My bike, a 2011 Vita Elite, was one of 9 types of bicycles made in 2011 that could possibly have a LITTLE bit of an issue with its carbon fork. Seems as though the "brake boss" that lies inside the fork of the bike has been known to disengage itself from the fork which then allows the ENTIRE brake assembly to come into contact with the spokes of the wheel as they are rotating. And folks it doesn't take much to figure out that if THAT happens, the only way you are going is straight DOWN. Thus, anyone with one of those 9 models of bikes will be getting new forks to correct that problem.
When I mentioned the recall notice to one of my friends, their response was, "Peggy, maybe that's what caused you to wreck your bike!" My answer was, "no". I wrecked my bike because I was going too fast for the conditions and tried unsuccessfully to jump a curb. That was "operator error" not manufacturer fault. But, hey they had to at least give it a shot. As a matter of fact, I was always surprised that my bike suffered hardly any damage, short of breaking off the mirror. "Old lefty" took the brunt of the fall and so when you look at my bike today, it pretty much looks like it did the day I brought it home in March.
The recall notice admonishes owners of these 9 brands of bikes to stop riding them immediately and make sure to get them fixed. Well, I didn't have to worry about the "stop riding them immediately" part but I did call to order the fork and will be delivering my bike to Bicycle Pedaler in Wichita later on today. My bike will probably fixed and good as new by Friday of this upcoming week~perfect timing, I'll be in Wichita anyway.
Friday, November 4th, will hopefully be (every finger crossed that I've got) my very last doctor appointment before they dismiss me from their care due to the accident. Kind of ironic (but as far as I'm concerned "irony" is now my middle name), it will be 3 months to "the day" that the accident happened to begin with. Over 12 long weeks of dealing with "Old Lefty's" predicament will have passed and a lot of lessons have been learned. Realizing of course that there is that ever so slight chance that they will say "You know Peggy, just to be safe, let's go another month with the splint." But my real hope, my real desire, is that I hear the words "Time to throw that splint away~you're looking good." I guess we'll be finding out soon.
If I hear those sweet words...."You made it!", I know what the very first question out of my mouth will be. Can you figure it out before I tell you? "When can I ride my bike again....not talking about on the trainer, but for real...out on the street?" Friends I really don't have any idea about what they'll say. But I can bet that Dr. Chan's response will be prefaced with a deep, drawn in breath and a serious look on his face. Guess I'll find that out on Friday as well.
When everything first happened, especially in the first 3 weeks, I really did doubt that I'd ever cycle again. Things looked so bleak, so dismal. First the external fixator on the outside, then the bone graft and plate/screws on the inside. 5 different casts, what seemed like a hundred trips back and forth to the doctor and physical therapist. Until early October, I wasn't even healed up enough to think about being able to grasp the handle bar again...and yeah, fat chance that I'd ever be able to use the shifter or the brake on the left side.
About 3 weeks ago, things began to improve dramatically for "old lefty". The numbness went away, slowly but surely. I began to be able to make more of a decent looking fist and I even dared to get on the bike (on the trainer of course!) and lean over to grasp the handle bars and use the shifter and brakes. It wasn't a piece of cake but it was easier than I thought it would be. And nothing bad happened because I tried to do it. If Dr. Chan gives me the "green light" to ride any time that I want to, physically I believe I'll be ready.
Unfortunately, there is one small problem. Take a look at the excerpt below from my blog entry dated June 4th, one day before leaving for the Bike Across Kansas. Seems like that "small problem" has been with me before.
"I have much on my mind as I consider what lies ahead of me. I would be lying if I said I had no fear, because I do. My biggest concern is NOT of whether or not I can ride the whole way, because I know that I can. The wind may slow me down, or force me to stop momentarily but it won't "get" me this time. The hills, well what can I say....they're hills! I haven't had near the hill practice that I would have liked but I know how to ride them. And perhaps, there may be a hill or 2 that I will have to walk my bike up. And if that's the case, then so be it. One thing I have FINALLY learned in this life is that foolish pride will get in you big trouble, every single time! My biggest concern, one I have had from the beginning, is my own mental attitude. I know that my attitude will either defeat me or lift me up when the going gets pretty bad. *From June 4, 2011 blog entry
There you have it friends...my small problem is the mental attitude that I'm taking right now about getting back on that bike. As I said in that blog entry, posted just before leaving on what was supposed to be a nearly 500 mile trip, I would be lying if I said that I had no fear about getting back on that bike. It scares me to think of it~and this "confession" coming from someone who loves biking. But after spending 12 weeks recuperating from a bad accident that could have been even worse, the whole idea of getting on that bike and riding down the street again is a little unnerving. So, what to do?
If I were to sell the bike and find some other form of exercise to do on a daily basis, then I'd never have to worry about having a cycling accident again. That's a given! I'd be safe, at least from that kind of a calamity. But just because I no longer would have an accident while riding a bike, doesn't mean that something else won't happen to me. Some days, it's a gamble to just get in your vehicle and drive down the road to work. But that doesn't stop us from doing it.
I could continue to ride the bike, remembering of course to be more careful next time, and enjoy many more miles of riding pleasure. I'd be able to return to one of the greatest "stress relievers" of all time and in all likelihood, that's what I will probably do. But I have to get over this anxiety, this fear of another accident happening. That may or may not be easy....time will tell.
Whatever should happen to me on Friday and whatever should happen in the weeks that follow, one thing I am sure of is that I'm not going to stop trying. Knowing always that there is a reason for all that happens to us, I just hope I learned all the lessons from this experience that I was supposed to. If not, then I'll be expecting God to give me another "whack on the head" soon so I can pick up on whatever it was that He was trying to show me in the first place. I've said it before and I say it again to you today, I am a slow learner.
With absolutely NO fear, I can say.......This is a wonderful day to be alive! I press on, still more determined than I am afraid. Have a great weekend all of you! Take care of one another and remember to have some fun today.
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