Things That Go Bump and Ouch!

Well here I am, back from the dead. Well not really dead, just flat on my back and breathing slowly. It’s been 5 ½ weeks since the accident and I started riding at week three; all my rides so far have been to Sand Point at Nisene Marks). The first ride was okay going up and torture coming down. The second ride (week 4) was better, the third ride (week 4 ½ ) was way too cold; the temp was near 40 deg with a 15 mpg wind chill coming down. The next ride (5 weeks) was much better (I dressed better and it was a little warmer). Tomorrow will be 5 ½ weeks on Monday, with a planned 6 week ride on Wednesday; yes retirement is rough. But there will some added protection in the future.

This crash was a complete surprise to me. I was riding a trail I know very well and have done 20-30 times. This is however was my second helmet breaking crash in 3 months, which started around the time I switched handlebars, so I know part of the problem is I have not taken into account my new bars that do not have me naturally seated as far back as the old bars, leaving me weighting the front too much. But regardless, I have decided that broken ribs and hospital stays really suck ( even with health insurance is also too expensive), so at the risk of looking like some free rider, I’ve picked up some body armor.

This is the Troy Lee Design bp 5850-HW, protective shirt. As you can see, it has padding in all the right places. It is actually used as base protection as you can see, here . I also have to agree with the tester that “This shirt provides amazing coverage, breathes great, and is so comfortable, you totally forget you are wearing it.” I have also purchased some elbow/forearm protectors (different from those on the testers web site). Rather than padded they are more protective. While you can’t see my forearms in the photos, both have taken the brunt of my last couple of falls.


These are on back order so I'll have to wait until I tackle the Vienna Trail, but as soon as they come in its a must do and a confidence re-builder. I am thinking one of the reasons I was injured so badly was rather than bail early, I stayed on the bike too long. Hopefully with this padding I will not be so reluctant to ditch the bike and hit the dirt.