Breaking Through

10:20 am Unknown 0 Comments


It has finally happened. I'm in my 3rd year of racing my bike and I've been involved in an accident where I've broken my left clavicle - my first ever bone break. I haven't had gravel rash or anything else nasty before. In October 2011 when I was hit by a van, I was lucky to walk away with bruising (pretty severe bruising that felt like break)!

They say it is a reality in cycling... I don't know about that. It was a rider's decision to try make a gap that didn't exist and I came off second best. A decision that did not pay off for the rider, as they were off the back of the peloton after the KOM point when the Commissaire had scraped me off the road and drove me through the bunches to seek medial aid.

My Tour of the South West was cut short to less than 7kms, caused me thousands of dollars in broken bones and medical bills, broken bike, kit and stress. I have every right to be angry initially as there were no repercussions (no fines were dished out despite pointing out the offending rider to the Commissaire), and no follow up from the race organisers (though I hear they are still working through feedback from the other riders on the weekend). But you know what? Sometimes you have to suck it all up and sum it all up with "That's Racing!"
Before, After and Gelato!
This is my hobby. I'm paid to do a corporate desk job that keeps me challenged in many of the usual and a few of the unforeseen ways that bike racing doesn't fulfil. While I might be fortunate enough to win a sash or a medal - it doesn't pay the bills for such an expensive hobby.

Bikes have been a part of my life at some level for a long time and while it has taken a while for me to race in full force, I've been chipping away at it for a few years and can hold my own in club level A-Grade racing. In the last month I have made some exciting gains that I didn't get a chance to unleash on the roads at Tour of the South West. I am really looking forward to this rest and then building on top of this to get stronger, better, smarter, FASTER!

Thanks for the care packages, lollies, flowers and chocolate!!
I am very lucky that I had a clean break of the clavicle and received fairly prompt surgery to pin this in place. I had some savings, insurance and sick leave to make sure there was little stress to get the assistance I needed. I was extremely lucky to have family there to pick me up at the hospital in Warrnambool and a gorgeous husband to take care of the bike, drive home and all the other endless minor details...

My days of waiting for surgery and overnight stay in hospital was a patience game to rest up, catch up on the internet, tv-shows, and movies that friends had recommended. It was also a great to keep in touch with friends and family to keep them in the loop with progress.

Most of all I want to thank you for your continued support in reading my blog, liking my pics, commenting on my status', tweeting me and sharing your cycling lives with me.  Feeling a part of this awesome world wide community of healthy, active and motivated people has kept me in a positive mind-frame.

I know it's only week 1 of a longer journey back to full health, but there's a lot going on along the way.



This Saturday I'll be speaking on a panel about my mini movies, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, E-mail and of course cycling! It will be a great session on Beginner Social Media at the Docklands (good parking, trams etc nearby). I have only a few tickets spare - contact me direct for tickets and click the invite below for more details.


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