to ride or not to ride

Date: Sep 9, 2004

to ride or not to ride

Date: Sep 10, 2004

Wayne,

I'm not all that experienced, but it would probably depend upon your conditioning and your own confidence. Have you had time to condition enough so that the ride will be enjoyable? Will you enjoy the ride if you are still a little "edgy" about another crash? You've had a terrible accident, and sometimes it takes a while to get mentally as well as physically healed. Best of luck on your choice. K. David Whitehead, Sterling, New York.

Date: Sep 10, 2004

What does your doctor say?? How fast do you heal??

I broke a rib on a beer slide on the second day of RAGBRAI one year. Rode the entire rest of the ride on it. It was RAGBRAI, so there were 'pain killers' all along the route.

See how you feel a week or so before the ride. If you think you may be able to make it, but want an out avaliable, we may be able to but you in the team bus each day to get you to the next overnight.

bAD dOG, Team Pok-A-Dot, gumbycycling@juno.com

Date: Sep 10, 2004

Glad to hear I'm not the only one facing this delimma. I crashed last Friday, nothing broken, but lots of road rash, a deep gash over one eye, and badly bruised ribs. I'm pretty sure I will be physicaly ok by Oct 1, but may be a little de-trained and I'm not sure if I'll be ready mentaly. I'm just planning to see how it goes week by week, and make a decision just before the ride. Bummer, as I'm sure you were, I was really looking forward to this tour.

Good luck.

Date: Sep 10, 2004

One thing to consider is that for the first part of the week you will be doing some fairly strenuous climbing. This will require some pulling with your arms on the handlebars. At the end of the day though we all love to hear about the pain and suffering of our fellow peddlers! So come and keep us motivated!

Date: Sep 11, 2004

Wayne,

Pack your bag and see if you can handle it comfortably. You may have trouble moving your gear around than cycling. Your middle name isn't 'Tyler', is it?

I'd recommend that if you are experiencing sharp pains as you lift and carry or while riding, that you wait till next year. This is supposed to be fun, and sharp pain is your body's signal that something is wrong. A broken collarbone is something wrong. If it aches but isn't sharp, and you can move your stuff, you have a decision to make.

Jack

Date: Sep 12, 2004

Here is another option. Volunteer. come with your bags packed and bike in hand. Give the first day a try. If you are still hurting and the fun factor is near zero you can flag down a SAG wagon and help out at the rest stops or something or just rest alittle more . Then later in the week try again.

Come by and say hello to Team poke a dot. New friends are always welcome at the dog patch.

Date: Sep 13, 2004

Having had a fractured collar bone, I can say that it typically will heal in 6 weeks; however, pre-break strenghth is about 10 weeks. Landing on it again could mean possibly re-fracturing it. I did ski after 8 weeks...Never fell on it. I would probably ride, but you are going to know how you feel. Your doctor may tell you not to; he would have no choice but to tell you that. The suggestion about using the SAG if pain prevented you from all day, or a particular day, is a good one. I fractured my collar bone and a couple of ribs on day one of CNC in 2001, and I stayed with the ride all week (couldn't ride) and had a great time!

Date: Sep 13, 2004

Yes, however this is Gill and he could do this ride with a broken leg and still drop me on every hill. This is the old man that rides up Beech Mt (see Tour Dupont) twice per week. Good luck with the collar bone, but I would give it a try. If it is no fun then hit the sag wagon. This is designed to be fun you know.

Date: Sep 26, 2004

Thanks everyone for your input. I will see you all on the ride, I'm going to do it. I've been doing some shorter rides for a week and a half testing what I can do. Today I did 50 mi with plenty of hills. Yeah I have some aches but hey, at my age that's pretty much the norm. X-rays this week showed some calcium deposits in the big glob holding the bone ends together. I'll have a big lump since the bone decided not to line back up. Thanks again and see ya'll in a week.

Date: Sep 27, 2004

hi Wayne

i'm glad you are on the mend. i'm expecting to pull a bit of a Tyler myself as my beloved family pet golden retreiver was last week diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. She will be in the loving hands of my son and my brothers while i am gone, i only dont expect them to drive her across the state to me if she goes way down hill as Tyler's wife flew Tugboat to france in the end.

huge bummer, i'm just hoping she will stay strong and well thru the week. the vet thinks she has another month. that was as of last week. :|

Date: Sep 18, 2006

Wayne Go for it!! Relax take it SLOW and easy. Take it easy and always stay ahead of

yourself. If you do that you will do GREAT!! Wayne I am no where near a pro. I just started

riding a bike about 5 Months ago and I am up to 30 miles a day now and love it. By the way

the age here is 61 and counting backwards. I ride a encumbant which I really like. Lots of fun

and very relaxing. You can e-mail me ka4ksb@earthlink.net. Also if you like can chat on the

phone if you wish 252-638-3688. Look forward to the 30th. God Bless