Girding the loins for my tarmac return...

Absent Husband said:

Hi all,

Just a brief(-ish!!) note to share a few of my anxieties heading into
the next week and my return to cycling.

In December last year, my trusty 10-year-old steel framed Avanti
Sprint and I were pretzelled by a black BMW. I was riding on the
footpath (ironically because I was worried about an upcoming dangerous
intersection), and he turned in as I crossed a driveway (he was
looking for his carpark key!!).

I lost my front teeth, plus some knee and ankle damage. After 3 months
of physio (thank goodness for WorkCover - I was commuting to work when
it happened), I was able to ride again. I spent my insurance cheque on
a new 2004 LeMond Nevada Ace road bike, and started trying to regain
my cyclingfitness again.

Then, in late May '04, it all happened again. I was riding into work
on my daily commute, and an 86-year-old assassin (as I fondly call
her) shot across an intersection in her Falcon as I entered the
intersection, hooting down a long hill. Didn't even have time to hit
the brakes before I crashed into her bonnet (just a brief thought of,
"What the...!!"😉.

Brief period of unconsciousness, plus a dislocated finger, more
knee/ankle damage, and some very impressive bruising resulted. Back to
the same physio (and thanks WorkCover for paying the bills again) -
who now refers to me as his luckiest and unluckiest client of all
time. 2 accidents in 6 months, but no head injury or permanent damage
(thank goodness for decent helmets).

Now here we are, much physio and recovery later, and I'm about to
start again. Spent the insurance check on a very pretty 2005 Orbea
Enol road bike. I'm ready to get back on, but I'm desperately trying
to shake all the anxiety about riding on the tarmac again. Feel like
an absolute wuss, but just the thought of taking the bike back on the
road gets me very edgy.

I was always a "solo" rider, but now have decided it might be safer to
ride with some groups (ha ha!), so I'm hoping to link in with the
Milton "La Dolce Vita" crowd on weekends up here in Brisbane, plus a
couple of other rides (maybe out at the Murrarie crit circuit) during
the week. I'm hoping that the weight of numbers might make me feel a
little bit more secure out on the rode. Of course, there is the matter
of the 30 minute (probably 45 minutes in my current fitness state!)
ride to Milton from Mt Gravatt, but I'll have to just get over that, I
guess...

Anyway - sorry about the meandering post. Just getting anxious about
returning to the road, and thought that maybe penning this down might
help relieve some of the stress. If you are riding in BrisVegas, and
see a podgy guy on a black Orbea, with an embarrassingly tight Banesto
jersey on, that'll be me (trying desperately not to be spat out the
back of the "peloton"!!)

Oh, and I've been enjoying "lurking in the background" of the
newsgroup over the last few months - hopefully I'll be able to
contribute a little over the coming months as I click back into the
old Look cleats and try and regain my roadie credentials.

Cheers all and have a great Christmas/New Year.
Paul G
(aka "Absent Husband"😉

Good on you mate for having another go.

What about trying some entry level racing - does wonders for your road sense/perception/ presence? Or, without trying to be rude, getting your peripheral vision checked for blind spots - (more common than you think)?

M " may all the wheels you follow be kind ones" H

mfhor said:

Good on you mate for having another go.

What about trying some entry level racing - does wonders for your road sense/perception/ presence? Or, without trying to be rude, getting your peripheral vision checked for blind spots - (more common than you think)?

M " may all the wheels you follow be kind ones" H

Cant keep a good man down, hey?

blimey if you keep on your current course you are gonna fund the physio's european holiday and keep ugrading bikes till your on a C50! 😄

not meaning to be a smartarse but Im surprised Workcover honoured your claim seeing as you were riding on the footpath. or is that OK in Qld?

Riding in gropus would probably be the way to go. unless its the hellride...

flyingdutch said:

mfhor said:

Good on you mate for having another go.

What about trying some entry level racing - does wonders for your

road

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

sense/perception/ presence? Or, without trying to be rude, getting

your

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

peripheral vision checked for blind spots - (more common than you
think)?

M " may all the wheels you follow be kind ones" H

Cant keep a good man down, hey?

blimey if you keep on your current course you are gonna fund the
physio's european holiday and keep ugrading bikes till your on a C50!
😄

not meaning to be a smartarse but Im surprised Workcover honoured

your

Quoted message said:

claim seeing as you were riding on the footpath. or is that OK in

Qld?

Quoted message said:

Riding in gropus would probably be the way to go. unless its the
hellride...

--
flyingdutch

Must admit - that is one good thng that has come out of it, but I can
think of some less physically demanding ways to pick up a new bike!!
And I did notice that the physio had a few new BMW catalogues lying
around last time I went past.... 😉

Not entirely sure about "footpath legalities", but WorkCover was happy
to process the claim when they saw how the accident occurred. Plus the
Qld Police report saying the driver was totally to blame helped too!

Have been thinking about some entry-level racing - my last sort of
racing anywhere was tri's about 7 or 8 years ago. But I'll have to
start working some distance into my legs before I start thinking about
that. Does anyone know of any entry-level road/crit racing in
BrisneyLand?? I assume I'll have to join a club, etc, to get involved
in that sort of thing.

I'm due to get my next bunch of contact lenses next week, so might ask
about that peripheral vision thing as well. Don't think it would have
made *any* difference in either accident, but if it helps prevent
future ones, then its worth getting checked up to be sure.
Cheers all,
Paul G