Road Rash

Crashing on the road sucks. You wear nothing more than lycra, which is about as much as walking out to grab the newspaper in your underwear. Non-cyclists look puzzled when I explain that our outfits aren't some high tech protective gear. Sure they are modern, breath well and have great comfort, but offer no protection whatsoever when it comes to falls on asphalt. SPF 50 is about all they are good for. This particular crash really took off some skin. I was going a zillion downhill and tried to make a 90 degree right turn. I've ridden that stretch a ton before and know it really well, but this time I was a bit overconfident.

I wish I had a better story of heroism or some great clash during a race, but the reality was that I was in the corner by myself with just one other rider following and laid it out going too fast. I was deep in the drops, knee out, whole bit, when the tires just slowly let loose. I was pretty leaned, so I didn't really fall or tumble, but slid - far! When things like this happen, I  go in to slow mo. Time expands and everything is hyper acute. At least I had the sense to know that I was sliding way too long on my hip and tried to get to my feet. Unfortunately, I wasn't wearing gloves and the process of pushing up to my feet took my lower palm off too.

When I did come to a rest, I quickly grabbed my bike and walked over to the curb to get out of the way of possible cars and to check my body. The adrenaline was flowing and I was worried that more serious issues hadn't been felt yet. Things were in order and my bike had only suffered a scrape on the outside of the rear derailler and the tops of the brake hoods; pretty much cosmetic. Time for recovery.

As I was helped in the shower with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a good towel and a lot of scrubbing, I also got a new introduction to Tegaderm. If you've never heard of this stuff before, take a special note. Apparently this stuff was developed for burn victims, and works wonders on road rash. It's like a big sticker, but what it really is, is an artificial skin. It's sort of transparent and breaths, allowing the wound to heal without scabbing up and getting all gnarly. It speeds up the recovery and makes things much easier along the way. I highly recommend it.