[BVC-CHAT] Fwd: [Riders] Fwd: Crash Update

[Jean Marie Linhart]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Pierce Young <pyoung2590 at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Oct 3, 2009 at 5:14 PM
Subject: Crash Update
To: CYCLING-TEAM at listserv.tamu.edu


     For those of you who weren't there, I crashed just outside of
Tunis on the Saturday morning ride today and took Herc out with me.
Shortly after the right turn that leads to Tunis, Carlberg jumped for
the Tunis sign. I was right behind him but was not really in the mood
to sprint, plus my dad was on the ride so I was hoping to save him
some confusion and stay back if needed. Herc, however, was right
behind me and yelled, "Go, Pierce! Go, go go!" so I decided to sprint
anyway. I stood up on the pedals and got in about three strokes before
my right foot came unclipped. I tried to maintain my balance and pull
over to the side so that I could slow down and clip back in. I was
unable to slow down and lost control. From what I can mentally piece
together, I went over my handlebars. My left foot got caught in the
handlebars as I went over. This jerked my body towards the ground, and
my right forearm (my hands were instinctively pulled up towards my
shoulders to protect my chest) pounded the ground. I bounced and slid
on my back briefly before somehow flipping over and sliding the rest
of the way on my stomach. Miraculously, my head and neck never hit the
ground, and since I landed in the grass, the only damage to my kit was
a few small holes in my bibs. When I finally stopped, I saw Herc run
over my bike and proceed to do a follow up study on my turf grass
sampling.
      I laid on the ground for a few seconds, feeling like somebody
hit me in the arm and then in the stomach with a baseball bat. As
someone tried to stand me back up, everything started to go dark and
very quiet, so I was put back down. Some nice man was driving by and
saw my situation. He offered to take me back to my dorm, even though
he was headed the other direction. He took me, my dad, and our bikes
back to my dorm, and then my dad and I headed to the emergency room to
check out my arm, which we though my have a green stick fracture.
     They took some x-rays at the ER, but they were unable to
determine if I had a fracture or not. They could see some fluid
buildup around my elbow, which could be a sign of an occult fracture.
They put my arm in a sling and bandaged the worst of the minor cuts I
sustained. I'm going to have to get a checkup in three to five days
with an orthopedist to see if there is a fracture. In the meantime, I
will have to wear a sling on my right arm. Currently, the pain has
gone down, but has not subsided entirely.
     My bike was screwed up pretty good. Both levers need to be
replaced; I need to cables and housing; the bartape and brakehood
cover on the left side are decimated;my front wheel went out of true;
and my stem got bent. I will post photos on Facebook.
     Needless to say, I don't think I'll be racing the state road race
on Saturday. On the bright side, everyone else gets handups!
Pierce "crashing is like riding a roller coaster, only it hurts a
little more when you're done" Young
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