80 days later, clean bill of health

I could have circled the world. Instead, I stayed home. It's been 80 days since I broke my wrist at the Tour of Somerville. Looking back at the photos today brought back painful memories from the crash -- I'd all but forgotten that in addition to the broken bones, there was lots and lots of broken skin.

Skin heals fast, though. Bones, it turns out, take longer. To recap: I had surgery three days after crashing. I was in a cast for two weeks, during which time I couldn't ride a bike at all. I wore a brace all the time for two weeks after the cast came off, but I was allowed to ride inside. About a week after the cast came off, the stitches from the surgical incision finally came out and the four-inch wounds started healing. Then I wore the brace for another three weeks, mostly just for riding and started physical therapy to regain movement in what had become a very stiff joint. I started racing again at some point in there, after six weeks away from the competition.

Now, after six weeks of physical therapy, I'm been, in the parlance of the industry, I've been discharged.

Am I completely healed? Not quite -- still a little deformed and still a little stiff, but I'm healed enough that I'm beyond the ability of current medicine to do anything further -- and that's just fine with me. As nice as my physical therapist was, and as much as I enjoyed our twice-weekly sessions, it's two hours of my life that can be better spent.

The injury did give me a new perspective on things though, and for that, I'm grateful. Because I wasn't able to ride for a few weeks there, or was restricted to riding inside, I took time to do things that I haven't made time for during past summers, and it was kinda fun. Also, not driving to a race every weekend wasn't exactly a bad thing.

Of course, I'd say that I missed racing, quite a bit. I didn't accomplish everything that I'd hoped to on a bike this summer, and I certainly didn't get as established as I would have liked in this new racing community. Mostly, though, breaking my wrist really put things in perspective for me. Besides realizing that there's more to pedaling bikes in circles, I also came to understand that racing bikes, for me, is just a hobby, and won't ever be more, no matter how fast I get or how much time I dedicate to it.

To what lengths are you willing to sacrifice yourself for your hobby? Your health? I gotta say, that I'm not really interested in breaking any more bones. The surgery and following recovery was a huge pain in the ass that impacted my work life almost as much my cycling life. Yes, typing with a cast that goes to your bicep is a huge pain in the ass.

In part, I wound up at the Tour of Somerville because it's a big race, and everyone who's everyone was there. So, I went, in short, because I felt as if it was expected of me. But, would anyone have really cared if I had stayed home? Probably not. I hate crits, and I'm not good at them, and that race is a known crashfest. So, I'll skip it next year. Same goes for Chris Thater, which is next weekend, and which my team will race without me. It's just not my jam.

Instead, in the coming seasons, I'll focus my energy on racing events I like (or think I'll enjoy), without worrying so much about where I think I'm expected to be. I highly encourage you to do the same.