I was very excited to report that I bought a spiffy new 24-speed Marin Navato hybrid bike. I say "was" because, Friday morning, the bike and I got in our first accident. The bike will not be seeing much action for several months.
What happened? Nothing exciting--just accident-prone me and the asphalt. I was on my way to school, had just come down a pretty steep hill, and was turning into a parking lot that I usually cut through. I braked and swerved to avoid some chunks of loose asphalt in the road... and skidded out. Fortunately, a contractor working on a house nearby cleaned me up and took me to the hospital.
Most of the force of the fall went into my left arm. The result is a break in my elbow and a fracture in my wrist (for those who want the wonky terms: a displaced medial epicondylar fracture of the elbow and a non-displaced scaphoid fracture). Both require surgery, which has been scheduled for this Thursday. An orthopedic surgeon specializing in "upper extremities" will perform the procedure.
As for the bike, it will not need a trip to the shop although sadly it is no longer shiny and new.
I'll post again when I've emerged from surgery and slept off the anesthesia. In the meantime, I leave you with one request: wear a helmet and slooow down when you're riding your bike. They're really more dangerous than we let ourselves believe, and it doesn't have to be a collision to cause injury!
Posts
