Thanks Mare, It's kind of a bittersweet thing because overall the ride itself was such a great experience. If you or anyone is interested, here is the entry from my journal:
With all the rain we got last week my buddy Rob and I decided to go for a nice long road ride this Saturday.
What I wound up with was 61 miles(personal best) on a beautiful day and a seperated AC joint in my left shoulder(personal worst).
We started on Route 9W near the NY state border and followed it to the GWB in Fort Lee. Apparently the route is a mecca for local roadies because there were more cyclists than motor vehicles. Everybody from hot shot elitists with pointy helmets on their million dollar rocket ships to the guy with a DPW T-shirt on an old klunker with calves the size of Popeye's forearms. Some thumbed their noses at us, others were very friendly(Guess which was which).
The thrill of crossing of the Bridge was exhilerating. We couldn't go that fast though because all the pedestrians, cyclists, and truck fumes slowed us down. When we got to the other side we asked for some directions to Riverside Park so we could take that downtown then cut over to Central Park. Better than telling us- a couple of guys showed us. They must have been locals because they took a super secret shortcut; through heavy traffic. After safely dodging the mayhem as if in the video gane "Frogger" we make it safely to the top of Riverside Park where the path is supposed to go all the way down to Battery Park.
Not too far along the path, I'm so captivated by the experience I kind of zone out. I feel this bump and in seemingly slow motion I watch my hands slip off the front of the handlebars/brake boots. Next thing I know, my shoulders are under the bars and my chin is on top of the stem. Down I go. Tumble-slide, tumble-slide. Even though I'm aware of every second including the flesh grinding off the underside of my forearm, and my jersey tearing, I'm not really sure what happened to my shoulder. There is some minor road rash above by bicep, but I don't know if the seperation took place at impact with the ground, tumbling with the bike or what.
So, a bunch of people come to my aid and I regain my composure. Rob helps me straighten out the handlebars and brake levers and suggests we turn around and go home or that I call someone to come get me. I don't want to spoil the day so I insist we go on as planned. He's really glad too because he later admitted he didn't really want to turn around- he was having too much fun.
On we go, down the path to 57th St then over to the bottom of Central Park where we do 2-1/2 complete loops before taking a break and heading back. By the time we get back across the bridge and onto 9W again I start to bonk. I slow my pace, hydrate and gel, and get back going when we encounter a road block with only 5miles left. There was a serious accident and they were medivac-ing and investigating. We were detoured an additinal ten miles.
As we get back to Rob's house in Northvale(the starting point), I'm ready to die from exhaustion and pain. I go home and make it through my shower and dinner thinking I'll wait till "tomorrow" to see how I feel. Diane has a different idea- we go to the hospital now.
Hospital, x-rays, and doctor. No breaks or fracture. Seperated AC Joint. They give me a sling and tell me to go see a specialist. That's where I'm at now, with an appointment for tomorrow to see an orthopedicist who will probably order an MRI.
I guess the kicker is I do some hairy shit on the trails and this is how I get hurt; doing a stroll in the park. Just last week I cleared many a section of rocky terrain at Mahlon Dickenson Reservation that I heretofore thought of as impossible.
At least I get some tough guy satisfaction out of knowing I rode 40 miles after the fall with a seperated shoulder joint.
I hope you feel better.
