When it gets cold outside, we are often forced to ride our bikes in the basement on a trainer. Linda and I both have our bike hooked up to a CycleOps Magneto trainer.  It can be very boring, but we can at least watch TV while riding our bike. The thing I like least about riding on the trainer is that I generally don’t get as much of a workout when I’m just mindlessly spinning the pedals and watching TV. In fact, I rarely even break a sweat.

Enter The Sufferfest.

These are a series of biking videos that can be watched while riding hard on the trainer. The workouts are generally a series of high-intensity interval training type workouts. The best way to describe it is “doing P90X on the bike”.  Because these workouts are usually a bit exhausting, I have only intermittently utilized the videos over the past 3 years.

Sufferlandria is the mythical country from which each Sufferfest rider pretends they are citizens. For the 3rd straight year, the “Tour of Sufferlandria” (“The Greatest Grand Tour of a Mythical Nation in the Whole Wide World”) was offered. This is a 9-day event utilizing almost all of the cycling videos available. It raises money for the Davis Phinney Foundation. Davis Phinney is a former pro cyclist who now has Parkinson’s disease; his foundation raises money for research and helping those with Parkinson’s disease.

Since February of 2007, I have been Treasurer for the Board of Directors for the Earth Riders Trail Association. According to the website,

ERTA (Earth Riders Trails Association, Inc.) is a recreational trails advocacy group created to increase the quantity and quality of sustainable singletrack trails throughout the Midwest.
ERTA is a federally recognized 501(c)3, not-for-profit corporation whose board members, officers, advisory board, and volunteers are outdoor enthusiasts dedicated to achieving it’s mission of adding and maintaining singletrack trails in an environmentally proactive and responsible manner.

ERTA was formed in February of 2001 in order to meet the requirements of Land Managers who like the idea of making more singletrack trails available to their park users. ERTA seeks to enter into formal partnerships and contracts with land managers to assist them and their agencies with three primary concerns:

* Protect the land which they manage.
* Increase the number of visitors to the lands through the creation and management of singletrack trails.
* Accomplish these objectives through an efficient and economical combination of volunteer and professional labor.

Over the past eight years, working with land managers, ERTA has assisted in gaining access to land that has resulted in an many additional miles of singletrack throughout the Midwest.

ERTA fills just one niche in a community of organizations dedicated to mountain bicycling, hiking and the betterment of our public green spaces. We maintain active partnerships with many organizations within that community.

This Board of Directors runs the 501c3 – and I manage the checkbook for the group. When I took over 7 years ago, there were literally only a few dollars in the bank. Thanks to hard work from many of our members, we are doing much better. Wish I could take credit, but I just write the checks.

When I started back in 2007, I was an avid mountain bike rider and could be found on my mountain bike (my only bike) several days a week and had many scratches and scars to prove it. Over the years, my mountain bike riding has waned and I spend more time on my road bike – because this is how I get to ride with Linda. However, my involvement with the Earth Riders has kept me connected to a great group of people and reminds me of all of the fun I have when I’m on the dirt trails.

We had a board meeting earlier tonight and agreed, once again, to serve another year as treasurer. Maybe I’ll get some opportunities to get out on my mountain bike this year.

Back on June 12, I had a nasty spill on my bike that resulted in a lot of road rash and a fracture to a bone in my pelvis. Exactly 10 weeks later, I returned to the group ride alongside some great friends.

I have had several rides on the indoor trainer over the past month, but they really weren’t that scary because my chance of crashing was pretty low. I did have one solo bike ride one month ago to test out my pelvis – it was sore and I clearly wasn’t ready for a real ride.

One month later, the day came where I was free and the weather was conducive to a bike ride. I looked forward to it all day, but I must admit I was a bit nervous. What if I crashed again?

We met our friends at the normal meeting spot and it felt like a reunion where I was the guest of honor. It was quite a welcome back. Everyone was pleased to see me and i was even happier to see them. I promised Linda that I would ride easy and cautious; any crash would not be because I was pushing it too hard.

As we pushed off, the butterflies began to flutter in the pit of my stomach, but they quickly disappeared. It felt wonderful to be moving down the road on two skinny tires alongside friends that shared the same love of cycling.

Six miles into the ride, we came upon the site of the crash. The butterflies returned, but they quickly fluttered away as I rode away from the site. We laughed and joked about remembering that not, but it was heavy on my mind recalling how surreal that night was. We all had a chuckle when one of them renamed the hill, “The Pelvis Cracker”.

I was concerned that 10 weeks without exercise would leave me breathless and weak throughout the ride. However, throughout the ride I felt strong. By the end of the ride, I felt great. No pain in the pelvis and the ride was fun. What a great evening.

Two nights ago, I learned what it’s like to be a patient in my own ER. After a long shift in the ER earlier that day, I met Linda and our group of riding friends for our regular Tuesday night ride. It was a beautiful night and I was just glad to be out on the bike.

Six miles into the ride, I had just finished going down a good hill at 33mph and was passing everyone going up the next hill. I stood up to give a bit more power and the chain came off. In a split-second, I was down on my right side and sliding along then paved road.

My head hurt, my back hurt, and my skinned/bleeding right shoulder/arm was stinging. All of my fellow riders gathered around me and talking about calling an ambulance – I protested heavily. I tried sitting up, but the incredible wave of dizziness prevented me from doing that. I crab-walked out of the street into the grass and lay there for a short time. Eventually, I was able to sit up and struggle to my feet. I wanted to ride on, but my bike was not in condition to be ridden. That answered that (made me upset but everyone else was glad I couldn’t even try to ride).

A very, very kind good Samaritan, Cathy, offered to load my bike into the back of her minivan and drive me back to the parking lot where my car was. This was wonderful, as it turns out she is a mutual friend of other biking friends. However, in my conversation with her, I realized I had a concussion as I was having trouble coming up with things I knew I should know (like the name of the school my girls attend).

Linda and a couple of other friends rode their bikes back to the car and arrived within minutes of me arriving. In the few minutes I was there waiting for them to arrive, I decided I was injured more than just the scrapes and bruises – I needed x-rays. I called my ER and told my partner what had happened and that I would be coming in.

After walking in to the ER, it was quite a relief to finally lay down. However, this caused my head to spin even more and nausea set in. Fortunately, an IV was started and I received medicine for the nausea and the pain. We decided to start with x-rays of my lumbar spine and pelvis and, because of the hit to my head, a CAT scan of my head. The CAT scan was normal, as was the x-ray of my spine; however, the pelvis x-ray revealed a fracture. After discussion with my partner, we agreed to get a CAT scan of my abdomen and pelvis to better understand the extent of the injuries. The result was a comminuted fracture of the inferior pubic ramus on the right side. Here is a diagram of a pelvis with fractures of bilateral superior and inferior pubic rami:

Here is a snapshot of my CAT scan with the fracture of my right inferior pubic ramus (seen on your left, as you are viewing the pelvis from below):

The wounds were all cleaned, which honestly hurt more than anything else. Eventually, after much protesting from me about possible admission to the hospital, I was sent home with plans to use the crutches I already owned. A quick stop by the pharmacy for some medicine and I was finally home at 11:30. Here is a picture of my arrival home:

Here is a picture of my abrasions the next morning:

And finally – here’s my shoulder after 24 hours:

It will likely be 4-6 weeks before I’m healed, but I hope to be back to work in the day or two. As long as I’m using the crutches, I’m not in much pain. Soon, I can probably have a cane – I can look like Dr. House.

I’ve had many texts, phone calls, and Facebook messages – for which I’m very grateful. Thanks to all of my friends, but most of all thanks to Linda for her wonderful care if mr over the past 36 hours. I love you, Linda!