Earlier this year, I lived out one of my mum’s worst nightmares. It happened in an instant. I had cycled to the cinema to meet a friend, and while we were watching the film, the weather outside turned stormy. The wind gusts, I thought, would blow me home effortlessly. The ride lasted less than two minutes.
At the first corner – a sharp, wet lefthander – my front wheel slid violently, jackknifing my bike into the tarmac. I don’t remember the impact. All I remember is being scraped off the floor by three men with panicked expressions, who kept asking me if I was OK. Proudly, I shooed them away, but the throbbing in my face, the pain in my wrist, and the general dizziness I felt made it clear to me that I was not, in fact, OK.
The nurse in A&E helped me piece together the crash. My left cheek had hit the road, hard, and was now as flat as the tarmac it had bounced off. A CT scan confirmed three fractures in my face, plus a broken wrist, and I was booked in for emergency surgery 48 hours later. This would stop my “eye material” from “sagging” through the broken cheekbone, which sounded like a good idea. Today, a small titanium plate holds it all in place, and will do so for the rest of my life.
Crashes in cycling can be life-altering. They can drastically change our relationship with the bike, knock back our confidence, and leave us with lasting scars, a constant reminder of our own fragility. Mine, fortunately, aren’t visible. The surgeons did the whole procedure through the inside of my mouth, making the incision in my gum line. They never told me how many stitches they put in, but I counted seven or eight with my tongue.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 16, 2024 من Cycling Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 16, 2024 من Cycling Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Emperor Sport
The amateur 'Animal' attacked on this fixed wheel
Overtraining
We ask a fatigue specialist what bike-related burnout really means, and how to avoid it
SLEEP CYCLES - Is tracking shut-eye time well spent?
Are cyclists sleepwalking into information overload, asks Lexie Williamson
Giant Revolt X Pro
Steve Shrubsall gives Giant's gravel mile-muncher a multisurface mauling
How do I keep my tubeless set-up safe?
Tubeless tyres are no cause for concern if you take a few simple precautions, finds Joe Baker
SEB GRINDLEY & HIS DAD DAVE
The British teenager has hit the ground running in his sporting career, but that's no surprise as his father did exactly the same
THE BARD OF BRIOUDE
Revered as much for his erudition as his élan, Romain Bardet is on a mission to change cycling for the better, as Chris Marshall-Bell finds out
THE HUB
All the news you might have missed from the last seven days
Holmes sees double with Gralloch win
Ex-WorldTour rider's triumphant return to racing continues with glory on the gravel
FRED WRIGHT - Martian preparation for the Tour
Fred Wright rides for Bahrain Victorious