making the most of downtime

Been a while since I rapped at ya. Here's what's gone down:
10 rides
313 miles
16.17 mph
38 mph top speed
1 new biking group started on Yahoo (holler if you want in)
1 ride to Pennypack park
1 ride to the Franklin Mills Mall via the Northeast Airport
1 ride up the "Belmont Wall"
1 grade-1 shoulder separation

Yes folks, I've been enduring the aftermath of my first quasi-serious bike wreck. i was at the end of a 30-mile ride, five blocks from home, riding down Christian Street (wearing a very bright-yellow, high-visibility jersey) when a guy walks out mid-block, from behind a dumpster, doesn't even take a peek to his left, directly in front of me. i had no time to react. i yelled and hit him almost instantaneously. he went down on his ass. i went down on my side -- my left knee and left elbow hit the rain-slicked ground first. i can't remember if i actually then landed on on my shoulder or not, but as soon as i peeled myself off the pavement, i could tell something was wrong with my shoulder. i checked with half-hearted enthusiasm if the other guy was okay ("looks like you got the worst of it," he said), then hopped back on my bike and pedalled gingerly to my apartment where i anguishedly pulled my jersey and shorts off, changed into dry, non-skin-tight clothes, and called justin and char asking for a ride to the ER. couldn't really move my left arm without shooting pain. it felt like a giant knot had formed in my shoulder. my first thought was "fuck! i've broken my collarbone."

after an hour or so at the Pennsylvania Hospital ER, I got poked and prodded by a doctor who said it didn't seem like a break, more likely a strain or separation. which was, as you can imagine, a huge relief. x-rays confirmed this. i was given a sling, a prescription for mega-doses of ibuprofen and orders to take it easy and i should be feeling better in a week. (i was also told i'd be in a lot more pain the next day. thankfully that didn't come to pass.)

(Justin and Char, god bless 'em, sat with me for an hour or so; andy, god bless him, took over when they had to leave, drove me to the CVS and also home.)

so i've been taking things easy. i'm anxious to get back on the bike, but wary to do something that'll set me back. you see, i've got plans to ride the MS 150 on Sept. 24-25. Which reminds me, you should sponsor me to do this. these people already have. be good like them. raising money to cure MS is something i'm very much behind. alright. here's to healing up quick like.

Song of the Day: "Mizel," by Oh Astro