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Vertigo — Part 1

10.25.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 1 Comment

Our new guest poster, Don Blount, is getting over a nasty crash. Not only did he crack a helmet — and a wrist — but he had to deal with an unexpected side effect.

BlountOnBikingI nearly always thought of vertigo as an Alfred Hitchcock movie starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak. At least that is until I came down with it. But when I awoke early Saturday Sept. 26 and the room was spinning, I had no idea that was what I was dealing with.

But let me back up a bit. Four days earlier, on the first day of fall, I had taken a tumble from my bike halfway through a 46-mile ride.

BikeI had ridden to a nature preserve and stopped to take in the scenery and eat. My legs felt good. I stopped at the Visitors’ Center to look for a trash can to discard a banana peel. There were no receptacles but there were plastic bags to put your trash in and take it out with you. I put the peel in one and stuffed in a jersey pocket. I got back on my bike and started on my return trip home. As I looked up I saw a car approaching and thought it would be a good idea to get as far to my right as possible. The walking path was clear and I began to drift over.

What I didn’t see was that there was a gap between the nice asphalt road and the cement walking path. My front wheel caught in it, and I went down.

Best I remember, I fell on my head and left side, fracturing my left wrist and getting some road rash on my left shoulder, hip and knee.

As I have said previously, I wouldn’t ride without a helmet. My injuries would’ve been more severe had I not been wearing one.

HelmetA couple of cracks are obvious in this shot.

The helmet did exactly what it was supposed to do. It absorbed the blow, cracking in about a half dozen places so my head would not. I still received a sizable bump on my head that would take a few weeks to fully heal.

My bike was fine aside from some torn bar tape and a scrape on a brake lever. I was able to gather myself and ride the 23 miles home, wrist and all.

I was less successful hiding the injuries from my wife.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Uh, nothing,” I replied. She followed me as I limped through the house.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded this time.

“Well,” I said, “If you must do something, help me take my jersey off because I can’t lift my arm.”

I managed to get in the shower and muffle my moans as I cleaned my road rash.

Sling2The next day my wrist was swollen and unusable and I went to see a doctor who put it in a soft support and my arm in a sling. I would miss work this day.

CastTwo days later, Friday, I saw an orthopedist who put my wrist in a cast. I picked purple as a color because my daughters like that color.

I went to sleep that night thinking the worst was behind me and that I’d have to figure out how to make do with a cast for a few weeks.

I didn’t know how wrong I was.

What else could afflict Don? Join us again tomorrow as Bike Noob  brings another installment of “Blount on Biking.”

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Categories // guest post, Injury Tags // Blount, guest post, Injury, vertigo

Another writer joins the Bike Noob fold

10.20.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 4 Comments

Don Blount
Don Blount

It’s a pleasure for me to introduce a new guest poster to Bike Noob readers. Don Blount has been reading this blog for well over a year now, and has contributed a number of ideas for posts (You may remember the occasional reference to “Don, of California”). Now Don, who is a newspaperman by trade, has agreed to author posts of his own, rather than just send along ideas. Here’s his first opus:

It’s been a little over a year since I became a recreational road cyclist. I don’t run because of my knees and I tired of doing the elliptical trainer and treadmills in the gym. I ended up on the bike. I got sucked in slowly, starting by riding my mountain bike around town. I had fun and thought “hey, this isn’t bad.” Going 12 miles on that bike was about all I could take. (It’s a bike best suited for riding around with my kids.) After about a month I upgraded to a road bike. I came to this activity as a complete novice, knowing how to ride a bike but not knowing anything about road biking.

Here is what I’ve learned and would share with anyone looking to get into this sport:

It is about the bike

I ride a Scattante CFR Comp. For a first bike I did OK. It has a carbon frame, Shimano 105 shifters and front derailleur, Ultegra rear derailleur. I recently upgraded to Michelin Krylion tires. The bike works for me. I was actually going to buy a less expensive bike but an experienced cyclist who looked at the bikes I was considering advised me to buy this one because it had better components than the others, a carbon frame instead of an aluminum frame and would be a bike I could ride for years without getting bored with it. I spent a lot more than I had planned, but I did get a much better bike than the one I would’ve purchased without direction.

Get a professional bike fitting

I rode my bike for about five months with the setup that I received at the LBS where I made my purchase. During that time I slowly developed pain at the back of my left knee and in my lower back. My original set up wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t right on either. I went for a professional fitting and discovered that my seat was too low and too far back. I have a copy of my measurements, which I check monthly or if something doesn’t feel right to ensure sure my set up remains right.  Riding without getting a fitting is akin to wearing a suit without getting it tailored. Maybe some people can wear right off the rack but not many. It’s worth the investment.

Clothing

I had sticker shock when I first looked at something as simple as a pair of shorts. That was before I understood the difference between good cycling gear and not-so-good gear. I have a friend who has no problem going into triple digits for bib shorts, tights or any other piece of bike clothing. Yet he wouldn’t dream of spending nearly as much for regular clothing. I’m a big Pearl Izumi fan because I know that brand will fit and will wear well. It took me awhile to come to this conclusion. It wasn’t until I returned a set of bib shorts three – yep count em three – times to an online retailer and paid about $15 in postage that I drove an hour to a Pearl Izumi Factory store and got the things I wanted.

Dealing with your local bike shop

I like my LBS and enjoy going in there. But one thing I noticed was that it seemed the clerks were always trying to sell me something. Well, it is a store and not a library and the clerks get commissions on their sales. They weren’t pushy and were quite nice but I’m not the kind of guy who likes to be sold. I like information. I’ve been in that shop enough now that I know just about everyone who works there by name. And I’ve learned enough and they know me well enough that they no longer try to sell me and I can go in just for the discussion. Now I spend more time talking to the mechanics about repairs and talking to others about riding. And I’ve learned a lot from them by doing this.

Wear a helmet

I’ve worn a helmet for the better part of 16 years, including just riding around with my kids. I have a hard time understanding those who say they want to be free or don’t like the feel of a helmet or give some other reason for not wearing one. I recently had a cast removed from my left hand as I took a tumble on the first day of fall, seems appropriate, and broke a bone in my left wrist. I also bruised my left hip, knee and shoulder. I’m probably lucky that I didn’t break my collarbone judging from the way I went down. I was moving out of the way of an oncoming car and my front wheel got caught in a gap between road surfaces. I was 23 miles into a 46 mile ride. The only injury to my head was a bump. But my helmet cracked in about a half dozen places. If I had not been wearing a helmet, I doubt I’d be writing this. However, I finished the last 23 miles of the ride.

Don is back on the bike, recovering nicely from the fall, and promises to send along a more detailed account of his recovery, and an unusual side effect the fall triggered.

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Categories // guest post Tags // Blount, guest post

A Few Things You Always Wanted To Know About Saddle Sores…But Were Afraid To Ask

10.15.2009 by Ray Niekamp // 3 Comments

HemmelsRide2So there I was, stripped naked, one foot up on the tub, mirror in hand, contorting myself into positions that would make an adult film star proud… all the while hoping no one walked in and said something like “Uh, honey, that’s interesting,” or, “Dad, what exactly are you doing?”

What I was doing, of course, was looking for the source of some recent riding discomfort. Problem was, I had no idea what I was looking for. Sure, I’ve heard mention of saddle sores, but I always thought they were something like a serious case of rug burn, a rough spot that was scraped one too many times by an ill-fitting pair of shorts or poor seat design. Instead, all I found was a small red spot that looked kind of like a pimple. Maybe a spider bite or something. Never seen one? Scroll down; I shot a picture of it.

Just kidding. I wouldn’t do that to you. I also wouldn’t do it to me. Imagine the above scenario of wife or child walking in, but add me trying to take a picture into the mix. Yeah, that’s an image that would be burned into a family member’s memory.

So anyway, back to saddle sores. I didn’t know what I was looking for because I’ve always been fortunate enough not to get them. I used to ride without chamois cream; lately I’ve been trying it out. But either way, I stayed mostly comfortable down there. Numb, yeah, but not subject to anything as nasty sounding as a sore.

So needless to say, I set out in search of a few answers. There was a good article on saddles in a recent issue of Bicycling that defined saddle sores. Apparently, they come in various types — a simple abrasion, something called folliculitis, even an abscess that might need serious medical care. Yeah, that latter one sounds way too foul to me, too, and I know a simple abrasion when I see it. So let’s focus on what seems to be cyclist’s most common problem — folliculitis.

The name offers a hint as to what it is — folliculitis is essentially an infection of a hair follicle. We’ve all probably heard how to avoid the problem. Stuff like getting a good bike fitting, wearing quality padded shorts, standing on occasion, choosing the proper saddle, using lube, not hanging around in your nasty shorts after finishing a ride, blah blah blah. What I rarely seem to read is how to treat it once it happens.

Apparently, keeping the area clean is a good idea. I’m not going to argue that one, as the last thing I want is some nasty bacteria invading the small piece of real estate that is situated between two relatively important body parts. Beyond that, other suggestions include a basic over-the-counter acne medicine with 10% benzoyl peroxide. Yup, you can oxy-cute ‘em! Other suggestions include treating sores with hydrogen peroxide or witch hazel, both of which apparently are astringents. Prescription solutions are available should things turn serious.

Mine’s not too bad, so for now I’m still riding. If you take the same approach, trying changing your shorts or saddle. A certain stitch or rough spot could be exacerbating the problem. Lube appears to be a good idea, although I’ve read some stories of riders being told by their doctors to stop using lube. You can even try Preparation H, apparently. It should shrink swelling and reduce the pain. Some experts suggest dabbing it on a few minutes prior to applying your normal chamois cream.

I thought mine was already on the mend before today’s ride, but two hours in the saddle proved otherwise. Though I wore my favorite shorts, I can feel something has changed. Maybe the edge of the chamois has developed a rough spot or something. I won’t stop riding, but I’m going to pay attention to it. After all, I don’t want it turning into something worse.

I would, however, like to get back to checking out some butts other than my own…

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Categories // soreness Tags // guest post, Hemmel, saddle sore

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