As can be expected, progress has been slow; but I did feel up to trying my first post-crash workout on Sunday.

With doctor’s instructions to wipe down immediately after the workout (and written instructions from the urgent care to avoid sunlight for 6 mo.), it seemed best to do it at home using my commuting bike and my trainer.

The workout was great (usual 10 min. light warmup cardio, 40 min. stretch, then 30 min real workout) and performed with the bandages on (could not perform a number of the stretches properly with the bandages off).  Unfortunately the wound was really painful afterward (even after wipedown) and I needed to take extra pain meds & put the bandages back on much sooner that planned (not much airing out).  After consulting with the doctor, he confirmed my suspicion that having some days where it gets worse as the nerves are starting to reestablish themselves.  He then suggested more ibuprofen and giving it a rest (no exercise) for a while.

As there is no discharge and the wounds still seem to be progressing, I’m hoping that I’ll still be able take of the bandages for good on Thursday evening as planned.

Once again, we had a fun night with my dart tournament fundraiser for Best Buddies.  Between entry fees and side donations, over $200 was raised.

Thanks from me and Best Buddies to Dan A, Dan M., Fred, Gadi, Eduardo, Nanci, Paul, Kalindi, John & Sam and everyone else who cheered us on.

A special shout out goes to Ye Olde King’s Head, who have graciously hosted this tournament since its inception, and provided a sweetener to the prized for the winners.

This year the entry pool was very experienced.  With the number of entries not being too large, the format was luck-of-the-draw doubles (both pairing partners and bracket assignment) and the game was Chicago (best of 3: 501, Cricket, and, if necessary, 301)

Our winning team was Gadi & Eduardo, who did not lose a match.  Right when the draw was made, these guys were heavy favorites to be in the money.  In addition to their share of the prize pool, they each got a certificate for a dinner for two to Ye Olde King’s Head.

In second place, our losers bracket winning team (also 2nd place in the winners bracket) was John & Sam.  They gave Gadi & Eduardo a run for the money, but G&E were just too strong.

The third place pairing was Fred & Dan.  After losing their first match, they caught fire and steamrolled through the loser’s bracket but just didn’t have enough left in the tank to down the relatively fresh John & Sam.

Just to give a flavor for the evening, I’ve included below a few pictures that I took when I had the chance.

But first, for those of you who would like to give a donation to Best Buddies and have not yet had the chance, click this link to go to my donation page or go to http://myhc.bestbuddieschallenge.org/davidstampleman

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David

As Promised, here are some pictures of my scrapes.

There were enough scrapes where the urgent care and my primary doctor all felt it was easier to just wrap the whole forearm rather than tape down specific pads.

Here’s a quick view of what’s under that gause.

I’ll spare you all some more graphic close ups of these from different angles to get the full picture (couldn’t show it all at one angle).  but I will show a smattering of the other scrapes and bruises.

The other shoulder got something similar to that above, and the fingers weren’t spared either.

The good news is that with airing it all out in then evening, they expect the scab to be complete by next week.  So I may only miss one weekend of raid training (bike aside, of course).  I got off pretty easy given this crash.

Still waiting to hear about the official report on the bike damage.

Well, the bike may be toast.  Dropped by the bike shop and the initial tentative quick overview was:

Definitely replace:  Front Wheel, Handlebar, Right Shifter

Probably replace:  Rear Wheel, Left Shifter

More detailed evaluation to come:  Confirm above, check out remainder of bike, especially the carbon frame – expected within a couple of days.

Since I had just purchased new wheels (only approx. 4 rides to date – $500) and the other parts about looked to be over another $500 (none of this includes labor), a new bike may be in the picture after all is said and done (initially cost ~$1800).

Better that I replace bike parts than my parts.

More info to come next post, likely with some pictures too (mainly of the assessment of the damage to me, forgot to take bike pix before the drop off).  My primary doc will also be making a follow up

Was doing my relatively light ride as part of the bruised hip recovery (out and back to Trancas Canyon – no climbs, wouldn’t have even if fit as the temps were in the mid-90s at the ocean and who knows what in the valley) and things were going pretty well.

The hip bruise only had the occasional soreness, but decided to play it safe and not overdo it by going further or climbing.

Unfortunately on the way home, I did not see a sizeable rock when doing the short steep decent from Pepperdine down toward Cross Creek.  It must have blended well with the pavement.  I took a big spill likely around 35 mph.

Fortunately the handlebar and the wheels broke a lot of the initial fall.  There were no broken bones, concussions or stitches but lots of abraisions.  My forearms took the brunt of that and are covered in bandages, but the back of my shoulders and butt took a little bit of a hit too.

Fortunately there was an urgent care nearby and a nice family stopped to help me get there.

Doc says that the bigger scrapes might take 2 weeks or more to heal (close over).  We’ll see over the coming days what the fallout will be with my healing, any overlooked injuries and damage to the bike.  More details to come this coming week.

While the thigh and hip are still a little swollen and the bruise is HUGE (from hip and butt cheek down to knee), the bruises seem to be starting to thin rather that getting bigger and darker.

So I successfully did a 3 mile run on Saturday.  It occasionally got a little sore, but seems to be healing well.

Tomorrow we’ll see how well it goes with a light ride.

The preparations this year turn out to be a lot different than in prior years.

Previously I have tried to follow an 8 week training grid (would have started July 19 this time around).  In the early years for various reasons (at first being novice, then due to untimely injuries), I’d only be able to do very low mileage at the start of this 8 week period.

While this year there have been a number of urgent activities that have prevented me from getting in the number of rides suggested for the first half of the grid (and any long rides in June or early July), I was fortunate enough to be injury free and able to jump right in with rides of 30 and 40 miles.

The key will be trying to fit in enough workouts midweek, to work my way to 100 miles injury free by September 12.

So now the real training begins.

Last weekend’s ride is a great example of this challenge.  While I was able to get in 55 miles (to top of Latigo Cyn and back), a low speed spill has left me with a pretty badly bruised hip and some contusions on my fore arm.  This may keep me from training until the weekend while I let things heal.