Statistics
Distance: 27.8 miles
Average Speed: 11.3 mph
Hours Riding: 2 hours 27 minutes
Calories: Not applicable
Total Ascent: Not applicable
Total Descent: - Not applicable
Today my life was like a country and western song - but more
about that in a minute...
I woke at 6:00 a.m. and today's breakfast featured French
toast; i also had granola, yogurt and some chocolate milk. I woke a little
earlier so that I might get out when everyone leaves, since my GPS has been hit
or miss. However, I did not get out on time so I was riding alone and the GPS
track was leading me on a wild goose chase.
I hailed a guy in a truck asking him how to get to Route 2 and he gave me turn-by-turn directions with landmarks. I followed his suggestions, but when referencing the map, it did not seem right. Meanwhile, Sue and Joel came by and they were pretty sure they were on route, so I started to ride with them.
We were riding along route 2, I was behind them and then I went
down. My left handle bar and camera hit the ground, and my right hand let go of
the phone as I used my hand to break my fall. Despite that fact, I did hit my
helmet on the front left side, but not as hard as if I did not break the fall
with my right hand. Sue and Joel came over to check on me; my right pinky and thumb were scraped but
otherwise felt fine. Sue gave me a couple of band-aids, and Joel asked what day
it was and who the president was. Sue said, "We are doing the main route
so we need to get going," and they took off.
I checked my camera and it looked like the lens was broken
because the camera body did not recognize it. I fixed several disheveled items
on my bike and was started riding again. I saw a white pit bull heading from
the curb toward me, so I sped up and and outpaced him. I stopped to take a
photo with my phone and Rob, our guide, and Justin, the new participant, sped
by.
My hand started to hurt and i was losing strength in it. My GPS
instructed me to turn off the road and over a cliff. I didn't follow. I came to
what I thought was the turn-off at Thompson Park but was not sure, and my hand
had reached a new level of pain and weakness. My hand was so weak, I could not
pull the lever for the brake.
I called Sean and told him about my hand and that I didn't think
it wise for me to continue, given the circumstances. I told him I would go back
to the KOA and visit the hospital in Butte for an assessment. He suggested
riding with them in the van and seeing how I did, but I knew this was going to
take awhile to heal and the next jump-off point was in the Grand Tetons of
Wyoming. I wanted to get some treatment for my hand right away since I make my
living with my hands.
When i got back to Butte, my hand was even worse despite riding
essentially with one hand. I called the KOA and they had a cabin available, so
I took it for the next two nights. I then called Sean and told him I was now
sure I could not continue and to drop off my bags to the KOA campground while I
was at the hospital.
After getting settled in the cabin, I walked into town to the
hospital, and to my surprise and delight, I was seen right away. Dr. Hibbs
checked out my hand and had it x-rayed, and told me there were no breaks that
he could see but I likely have a ligament and tendon damage. He said it could
take 4-10 weeks to heal. He also gave me a note for my travel insurance
indicating that I could not continue to ride my bike. Ashley, the billing
assistant, provided me with paperwork that she signed in lieu of my signature
since I could not operate a pen. She will send the bill directly to my travel
insurance company.
I walked back to the cabin; my bags were in my room and the room
was warm. I called Sean to thank him for dropping off the bags and I asked him
to extend my goodbyes to the rest of the group. He said he would, and Andy
asked him to extend his goodbye to me.
I went out for groceries at the Safeway and came back and had
fried chicken and potato wedges for dinner. I called Lorraine, did some reading
and went to bed.
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