I set off on a lovely morning to meet the Kingfishers for our Tuesday ride. I never imagined that I'd be limping home fifteen minutes later.
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| Before and after... |
When I looked at my finger I could tell something was wrong. When I touched it with my other hand, it flopped around like it was made of rubber. I couldn't feel anything. Then I thought; "shit... I've broken my damn finger".
Total Elevation: + 285 / - 289 ft
Total Duration: 01:08:03
Just as I got in front of the car, she decided to pull out. I was perhaps four to six feet away from the nose of her car... then whamo! She just pulled forward and knocked me over. Just like that.
Of course, there were questions of who actually had the right of way. So I looked it up in the highway code. Not every driving/road situation is covered; however, if the driver had followed any of these regulations (The Highway Code: Rule 170), she would not have hit me.
Had her car been moving, I would have stopped. And because her car was stopped well behind the give way lines; I proceeded to cross the junction. It was when I was directly in front of her car that she then pulled forward and struck me.
I have to say too, she was visibly shaken and very concerned. Several other cars stopped and people quickly came to check on me. They helped me out of the road and asked if I needed an ambulance. They all were very generous and caring, even offering to give me a lift home.
However, I was just a little shaken and I didn't think a broken finger warranted an ambulance. Walking home did me good. It was tough pushing my bike along, especially up hill, but I made it back without too much difficulty.
It's when I got home and took off my cycling gloves that I saw the impact I had made with the road.
Yeah, it looked pretty nasty, so I had to document it! However, it was also pretty numb at this point. Time for ice.
Later that day I inspected my helmet. Now there's some testimony for wearing a cycle helmet. Had that been my head... I guess it would have been split instead.
It's weird how accidents seem to happen in slow motion. I distinctly remember my head hitting the roadway with a loud clear crack!
So I spent the remainder of the day sitting with an ice pack on my finger. I didn't know what else to do really. When Melanie got home she couldn't even look at my hand which made me laugh. She insisted I go to A&E.
Fortunately, the hospital at Ystrad Mynach is brilliant (Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr). We went early the next morning and I was out in an hour and half. I can't say enough good things about my treatment. The nurses were excellent. Their care for me was superb. I had a quick inspection, a few x-rays determining that it was just dislocated, not broken. (Whew!) Then they reset my finger, took another couple of x-rays, gave me a final check and sent me on my way by 9:30 am. Just what you want from a hospital and all that you need.
Now I can't say enough good things about the NHS. I walked in, gave my name and address, they fixed me up, and sent me home. Total cost; £0. Had this been in the US it would have cost anywhere from $1,000 to $5,000 (see: Cost of a broken or dislocated finger.) Shocking.
Lastly, a few days later I went to work on my bike. My rear wheel needed truing, the front brake cable holder was bent, but when I tried changing gears, something odd was happening.
I have no idea how it happened without damaging the crank arm(s), but the outer chain ring was broken. Weirdnees.
Now I've put her back together and I've been out for a couple of rides. Along with a couple of new tyres, my trusty steed is as good as new.
So for the time being, I'm sat at home, a bit stiff and sore, working the recovery mode and shopping for a new bike helmet! And that's how it goes sometimes...
See ya down the road, Cheers! - cm
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| Ride Name: | Dislocated Finger | ||
| Start Date: | Thur. May 07, 2019 | ||
| Starts in: | Oakdale, Wales, GB | ||
| Departed: | 08:30 AM | ||
| Distance: | 3.2 mi / 5.1 km | ||
| Elevation: | + 285 / - 289 ft/td> | ||
| Max Grade: | 9.7% | ||
| Duration: | 01:08:03 | ||
| Move Time: | 00:34:32 | ||
| Stop Time: | 00:33:31 | ||
| Max. Speed: | 28.0 mph | ||
| Avg. Speed: | 5.5 mph | ||
| Weather: | sunny | ||
| Temp: | 10°c / 50°f | ||
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