretty hard core park and I'm not sure it's "beginer friendly". But it just happens there's a mountain bike festival at Peekskill this Sunday... www.wmba.org
volklgirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
It feels soooo good!!
Man it feels great to be back on the bike for real now.
This weekend I went to the coolest clinic. It was called "BARF at the Park" (Becoming A Radical Freerider at Lakeshore Park). It was geared toward cross country riders that wanted to learn to bunny hop, track stand, ride logs, ride skinnies, and jump. I got my first try at wearing armor too! It was the perfect thing for me to get my Mojo back.
Matt set up the first learning area on a wide, grassy, slightly sloped area of the park. We started with trying to learn the track stand (where you remain upright on the bike but without travelling forward), then moved on to learning to lift our front wheels over these teeny little chunks of logs he had set up. Then we worked on lifting the front wheel followed by the back wheel, then hopping over them in one shot. We continued to work on that individually while we waited our turn at the next obstacle....a 12" skinny platform that was 12" off the ground. Here's video of the lesson:
https://tenmilemedia.com/Video/BARF.wmv
Next, we headed out to the pump track. It's a small square area with well-packed humps and berms - by pushing down on the back sides of each hump along the edges of the square and riding high on the berms around each corner, you can actually make laps around it without ever pedalling. It's the most grueling upper body workout I've had in a VERY long time. 3 Laps each time I tried it was all I could manage :o .
Next, we headed for "The Crater" - here's the first picture:
https://www.mmba.org/gallery/lakeshore/Look_Back_Crater
This is looking back at the exit from a ways away. Near the back edge of the picture....You drop into the crater, ride under the fallen tree, then usually have enough speed to jump out . Here's a picture that almost shows you how steep the entrance is: https://www.mmba.org/gallery/lakeshore/Dan_Crater
Next we did a few small downhill rock gardens (piece of cake ;) ) then we headed for this pair of log piles:
https://www.mmba.org/gallery/Lakeshore-Park/lakeshort_park_skill_area_1
The pile is the foreground is about knee-high (1 1/2-2 feet?), then you can either hit the by-pass bridge on the right, or hit the next log pile on the left. The picture is VERY deceptive! There's actually only about 2-3 bike lengths between the piles, and the second pile was about waist high on me (3-3 1/2 feet?). We all looked that 2nd log pile over and walked it before riding it. The 3 guys that were instructing stood on the tree or on stumps on either side as "spotters" in case someone didn't make it. I had to bail on my first attempt because I just didn't have enough speed to make it to the top. On my second try I made it with no problems.
All-in-all, it was an impressive event that gave me plenty of stuff to work on. Making the skinny and the log piles really helped me get my confidence back....it was just what I needed.
Man it feels great to be back on the bike for real now.
This weekend I went to the coolest clinic. It was called "BARF at the Park" (Becoming A Radical Freerider at Lakeshore Park). It was geared toward cross country riders that wanted to learn to bunny hop, track stand, ride logs, ride skinnies, and jump. I got my first try at wearing armor too! It was the perfect thing for me to get my Mojo back.
Matt set up the first learning area on a wide, grassy, slightly sloped area of the park. We started with trying to learn the track stand (where you remain upright on the bike but without travelling forward), then moved on to learning to lift our front wheels over these teeny little chunks of logs he had set up. Then we worked on lifting the front wheel followed by the back wheel, then hopping over them in one shot. We continued to work on that individually while we waited our turn at the next obstacle....a 12" skinny platform that was 12" off the ground. Here's video of the lesson:
https://tenmilemedia.com/Video/BARF.wmv
Next, we headed out to the pump track. It's a small square area with well-packed humps and berms - by pushing down on the back sides of each hump along the edges of the square and riding high on the berms around each corner, you can actually make laps around it without ever pedalling. It's the most grueling upper body workout I've had in a VERY long time. 3 Laps each time I tried it was all I could manage :o .
Next, we headed for "The Crater" - here's the first picture:
https://www.mmba.org/gallery/lakeshore/Look_Back_Crater
This is looking back at the exit from a ways away. Near the back edge of the picture....You drop into the crater, ride under the fallen tree, then usually have enough speed to jump out
. Here's a picture that almost shows you how steep the entrance is: https://www.mmba.org/gallery/lakeshore/Dan_CraterNext we did a few small downhill rock gardens (piece of cake ;) ) then we headed for this pair of log piles:
https://www.mmba.org/gallery/Lakeshore-Park/lakeshort_park_skill_area_1
The pile is the foreground is about knee-high (1 1/2-2 feet?), then you can either hit the by-pass bridge on the right, or hit the next log pile on the left. The picture is VERY deceptive! There's actually only about 2-3 bike lengths between the piles, and the second pile was about waist high on me (3-3 1/2 feet?). We all looked that 2nd log pile over and walked it before riding it. The 3 guys that were instructing stood on the tree or on stumps on either side as "spotters" in case someone didn't make it. I had to bail on my first attempt because I just didn't have enough speed to make it to the top. On my second try I made it with no problems.
All-in-all, it was an impressive event that gave me plenty of stuff to work on. Making the skinny and the log piles really helped me get my confidence back....it was just what I needed.
