Dev, have you tried Zwift? I'm a fairly recent convert - while it's certainly not as 'joyful' as riding outdoors on a beautiful day on great rural roads, it is freaking awesome for group training, hard racing, and even group easier rides.

I've been lucky to not have a big bike accident (yet), but I like the method of doing hard training/racing on Zwift, and riding outdoors only in optimal conditions (like early Sunday morning on empty rural roads) preferably with a group for safety.

Best nugget in the thread, IMHO.

I broke my femur in a velodrome training accident in 2013. It was a "bad" break as those things go, with no weight bearing for 3 full months. Dr. said "I would advise not riding outside again".

A friend / teammate suggested: just give it time before you decide (like Alex says). So I decided not to decide. When I was able to bear weight, I felt the urge to get on the trainer. When I was able to do full weight bearing, I felt the urge to try riding outside. I was nervous but the pleasure of riding outside was greater.

The next spring I tried a race again. I felt I needed to do it at least once before deciding. One race, then I felt like doing more.

Definitely more cautious now, and I take fewer chances. I won't do certain races where I feel like the course is more risky.

I'd be interested in hearing how you are doing now... what, 6 months later?


I am currently 9 weeks out from my (potentially) life-altering bike crash. It's the only real bike accident I've ever had ("real" meaning one that resulted in an injury that lasted more than a couple days). I don't remember it, so can't say what happened, but I was riding my tt bike and wrecked. I was luckily found by an off-duty EMT and retired nurse on the side of the road, probably within a minute or two of wrecking. I ended up fracturing most of my vertebrae, most of my ribs, my right shoulder in 2 places, and my skull in two places, and had a handful of other less serious injuries. I was in the hospital for 2 weeks. On the whole, I honestly feel very lucky to have survived it, let alone to have been able to walk out of the hospital (even if it was a comically slow, painful shuffle).


9 weeks later, I've returned to work half-days. Most people observing me would probably not notice that anything is wrong as I move around my life. But my back spasms make it impossible to walk more than 5-10 minutes without sitting, and my ribs are still killing me. I've started spinning 10-12 mi on the recumbent exercise bikes in the gym a couple times a week, which has been great to get my legs moving and heart rate up. I'm able to do kick sets in the pool for 15-20 min, but don't yet have enough flexibility or strength to do any strokes. I'm dutifully doing my prescribed PT exercises to improve shoulder function, but it seems like such slooooow progress.


So I'm not sure what's next. I know I'm still technically "recovering" and probably should just be patient. But I worry that this back pain and spasm will become chronic, and I'm worried that I may never be able to swim like I used to. And if I can't, then what? I don't know. I know every injury and accident is unique and personal, but I really wish there was a guide on how to recover and more importantly, what to realistically expect. I can't help but feeling sad and a little lost, mostly because I don't know what to expect and what is reasonable (not to mention I miss training so much).


Anyway, again I'd be interested in hearing how you are doing and what you think you did right and what you would do differently.


p.s. I enjoyed and appreciated reading the replies, particularly Dev's and Alex S'

Sorry to hear about your crash.

This Friday will mark the eight month anniversary of my crash. My ribs are completely fine and my fractured/compressed vertebrae, despite looking bad on the MRI, are causing me no pain. At worst, I would say my lower back is a little less flexible than before my accident.

My shoulder is taking much longer to heal and probably will never be one hundred percent. I can do a good number of pull-ups and benchpress 225 pounds 10 reps, but there are little things that I have trouble with. For instance, it’s very hard for me to extend my arm straight out of my vehicle window to withdraw money from an ATM. But no one would look at me and realize anything was wrong.

I can swim fine and I have connected my bike to a smart trainer and can “ride” just fine. But I have not been on my bike outdoors since my accident. This was quite an adjustment, as I live in Florida and rode long every Saturday and Sunday prior to my accident. I miss riding outdoors but I am not willing to chance crashing again on a training ride. It seems like a ton of the professional triathletes have had serious crashes and I noticed there were several during the recent 70.3 world championship race held in Nice France. Frankly, I watched the pro races online and the thought of a couple of thousand age groupers going down that mountain is horrifying. Very dangerous.

I still exercise every day, but my accident was my personal 911. It very much altered my life. Good luck with your recovery.

My only advice would be to exercise every day and don’t listen to people who suggest you will not fully recover. After my surgery, my surgeon told me I would probably regain 75 to 85% use of my shoulder. I am well past that.

Thanks for the reply. When did you start being able to ride your bike on the trainer? How long was it before you started feeling like you were "training" versus, physical therapy type exercises?

About your shoulder, was there anything particular you did to get it back to being functional? Just follow the advice of physical therapists, or was there something else you found useful to get the joint and muscles back into shape?

Have you tried arm circles, no weight, high reps?

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

I had a pretty bad accident at almost 40mph (Garmin data) due to a front wheel failure. Concussion, fractures, cuts, the works... that was March 1st and I still competed (wasn't super fit but did okay) at ITU Worlds later that fall. Why?! I won a local race that year and they tagged me the miracle man... I digress. It's just how I'm wired I guess, I enjoy riding and I'm going to continue to do so.

Things happen, just the way it is. I could fall down some steps, be in an accident while driving... etc.

Hope you continue to recover. I am your same age. I *used to* bike at 4:00 am pretty regularly until about four years ago racoons popped out in front of me and took me down hard - 4 broken ribs and a separated shoulder. So, I moderated a bit and now only ride in (mostly) daylight hours. I feel like my personality, or outward expression thereof, most deteriorate significantly if I could get out and ride. I have also added bright daytime riding lights and overall take less *chances*, but I am out there and I feel better for it.

Continue healing . . .

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David
* Ironman for Life! (Blog) * IM Everyday Hero Video * Daggett Shuler Law *
Disclaimer: I have personal and professional relationships with many athletes, vendors, and organizations in the triathlon world.

For a month after my accident, it was pretty bad. I could not get in and out of an ordinary chair or recliner. I had to rent one of those old people chairs that lift you to a standing position. I slept in the lift chair for a month after leaving the hospital, and then slept in a regular recliner. It was probably 6-7 weeks before I could get in and out of a bed.

A few days after leaving the hospital I started “walking” (with a hiking stick) for excises/rehab. I would use my Garmin to track my progress. I think tracking progress is so important.



About two months post-accident, I started using an elliptical and would do kickboard sets in the pool (actually I just kicked continuously, usually for an hour). I had to basically hold the kickboard with one arm, since I could not extend the arm connected to my handicapped shoulder. I went to physical therapy for 6 months for my shoulder and I found it very helpful (PT was always in addition to my daily exercise).



By three months I was weight training. By the way, I know all this since I kept a journal. I found the journal very helpful. It allowed me to objectively measure my progress. I was improving on something literally every day. Seeing that improvement was rewarding. I wasn’t just feeling better. I was doing better. When I started bench pressing it was with a 5-pound dumbbell (by contrast, today I did five reps with 250 - barbell). In addition to weights, I did at least 30 minutes of cardio everyday (kickboard, elliptical, hand-cycle and, eventually my tri-bike on a trainer).



I stared back swimming after four months. It wasn’t pretty, but after a few weeks it felt a lot better and I think it was helpful for the range of motion in my shoulder.



As for “riding” on my trainer, I started doing that at about four months – when I purchased one for the first time. I felt I could push hard, it was just hard riding indoors after 59 years of never having done so.



Good luck with your recovery.


[quote tanzbodeli]

Thanks for the reply. When did you start being able to ride your bike on the trainer? How long was it before you started feeling like you were "training" versus, physical therapy type exercises?

About your shoulder, was there anything particular you did to get it back to being functional? Just follow the advice of physical therapists, or was there something else you found useful to get the joint and muscles back into shape?[/quote]

I have not. I will do so. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day to do everything I would like to do.

This is an informative thread. I'm 62 and will preface my comment by saying that in over 25 years of riding, I've never crashed or been hit, etc, but have come very close. The last one, the driver missed me and took out my training partner. The was the beginning of the end for my riding days. While my training partner tried to come back, he was unable due to various injuries and eventually gave up. After that event, I would become a bit anxious being out on the road- finding motorist lack of attention and even out right aggression more unnerving than before. Cycling was becoming less fun. I was never a great cyclist, preferring to swim and run. I realized that this endurance lifestyle was something I valued more than any one activity and my goal was to do it for a very long time. So I hung up the bikes in 2012 and started more long distance swimming and ultra running. I discovered a peacefulness and solitude in these events that I don't recall having when deep into triathlon. Also I can get the training in without making my schedule crazy, even with stupid long runs on Saturday. I will say, however, that I have jumped into a couple of sprint tris in the last few years, but I don't plan on making a habit of it.

You and I came to same decision to hang up the bike after 2012. See my post #20 above if you want. I don't do any ultra running though but rather just a steady 4-6 mi/day on the run and 4-6000 yd/day in the pool. I just really enjoy being in the water; swimming, kicking, and pulling all 4 strokes pretty much every day.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Yeah, I hear you. This lifestyle is bigger than any one sport. I don't want to risk having it taken away, like my training partner (Who's adjusted pretty well, I might add). When I'm doing an early morning ows or a long trail run, I sometimes stop, look around and think how fortunate I am to do this.

That's it in a nutshell. :)

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

This. I had a bad accident, and while I still ride, I ride less and I'm much more picky about where/when. There is still the chance of bad luck, but I mitigate my risk as much as possible (i.e. VERY limited riding on public roads, always wearing super bright clothes and using bright front/rear lights... and always willing to slow down, stop, or otherwise bail on any planned 'fitness' aspect of the ride if there's something questionable ahead. It's now less about working out, and more about just getting outside and away from screens/electronics.

The only exception is that I'm not in control when I go to press events for product launches... for example, I've been to two this year where we had to ride gravel bikes on serious MTB trails (which did not feel safe). Can be hard to avoid, as they often don't tell us anything about the bike we're seeing nor where we'll be riding, until we arrive. So I'm planning to reduce attendance at these and/or ask a lot of questions in advance. If I crash at Brand X's press event, they aren't paying my medical bills for me.