Troutbirder II

Troutbirder II
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Saturday, August 22, 2015

It Could Have Been A Lot Worse (update from 2008)


So there  are  Baron and myself at a happier moment sitting among the wild geraniums in the spring of 2008. A few weeks before this photo the big guy  and I crashed and burned as I was racing downhill on my bike and he decided to catch a rabbit that had cut in front of me on the road. Over the handlebars I went onto the blacktop after slamming one the brakes and crashing into Baron. He kept going after the bunnies and was a little late in coming back to see if I survived.  Lassie he was not.  A visit to Urgent Care in Rochester showed that I had nothing broken to go along with my head gash, scrapped arm, sore neck,  sprained shoulder, hip pointer and bruised left leg. Reading Boulder Colorado's newpaper this morning I decided it could have been a lot worse.......

Colorado bicyclist took a tumble Tuesday after colliding with a black bear.
Tim Egan was training for the upcoming Triple Bypass Bike Race when the bear darted out in front of him on a country road near Boulder.
Egan and his nephew estimate they were traveling at about 45 miles per hour on the hill just west of Boulder when the collision occurred.
Neither one could believe what happened.
"I saw a blur and thought to myself, 'Big dog.' Then just as I was hitting it, I saw this gigantic bear head with huge teeth. He was surprised to see me and I was surprised to see him. It was almost like a cartoon when we collided," Egan said.
Egan and his bike were thrown through the air.
Egan's breath was knocked out and he was afraid he'd broken his back.
He couldn't move for several minutes.
His nephew pulled up on the scene just seconds later and told him the bear was still there.
"I remember thinking to myself, 'I'm alive, but the bear's here. Oh, this is bad,'" Egan said. "I mean, this bear was as high as my waist. He was extremely well-fed and a big guy. And he wasn't happy. He looked at me and he opened his mouth."
Eventually the bear sauntered off into the woods, apparently uninjured.
Egan, though, was bleeding profusely and his bike was bent.
He and his nephew got it straightened out and rode to Boulder Community Hospital.



And so now eight years later it's been time to pay the piper.  A benign head tremor and "calming" pills the calmed me so well I had a of number vertigo episodes,  an undiagnosed, at the time of injury,  broken collarbone, traction on the neck a.k.a. they strap your head to a machine and try to pull it off., too many shoulder x-rays and MRI's to count and now finally shoulder surgery to relieve or fix two paragraphs worth of  abnormal , torn  arthritic, not normal, spurring, diffuse shoulder, parts most of which I've never heard of before.
Maybe I was wrong those many years ago.  Running into a three hundred pound bear might not necessarily have been worse.
 Me, my bike, my sling and Miss Lily discussing why biking together is no longer an option.

13 comments:

  1. I had an injury fifteen years ago that is just now beginning to emerge as an arthritic hip. I was thinking about taking up bicycling, but I have decided it's too dangerous. I'm glad you're going to be okay after all this. Right? :-)

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  2. Oh you poor man. I sure hope they get it all straightened out ... no pun intended. Did you not have pain over the years?

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  3. What an experience! I always thought it would be wonderful to see a bear in the wild -- but not the way you did. What a story -- barbara

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  4. Well, I hope after all this time you are fully cured. Think of it this way, though, your account of the event was perfect blog material.

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  5. On the other hand, isn't it great to be aging in this day of medical marvels? Yes, time to put the bike out to pasture.

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  6. Indeed. Running into a bear is like running into a big fluffy pillow, or an air bag. A bear bag. I hope you mend soon though. I crashed on pavement like that once. It's not pleasant. It takes awhile.

    Great picture you and Miss Lilly! Regular thespians you are.

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  7. Wow, Lily is a big girl! I think you meant you now need surgery and if so, best wishes for a successful repair and quick healing.

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  8. OH MY! Baron sounds like my Thalia! I've wanted to try biking with her and feared something like this rabbit story. My shoulder is coming along - not allowed to move actual weight yet, (a grocery bag is too heavy. That is annoying.) but the MD says I am light years ahead of where he expected me to be. So - that is good right? Do your therapy, I'll do mine and perhaps we shall both be biking again before too long. Give Lily a hug from me.

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  9. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~class/am485_98/cook/develp2.htm#guard
    I think rather than fencing in people began fencing the undesirables out.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheep_Wars Free range was a hard pill for some to follow.

    Look at you! You are still teaching and made me do the research! Thanks. I do like to learn.

    Have a great night. Heal quickly.

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  10. Yikes! That was still horrible. I know many who have had accidents while trying to combine a dog walk with a bike ride. You are wise to leave Lily behind.

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  11. I see you have a sling. I hope you are healing and doing your therapy. Walking may be a good exercise for you and Miss Lily...hold the leash in your right hand:)

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  12. Thank you for sharing the CO story.
    I do wish you well!!

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  13. I can't decide if it's good or bad things are surfacing now from the collision so long ago . Sorry you have to put the bike/dog combo aside.

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