I got "doored" on my bike.

[TinyEvel]

Let me start by saying I am a cyclist. I have been riding road bikes for 25 years, and I have very good control of the bike and road vision.

Three weeks ago I was riding in a painted bike lane on the right side of the traffic lane when a parked car opened a door right in front of me.
This is every cyclists worse nightmare. I've had some close calls but I am aways pretty alert. I was riding with two other guys who were about two bike lengths in front of me, and the door opened so fast it happened behind the guy in front of me but hit me.

I went through the door, over it, and landed in the street on my left shoulder and face. I immediately scooched to the edge of the road, laid on my back and asked them to call 911.

I had a gash in my eyebrow but the rest of me was just lightly scraped. Big issue was, the top of my humerus (upper arm bone) the ball was crushed and snapped clean off and wedged sideways into the socket.

Needless to say it was painful.

I've had surgery with a rod down the middle of my bone. I'm three weeks post-op. I'm trying to cycle off my pain meds and I was up all night, can't sleep because it hurts so much. Just really uncomfortable. It sucks because I use my brain for my job, requires deep thinking and it's tough to concentrate.

I wasn't ever going to post anything on here about it, but maybe some of you guys have had bad accidents/surgeries and have fully recovered, I could just use some cheering up to know that it will take time and I will be alright. Also, please look in your rear view before opening a car door when parked at a curb.

Cycling is my life. Right now I just feel lame and like I'll never be at peace or know the joy of the free road again.

TE

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

i know the dude that started that company

Cool. I just picked a random body armor pic, so don't know anything about them.

[TinyEvel]

Thanks for the encouragement, friends. I know that a lot of people have had much worse in their life. I don't mean to complain, (I know I am actually lucky - it could have been a lot worse if I had hit the edge of the door straight-on). I was just really hurting and bummed this morning and you guys are cheering me up. Thanks.

[rageeumr]

Originally Posted by DMAC

This is why I dont road bike anymore. Every morning some asshole would do this to me. Why do people have to be like that?

I stick to the trail now. Much more fun anyway.

I'm training for Ironman Kansas, so I am riding far faster than what is safe on a trail. People texting, kids running around half-supervised, it's just too often that you come around a corner and have to lock up your brakes. Plus the trails around here are pancake flat, so you don't get any hill work at all.

95% of the time I am out in the country where there are very few cars. But in this particular instance I had gone into town to hit some bike lane streets, and was on my way back out of town when this a-hole decided the 10 seconds I cost him was worth buzzing me over.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by DaFace

Yikes - that doesn't look like much fun. Out of curiosity, is the driver of the car responsible for that?

I'm sure it was the driver's fault if he was in a designated bike path. Unfortunately, people forget to look before opening their door.

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

As a runner I have a lot more time to react than a biker would at higher speeds.

Well, you never know.

[DMAC]

Originally Posted by rageeumr

I'm training for Ironman Kansas, so I am riding far faster than what is safe on a trail. People texting, kids running around half-supervised, it's just too often that you come around a corner and have to lock up your brakes. Plus the trails around here are pancake flat, so you don't get any hill work at all.

95% of the time I am out in the country where there are very few cars. But in this particular instance I had gone into town to hit some bike lane streets, and was on my way back out of town when this a-hole decided the 10 seconds I cost him was worth buzzing me over.

We have a park maintained mtn bike trail system just 5 minutes from town. Hills, jumps, woods, creeks...you name it.

[KCUnited]

In my experience the psychology of the injury was harder to manage than the discomfort and pain. Staying positive can sometimes be harder than the rehab regement.

[Rasputin]

Why do they call it the humerus bone? Nothing funny about it when you bump it.

This is exactly why I don't cycle any longer...

Oh wait, no it's not. I'm lazy and old. Forgetful too..

[Deberg_1990]

Wow, thats sucks Tiny. Stay postive, heal up quickly and play lots of PS3!

Hopefully the person that doored you was apologetic about it.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Lzen

Well, you never know.

Man, I'm not sure I needed to see that. It's hard to imagine that that innocent pedestrian wasn't killed.

[HoneyBadger]

Put a band aid on it and stop whining!

But I know how you feel. I broke the same bone a year ago this weekend. It took me about 8 weeks before I could even lift my arm. 3 months later I was able to life about 5 lbs, that was exciting. I still feel pain in it, and I'm terrified that it will re-break.

When Evel Knievel broke most the bones in his body he never once logged in to ChiefsPlanet to complain about it. In fact, he never even complained about any sort of pain on here. Something to think about there, TE. You're letting us and your hero down.

[Donger]

Sorry to hear this, Tiny. This is why I minimize the amount of time I ride on roads, just enough to get onto a trail.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Phobia

When Evel Knievel broke most the bones in his body he never once logged in to ChiefsPlanet to complain about it. In fact, he never even complained about any sort of pain on here. Something to think about there, TE. You're letting us and your hero down.

Y'know, now that you mention it, tinyevel never told us how many cars he cleared before the crash.