I headed out for a 54 mile ride today. It was gorgeous out, not too hot, and a little overcast. I was having a great ride until I crashed! Now, while I was out riding yesterday, I crashed TWICE. So that makes 3 crashes in about a day and a half. My first crash yesterday was legitimate -- I hit a patch of gravel and down I went. The second crash was just dumb -- I was clipped in and I just fell over. It still hurt though! Today, I was riding along with a friend, and it turns out that we had to make a right turn. I didn't know this, and she didn't tell me, and blam-o! I ran right into her back wheel. The road was very rough and there was a lot of gravel and it really hurt. I landed on my left shoulder and hip. The best thing was that my shorts didn't rip. Since you do not wear underwear under bike shorts, having them WHOLE is preferable to having them ripped. I got up and dusted myself off and inspected the wounds.

I ripped my jersey. My knee hurt, and I had somehow landed on my palms. My right palm had swelled up big time in the time it took for me to stand up -- I couldn't even put the side closest to my thumb on my handlebars. My left elbow was totally messed up and very bloody.

I continued on up the mountain (this happened at the beginning of a 7 mile climb), and when I finally got there, I called Brigid to meet me at the closest town. I had to ride another 12 miles or so, but Brigid picked me up and took me to my car, and I drove to Urgent Care. After waiting for an hour, I found out that there were no x-rays that day. So then I went to the ER. I spent about two hours in the cleanest, least chaotic ER I have EVER been in -- it was almost a pleasure to be there. It even smelled good. Very bizarre. I had x-rays of both hands and there are no breaks. I was very pleased.

So, I have a jersey to mend, lots of wash, my front wheel is almost certainly going to need to be replaced, and the hoods on my handlebars are messed up. However, I have no broken bones, and the frame of my very expensive and beloved bike is not harmed. All in all, a good day. Here are a couple of pictures of my wounds -- my right hand and my knee.