The last few weeks have been sorta up and down. The collarbone seems to be healing fine, the corner of the plate really sticks out of my shoulder and looks pretty weird, other than that I go in to get another xray in two weeks to see the progress on healing. I've been riding more now, some days are ok and some days are bad, but it's better than sitting on the couch. It's a little tough with the cross racing starting this weekend, but I new I wouldn't be racing till November at best anyway so it's not too bad missing stuff.
I did keep a pretty close on Chequamegon. I found it interesting that more and more people ride rigid 29" bikes, yet as far as I know Jesse was the only one win the race on one. I've never really believed a 29er could be faster than a 26" bike, and seeing Jonathan win on a rigid 26" bike kinda sealed the deal for me. Interesting. Seems a lot more guys are flatting using the rigid 29er setup, maybe I'm wrong but that's just how it looks. It is possible that JHK was on a 29er when he won too, so that would make two, but really I think the fastest rider will win and the wheel size doesn't matter very much. I'm not giving my 26" wheels is really what I'm getting at, at least not for mtn bike racing.
So, cyclocross season starts this weekend, looks like the first two midwest UCI races will have some pretty big names there. There should be some pretty good racing to kick things off. Hopefully when if I am able to race this season everyone will be tired out already. The Belgium season started already too, but that wont get going hot for another 2 months.
4 comments:
I hope you come out anyway... we'd miss not seein' ya. I can't even imagine how hard this fall is for you. Hang in there.
Get well soon!
On wheel seize: Do you think the CC racers would be faster on 26" wheels? Surely not.
If 29'rs had the same , super lightweight tires as 26 things would be different IMO.
The 3 month target is a good estimate for the recovery. I did exactly what you did late last August ruining my Cheq Fat plans. My doc wanted to see if the overlap would heal naturally, which it didn't. Ended up having surgery around Christmas and riding outside the second week of Jan. Went to Tucson in early March and rode hard for 7 days without issue. Was skiing in Colorado at the end of the month. Just be smart because cross is inherently harder on your body and you could still do irreversible damage. And I still have some lack of sensation issues in the pectoral area but it's slowly coming back. I'm sure you have some of the same. Good luck and we'll see ya at the races.
26? 29? I just thought I would give it a try. It was fast on the rollers and I found the ride just fine fully rigid. It ended up being my mindless rear deraileur set-up-for-mud that did me in. IN the end, good legs and a good bike (regardless of wheel size) will win the day. I think everyone is flatting on these Stan's Crows. I guess when your tire is barely thicker than standard copier paper you can come to expect issues.
So, that is one heck of an injury there. As you mentioned before, you are now in the Collarbone Club for Men. Bummer on the timing but crashes come when they come. If we try to avoid them then maybe racing is not for us. They are part of the game. Hey, you come out of this with a super strong collarbone, and a way to feel the upcoming weather. Heal up and keep your head in the game man. Ciao -Ian
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