• This topic has 19 replies, 13 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by 5lab.
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  • Holiday Injuries (warning: miserable thread)
  • RealMan
    Free Member

    Just got back from a 2 week riding holiday in France and Italy. Managed to get 4 days of riding in.

    The first 3 days we spent at Ventoux. Got there about 6pm, unpacked, sorted the bikes, had dinner, went to bed. Then got up and went for a gentle spin (which turned out to be very lumpy ~75 miles, and so hot). Then the next day we went for the big one, Ventoux 3 times in 1 day. My Dad, due to a couple of injuries and broken bikes, had not done much riding, and so wasn't that fit, but I still managed to drag him up 3 times, and in under 8 hours.

    Then coming back down into Bedoin we hit a rain cloud and the roads went from dry to flooded in about 30 seconds. Then a tricky little s bend taken too fast and locked wheels made me feel like it would be a good idea if I had a little rest in a pile of rocks. Unfortunately I landed on my head. Nicely cracked s works helmet, buckled rear wheel, burst gel, etc. etc. Finally managed to get back on my bike, and finish the last 5 miles. With the back brake going on-off-on-off-on-off… Somehow managed to pull a muscle in my back during the crash (something like whiplash?).

    So the next day we packed up the bikes and drove over to Alpe d'huez where the plan was to do a bit of riding, galibier, glandon, telegraph, and then do the d'huez time trial on the Thursday, where I'd been set all my training in mind to aim for under 55 mins to the TdF finish. I managed to get a whole zero days of riding in there.

    Then after 4 days of me not riding, we drove over the the white room chalet, to get a week of mountain biking in. I finally felt good enough to ride on the third day there, which put me back into pain and stopped me riding for the next two days. But then I managed to ride the last day. Back home now, feeling knackered. Back still hurts. Alpe d'huez will have to wait another year before it will be conquered.

    So tell me about your ruined holidays from injuries. If they're really bad they might make me feel better.

    valleydaddy
    Free Member

    get well soon fella.

    That's must be a right ball ache

    Munqe-chick
    Free Member

    Me, Mr MC (and luckily about 15 other mates) went to Morzine last year for the Passportes, which was on the Sunday. Arrive on Friday afternoon put the bikes together, ace dinner some wine, great night and excitement about more rides of Le Pleney and other routes. Saturday get up, lovely fresh bread from the bakery under our chalet and hit Le Pleney. so must be about 1100 first run, 1/3 of the way down Mr MC crashes and is white cannot move, never seen him like that!!! Taken off the mountain by the Pompiers and spent the next 3 days in hospital getting released on Tuesday having had a bolt put through his snapped knee!!! Wednesday we flew home, I had THE most horrific time getting me, injured Mr MC, 2 bikes in bags, 2 85 litre rucksacks. Getting 4 bags around Geneva airport on my own, whilst Mr MC chatted up the French nurse in the back of the ambulance … not fun!!! Holiday sucked for me too as he was taken 40 minutes away to Thonon-les-Bains which cost 90euros in a taxi EACH way! expensive holiday with not much riding!!

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    cynic-al
    Free Member

    Bummer. Easy to say with hindsight but a good lesson in riding safe.

    Lucas
    Free Member

    Broken wrist in the lakes 3 weeks ago. fortunatly I'd had a weeks worth of riding and only 4 day of holiday left. Just a stupid front wheel slip on a root while climbing can point you off a 4ft drop with no time to realise whats happening or stop yourself going over the bars.

    goog
    Free Member

    I separated my AC joint last monday in Les Arcs.

    I kind of went over the bars into a big grass coloured rock 3 days into my 7 day holiday …. bummer 😐

    wee-al
    Free Member

    I broke my left radius pretty badly on the Chattel road gap 5 weeks ago and ended up at the Thonon les Bains same as Mr MC above. Got it all plated and pinned and a gnarly 18 stitch scar to boot. It apparently was a nightmare for the other guys getting my bike back from Chattel to Les Gets, sorting insurance etc. I was blissfully unaware of all this as i was lying out my nut on Morphine pretty much naked as the day i was born in a hospital corridor. French nurses have lovely bras!

    Munqe-chick
    Free Member

    Wee-al I wondered for a minute if you were Mr MC's room mate until I saw you did it 5 weeks ago. Mr MC had a room mate who had crashed his MTB and shattered all the bones in his right arm/wrist and he opted for the local anesthetic…. boy did he regret that!! But he was out in Morzine having a blinding holiday as he had been made redundant and was struggling to find a job! Poor soul with that injury he was going to be unemployed for a while due to the severity of it!

    Oh boy is the sorting everything out a nightmare! The insurance organised an ambulance to take Mr MC to the airport but didn't factor in bags and bike bags! I sent my friends in the transfer (we should've been in) with the bags to leave at Geneva airport. Bike luggage is in the basement by the train station which is on the Swiss side and as such only accept Swiss Francs!! Luckily one very good friend had 20 Swiss Francs and blagged taht was enough for payment. So the ambulance was late to pick us up from teh chalet which left me little time to get said bikes and check in. In Geneva you can't wheel a trolley with bike bags into the lift .. mmm so a lot of dragging and lifting. Amazing how many people watched me struggling lifting DH bikes onto a trolley!! Makes me sweat just to think of the stress of it!! Had to get Mr MC 3 seats on the plane as he had a metal leg brace on and couldn't bend his leg!! Getting home the other end! My Skoda Fabia wouldn't hold Mr MC and bikes ….. ARGH!!

    D0NK
    Full Member

    I like how in the litany of expensive and lasting carnage you felt the need to comment on the loss of a £1.25 sachet of power gel 😉

    Hope you're fixed soon.

    Bumhands
    Free Member

    If it makes you feel better I just rode for a week in Les Arcs and didn't crash once.
    Black 8, Double header, Grange hill etc… all on a hard tail.

    AND I was trying hard enough.

    Munqe-chick
    Free Member

    (Mr MC posting)

    chatel road gap, I doff my cap to your far superior gnarl. I managed to crash on the "10%" section of the pleney, a trail I have ridden literally a hundred times, and more than any other trail (usually start and end our annual trips out there with half days sessioning Pleney). If my spds had unclipped it wouldnt have even registered as a crash, as it was my tibia turned out to be the weakest link in the chain…

    Ironically I shared my room with a broken wrist. He'd said yes to having it done under local, thinking it would be a simple procedure. 3 hrs later he came back white as a sheet with a hand like Terminator 😯 . I said screw that and knock me out (first broken bone, first surgery at age of 37 🙄 ).

    and to MC, you got a weekend in NYC out of it so stop moaning 🙂

    wee-al
    Free Member

    Yeah, i was lucky enough for it too happen in the last afternoon of riding, so all the other guys packed my stuff and took it home. I just had to get myself to the airport with one small bag. 100 euro's later i got there and managed to book a flight and get to Edinburgh where i was lucky enough to have a friend meet me to drive my car back to Thurso. 5 weeks at home maybe 3 to go. On Quarter pay, hopefully get back off shore sooner rather than later.

    Hope everybody gets better soon by the way!

    Allan

    thepurist
    Full Member

    Not bike related, but a friend was on the scuba diving trip of a lifetime – a week in Truk lagoon then on to Bikini atoll in the Pacific. After two days in Truk he managed to get a case of decompression sickness (aka the bends), got some basic treatment at the US base on the island then had to fly home and get checked up back here. Total trip cost about £6K, all for about 5 dives.

    RealMan
    Free Member

    felt the need to comment on the loss of a £1.25 sachet of power gel

    Well it was in my jersey back pocket, and it went everywhere.. And it was my favourite type of gel, and my last one (not that I would've used it).

    You don't know how tough it was…

    French nurses have lovely bras!

    I had a 60 something year old Welsh doctor check me out. Another guest at the chalet by d'huez. At least it saved me an extra trip out, but I can't say much for his bra, although he was very nice.

    AND I was trying hard enough.

    Didn't think that was possible

    DT78
    Free Member

    Broke both scaphoids on a silly little jump at local spot one month before a morzine trip. Was not happy 🙁

    Sirlickalot
    Free Member

    You rode pretty well for an injured man on that last day George.

    RealMan
    Free Member

    Cheers. Riding on the last day made it worse, but I'd do it again. That was a great day.

    5lab
    Full Member

    i broke my hand on day 1 in les deux alpes this year, tried to do some light xc riding but it hurt too much, and the bike I had with me was rubbish at road riding (did do half the alpe de huez climb on it though)

    ended up getting so bored I did the megavalanche anyway, and beat my mate (who was uninjured). Pretty bad idea, as it turns out, my little finger kept dislocating and the only way to reset it was to bite the end of it, whilst racing, and pull away with my wrist.

    Next time though

    RealMan
    Free Member

    ended up getting so bored I did the megavalanche anyway, and beat my mate (who was uninjured). Pretty bad idea, as it turns out, my little finger kept dislocating and the only way to reset it was to bite the end of it, whilst racing, and pull away with my wrist.

    Do you find it hard to find a saddle to accommodate your obviously massive balls? That, or you're just insane..

    5lab
    Full Member

    the mega course is pretty gentle, as courses go. Its more of an xc race with a bit of decent in it, rather than a proper dh race. I was pretty might high on ibuprofin at the time so it didn't really matter 😀

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