Setbacks.

Round trip, the bike ride to and from our kickball game was 20 miles. After 16 miles, we were closing in on home and mentally prepared to strip out of our spandex and cleanse ourselves in a nice cool shower.

With the sun setting, we hopped onto the sidewalk to avoid blind spots in the upcoming road. With me leading the way, we hit 15 mph after cresting a small hill.

Being that we were on road bicycles we felt every bump, crack and deviation in the road. Road bikes don't have front or rear shocks. They're built to be light weight so they can go fast. And they're really good at going fast.

What they're not good at is handling sudden 5 inch drops from concrete sidewalks to jagged asphalt. Unfortunately, we had to learn that the hard way.

At the last second I tried to stop. Manda tried to stop. Her forward momentum became my forward momentum after she ran into the back of my bike.

The only part of my body I remember hitting the asphalt was my hip. The next thing I remember is a moment of confusion as to how I got to where I was. I lifted my bike off me and jumped up to make sure Manda was okay. She was.

Moments passed in silence. Man, did my hand hurt. I tell Manda, "I think I broke my hand." She doesn't say much as she is still assessing her injuries. A few moments later, I tell her, "I think I broke my arm." I look down and notice blood running down my leg as a man walks by. He doesn't offer to help.

More moments pass in silence. My arm hurt more and more. I didn't feel my hip or my leg anymore.

We were roughly 4 miles from home. Did we need an ambulance? No. We ran down the checklist of our friends who lived nearby. None of them had a truck to haul our bikes. It was only 4 miles, we would walk.

A mile and a half later, I'm feeling like I'm going into shock. Manda is having a hard time pushing both bikes. All I can think about is getting home. After a cursory check and repair of the bikes, we decide to try and ride the last 2.5 miles home.

I can't use my left arm and I'm nervous about clipping into my pedals. I ride home with one hand, wearing my kickball cleats.

Stripping off our spandex, we took stock of our injuries. My arm was unusable. I suspected it broken. My hip was an amazing array of only blood blisters. Turns out, biking spandex has protective qualities. My knee had a gnarly bruise on its side. I removed pieces of asphalt from my calf. My leg was bleeding, but didn't need stitches.

Urgent care was a blur. A physical examination. X-rays. Bandages. Soft cast. Sling.

After 4-5 doctor's appointments my injuries were listed as: hair line fracture in the elbow; sprained neck; sprained elbow; sprained wrist; broken bone in my wrist/hand; minor cuts and abrasions.

Manda, thankfully escaped with minor scrapes and bruises. The next morning she was able to have her gall bladder out as scheduled.

How did the sidewalk suddenly drop off 5 inches to rough asphalt? It was constructed without a slope or gradient. Yes, on purpose. I do not know why.

5 weeks later, I am still healing. I have another 3 weeks in the splint for my wrist. I had to get a new helmet. The one I was wearing during the accident has a chunk missing out of the back of it.

Despite this setback, we are still addicted to cycling. To quote the Terminator: "We'll be back".

Peace Out.