Things are looking up, I think. I have fresh, pink skin mostly covering where my scrapes were, and a good portion of the scabs have come off. There are still some scabs where the scrapes were deeper, and both my knee and my elbow are still pretty tender, but I feel like I’m making good progress. I’m a little less sure about my finger. There’s still some swelling and pain, but at the same time my range of movement continues to improve. I did a brief (4 mile) test ride on Saturday and everything felt pretty good. I was on my road bike, which has shifters built into the brakes, and I have to shift with my index and ring fingers, because my middle finger isn’t up to the task yet. I don’t quite have the same grip I did before but I can still hold on to the hoods and brake fairly well.

After my test ride, Sarah and I went for a hike. More on that in a minute.

On Sunday, I rode the Water Works route, and it went really well. I wasn’t sure if my finger could handle 20+ miles of riding, but it really didn’t bother me too much. It’s funny, I still can’t open a bottle of soda, but now I can ride 20 miles without too much trouble. Then again, if given the choice, I’d rather ride. I did feel some pain when I went over big bumps, but otherwise I was fine. Riding in the hoods or drops works better for me than sitting more upright and using the flat, middle part of the bars.

Anyway, it felt great to ride. I put forth a medium amount of effort, enough to feel I was getting a good workout, but I didn’t go all out. Even though I rode early in the afternoon, I saw two deer and had to slow down to let a wild turkey cross the road in front of me. I’m not sure who was more startled: the turkey crossing the road, or turkey on the bicycle. I was surprised to see so much wildlife, normally I would only expect to see those animals in the early morning or late evening.

Back to Saturday’s hike, Sarah and I took Rob (the dog) to hike the Pate Hollow trail near Lake Monroe.  We’ve hiked there before, but that was back in January. Everything looks so much different now, very green and lush. I forgot how cool this trail is — it has a lot of switchbacks, some fairly long climbs and a few creek crossings. We did a shortened version of the trail again this time; sometime we’ll have to go back and do the full 7+ miles. I’ve heard the other half of the trail is even better. It felt great to be outdoors together and get some exercise without aggravating my finger. Here are some photos from our hike.

Creek

The trail. If you look closely you can see the dog in the distance

One of many switchbacks

Rob

Shadows

Climbing

Wild raspberries

Sarah

I am pretty bummed that I can’t ride right now. It has been beautiful outside, and relatively cool for this time of year. I just know that my luck is such that by the time my finger heals, it’s going to be really hot outside. I also broke my camera in the wreck — the battery door is broken. It is still holding up for now, but I know it’s only a matter of time before it breaks off completely. My accidental-damage-coverage warranty ran out back in April, so I better start shopping for a new camera soon. Maybe I can make a rubber band or piece of tape work for a while.

I did try a test ride on Sunday of about 4 miles and while I was able to ride, I felt a lot of pain in my finger every time I hit a bump. I should probably wait at least a few more days before I try riding again.

The good news is, my finger feels a little bit better every day. If it continues to heal at this rate I’ll be back in the saddle before long.

Here are some photos and x-rays of my injuries from my accident in North Carolina. You need to click on the link below to see them, in case anyone is squeamish.

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Our trip to the mountains is not going as well as we had hoped. I’m writing from the public library in Roanoke, VA right now. I’ll post more details later, but for now I’ll say that on Wednesday I was going for a ride, and I ended up being the victim in a hit & run accident in Hendersonville, NC. There were two lanes of traffic going in my direction. I was on the right side of the right lane, not on the edge but in my usual position where the right tire of a car would go. Someone passed me too close, moving further to the right as they passed me. I’m guessing they thought there was room to pass in the lane, but there wasn’t. I felt the smooth paint on the side of their car as it hit me, and I went down. I looked down at my right hand and my middle finger was bent in unnatural ways, almost in an S shape. It was ugly.

I am lucky: I wasn’t going very fast, and neither was the car. My worst injury was the dislocated/broken finger. The doctor popped it back into joint and that’s about all they can do. It’s still very bruised, swollen, and stiff, but I need to use it as much as possible to regain mobility in my finger. I’ll probably need some follow-up with an orthopedic surgeon. Other than that I just have a few scrapes and bruises. They hurt a bit but they’re fundamentally superficial.

Then our car broke down on the way to Roanoke but some very nice mechanics worked late to get us back on the road. Southern Hospitality is no joke.

Again, more details on all of this later. For now typing is pretty difficult. Here’s hoping our luck changes.

On Sunday I was preparing to go for a road ride when I discovered a flat tire on my road bike. A bit reluctantly, I decided to take my commuter instead, even with its sketchy brake situation. I wanted to do something a bit different, so I decided to ride to Paynetown on Lake Monroe, and finally take Knightridge Road to avoid 446 for part of the ride, something I had been meaning to do for a while. The rolling hills on Smith Road were fun, and then I hit 446.

Field

Field across the street from the other field

So I was still on 446 briefly, but soon I came to Knightridge Road. I turned onto it and really enjoyed this alternate route, it’s much quieter with slower speed limits. There was very little traffic.

Riding on Knightridge

Car filled and covered with junk

Bob Jones’ house, which I’ve written about before

Eventually Knightridge spits you back out on 446. I finally rode up the driveway by the Scenic View sign I see every time I go through here but have never explored. It’s a rather steep driveway that I normally just ride past.

Scenic View sign

A scenic view indeed

A  couple of miles later, I reached the turnoff to Paynetown State Recreation Area. There’s a huge hill down to it, on which I picked up tremendous speed. It felt fantastic. I have an annual state park pass, so I showed it to the lady at the gate, and she waved me past.

I was stunned by the number of people with boats I saw. The parking lot by the boat ramp was apparently full, because the road leading to the ramp had trucks with boat trailers parked on both sides of the road. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it this crowded.

Trucks with boat trailers

I was thinking the flooding might be lower, and if it was I was going to wade into the water a bit, but as it turned out, the beach and much of the rest of the area is still very much flooded.

Flooding

More flooding

I didn’t stay long. I turned around to head home. The climb back up to 446 was difficult, as you might imagine.

Climbing back up to 446

While I had a pleasant ride there, my ride home was extremely frustrating. I can’t remember the last time I was this frustrated on a bicycle. Many times, I was passed by trucks pulling boats on trailers, and at least one of them cut me off. The ones who didn’t cut me off were very much assholes to me as well. I really can’t imagine what their hurry could have been, heading home on a Sunday afternoon from what I can only presume must have been a relaxing day, or weekend, of boating on the lake. Whatever the reason, I was treated very badly by almost everyone who passed me who was hauling a boat. It’s very frightening getting cut off by a truck and nearly being taken out by the trailer. Part of this road has no shoulder and during the parts that do I tend not to ride on it as it has a lot of debris. I ended up taking the lane for part of the ride, for my own safety.

One of many boats that passed me

Fortunately, I only had to ride a few miles before I could get off 446 and back on Knightridge. Here, I thought, I’d be safe. And while I didn’t see any boats on this road, a small car came up behind me and layed on their horn, passing me and cutting me off, nearly running me off the road. I was stunned; normally people on quiet, slow country roads are very courteous and are not in a hurry. I don’t know what this guy’s problem was, but I was very frustrated.

I had to ride a little more on 446, this time I took the shoulder. This was also one of few times I’ve felt unsafe on a bicycle. It felt like everyone was out to get me on this day. I took Moore’s Pike back over to Smith Road.

Another field

While I was riding on Smith Road, yet another motorist blared his horn and passed me. After he was in front of me, I held up a hand as if to say “What the hell, man?” He pointed over to the right, as if I should have ridden in the right turn lane to get out of his way. Well, needless to say, I was not turning, so I didn’t ride in the turn lane. I shook my head “no, I won’t do that” but I don’t know if he saw it. I nearly caught up to him at the stoplight at third street — and we would’ve had words if I had. He turned just as I arrived, and I went straight. It’s just as well. I doubt anything productive would’ve been said.

I was truly horrified at people’s lack of respect for their fellow man on this day. It was one of very few rides I’ve ever done that just left me with a sense of frustration.  I rarely have significant problems with motorists — sure, people do dumb things — but people were downright malicious. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought it was Easter.