friends

I’ve had enough people ask me about Saturday that I thought it’d be best to summarize here – in order to collect all the feedback and questions into one spot.

Here’s the deal:

After a really enjoyable (and uneventful) ride on Saturday with members of The Cretins MC and Los Gordos Gatos clubs, I ended my night with a trip to The Cretins MC’s clubhouse (under the W. Seattle bridge, on Spokane).

The party at the clubhouse was fun: lots of familiar faces, a surprise visit by my wife, and lots of silly movies and activities.

Around midnight, the wife, my friends, and I decided to call it a night and started to head home.

One block from the clubhouse, I hit a detour that was covered in gravel and I went down. Hard.

Here’s the injury list:

1. The bike lost the front left turn signal (I hated the amber turn signals anyway)
2. The bike’s left mirror is in rough shape (it operates, but I think I stripped the threading)
3. My left knee took a banging, which resulted in a dislodged patella, a good sized hematoma (I’m under medication to shrink/dissolve it), and a fair amount of blood.
4. I’m barely walking right now, mostly due to the pressure on the patella and the swelling.
5. I’ll be seeing an orthopedic surgeon in the next week to discuss whether or not I need further attention (read: surgery).

– Image below is a little gory –

From the illustration I’ve horribly hacked together below, you can see how the patella is really ejected, with the hematoma developing below the kneecap. Excuse my :30 photoshop job, please.

At this point, I just need rest, crutches, and some compassion. I wasn’t the only rider to dump at that detour on Saturday, so while my pride is hurt, it’s not the end of the world. I’ve been told by plenty of much more seasoned riders that this “is just part of the bike world; it happens to everyone.”

Thank you to everyone that’s shown interest in my bashup; I’m sorry if early notes were vague or worrisome – that wasn’t mine (nor my wife’s) intentions. I’ll be fine, the bike will be fine (rode it home actually), and all will be well in a few weeks.

In the meantime, if you wanna meet up or hang out, just know I’ll be slower than normal :)