Forget hangover cures…

I need something slightly stronger for this:

Riding on Sunday as an excuse to go for a couple of beers. Lost the front end on an off camber corner and ripped open my knee (and other various body parts) on some Chiltern flint. Couldn’t helped noticing that when I was looking at my knee, the tendon was staring back at me. That’s not right I thought and it wasn’t.

Seven hours in A&E while they prodded, cleaned, injected into the open wound and before deciding it’d have to be cleaned out under a general. Of those seven hours, about one hour was being treated while the other six were spent waiting for x-rays, doctors, consultants and lots of other busy people. Still nice to see the NHS is staffed up on all our Taxes eh?

Next day they didn’t do the op as they were busy. That’s ok as I didn’t really want to eat or drink anything for 30 hours while they threatened to take me to theatre. Finally cleaned and stitched it up on Tuesday and sent me home today mainly as I am the man who put the patient into impatient.

10 days before the stitches come out. Can’t have a shower, can’t drive, can’t do more than a comedy shuffle. Wife not impressed as we’re on hols next week and my contribution will likely be lying in a chair drinking beer.

And in case you’re interested, yes it bloody hurts.

15 thoughts on “Forget hangover cures…

  1. Nuggie

    Ouch. That does look painful. On the bright side lying in a chair drinking beer is a good way to spend a holiday πŸ™‚

  2. Mark

    It’s worse than you think… You will likely be on antibiotics, not beer, for a couple of weeks, and they don’t mix well. One (Metronidazole to prevent gangrene) is also known as Antabuse, and is used to treat alcoholics as drinking whilst taking it results in violent vomiting. Nice.

    Oh, I nearly forgot… ouch.

  3. Alex

    Yeah I had a couple of beers then started on the antibiotics (only 4 more days thankfully) and it’s not a good mix. I dunno, talk about unfair, can’t ride my bike, can drink any beer πŸ™

  4. James D

    Gutted, get well soon Al!

    By the way, you should really re-write that article so the crash sounds a bit more gnarly!! πŸ˜‰

  5. Alex

    Something like: “I was cranking to the max, tyres sliding, forks shaking just to keep Andy behind. The trail snaked away down the hillside with the slope robbing your tyres of traction and gravity getting interested in removing you from the bike. The front wheel drift was something I was deeply proud of before the wheel tucked under at 20 something MPH and the bike and rider went down hard onto the unforgiving flinty trail. In a heartbeat, I was pioneering a new rocky line with my knee to the fore picking up shrapnel wounds and driving sharp flints into soft body parts. The bike – disgusted at my lack of skills – flipped end over end into the bushes while I lay on the trail with the remains of my summer riding gaping back at me through a 4 inch hole in my knee. Before I had chance to fully understand the pain and suffering this was going to cause, my kidneys received a blow from the bike behind which was a by this time a riderless steed as Andy had ejected some seconds earlier

    There was not too much blood on my knee but this was made up for by the gravel rash from wrist to shoulder and armpit to thigh. Only organic body armour in the beer storage area saved me from deeper cuts. My knee though was a mess, gashed open in the middle with previously unseen body parts poking out sorounded by stony puncture would weeping claret. Maybe I should start worrying about how I was going to ride to hospital and forget about riding at all after they patched me up”

    How’s that πŸ™‚

  6. Jey Barter

    Al, a man of your bodge calibre should surely be able to superglue a cleat onto that cast.

    I dunno, the excuses some people come up with to avoid riding their bikes in the sun? When I were a lad, I snagged my belly on barbed wire and ripped my entire large colon out but it didn’t stop me cycling home and eating my tea…..etc.

  7. Mattb

    Whoops! Hope the bike will get through it! d:^)

    XC is the new hardcore

    hope it mends soon although at our age it could be an age!!!!

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