fall

i am going to do my best to write something out now but i am a bit loopy from the pain killers. im also on someone else's computer so i will post pics when i can find my own power cord.

yesterday started out amazing. first 30 or so miles out of salida were along the arkansas river in a nice canyon with mountains all around. we made a pretty tight pack and knocked it all out in just over an hr then took a rest stop prior to starting the climb. the first part of the climb was about 20 miles gaining a few thousand feet elevation as we made our way to the rest stop. had a great lunch then continued our climb towards for another 15 or so miles. was kinda rushing it so that i could reach another century prior to getting swept by the vehicles and heading to denver. nate and i were on pace to make it as we flew to the summit and began our descent for the last 30 or so miles.

the descent was a blast as we were flying down very tight and technical turns. one of those times that you can't help but smile the entire time down. about 10 miles into the descent (around mile 80) we hit this series of turns with speed limits of 30 mph, 35 mph, 25 mph then 30 mph. was having a blast and being careful at the same time when i felt the ground move underneath me on a patch of gravel then hit the ground. i think i was going about 30 or so mph as i slipped. it was a tight left turn so my bike continued in the direction i was turning while i hit my left side with some force and whipped around to my back to control my fall so i wouldn't hit the guardrail. i saw nate finish the turn while i was on my back and my only thoughts were "this is going to hurt". luckily the car behind me stopped and made sure i was alright then eventually other riders caught up to check on me. carissa waited for me until i got picked by fernando and bobby. they took me back to get cleaned up and we started heading to denver. overall my left elbow and left hip took the greatest impact but both knees, my right elbow, my ankles and my fingers were all scraped up pretty good. got to our location in denver and started cleaning out the wounds a little better when i noticed the muscle was very well exposed but it was difficult to see if the joint was still intact. decided to take a trip to the ED to get it checked out.

ashley kindly joined me for an evening in the ed as we waited for several hours to get checked out. they got x-rays, then consulted the orthopedic people to make sure my joint capsule was not broken (in fear of an infected joint). in order to test it, they injected blue dye into it to see if it leaked. luckily the joint was fine, however, the dye couldn't be removed so the pain in my elbow is pretty extreme - almost feels like there is a rod from my elbow to my fingers. after they checked the joint, they sewed up the wound with a couple sutures and we were on our way home (at like 4am). glad everything checked out. also glad i have friends like ashley, joe and jess who all kept me company. was a long painstaking evening with the exception of watching juno on ashley's computer.

think i need to lay down, this stuff is strong. peace.