NicoleOne week after my 70.3 was another big event, the Colorado Bike MS. This 2-day ride is the big fundraiser for the local chapter of the National MS Society, as they try to raise $4 million through the fundraising efforts of about 3000 riders and a good number of volunteers.
I had put together a team of about 25 riders, and was excited to share a weekend of riding with them supporting this cause. We met early Saturday morning at the start to introduce everyone and get a group photo. The day was going to get warm so we wanted to roll as early as possible.
It was a gorgeous day for a ride from Westminster, with the finish being in Ft. Collins. Winds were relatively calm and I was doing one of my favorite things with some of my favorite people. We made our way north, stopping at all the well-stocked aid stations along the way. Volunteers were out on course cheering and making sure we knew where to turn.
The miles passed quickly. Before I knew it, we were at the lunch stop at mile 43. I was hoping to ride the century route, so I made sure to get in a good lunch and stay hydrated. The team members all rode at their own pace, but we had enough with similar abilities that everyone seemed to have a riding buddy. A few of us were ready to leave lunch and headed out. The next rest stop surprised us as it came upon us quickly, but we stopped anyway. Finally cupcakes at this one! I said hi to some folks I knew and we were off again.
There was some road construction going on for a few miles on this part of the route, so the road was a bit rough. The end of the roughness seemed in sight, and I reached for my water bottle to grab a drink. Sure enough, my timing was just wrong so with one hand on my handle bar, I hit a rough patch and went down. Smack on my left elbow. Paul managed to avoid running me over and Khem came back to check on me. I was able to get up and thought I would be ok despite some road rash. I could bend my elbow so I thought I could continue. But when I tried to put weight on my left hand, I couldn’t. Khem and Paul told me I needed to get back to the aid station we had just left.
As we were figuring out how to get me back, the roving medical staff, Donna and Doug, who also happen to be on Team NEO, rode by and stopped to check me out. The cleaned out the road rash and told me I should get it looked at. During that time a motorcycle support guy stopped and put a call in for a SAG. While I wanted to keep riding, it wasn’t going to be an option. Soon a truck came by with the event director, Alexis, and I was taken to the finish. I was in really good hands, but my ride was done just shy of 52 miles.
They brought me to the finish area medical tent where I was able to get some ice and had the wounds cleaned out again, this time with an antiseptic spray. Alexis made sure my bike got into the corral for storage and Naomi from my team took over my care, which means she got me to the beer tent!
As the team rolled in over the next few hours, they made sure I was well tended to. We hung out for a bit at the team tent, which we shared with our friends on Team Linda Lou, enjoying the good company until we headed to the shuttle to get to the hotel.
My arm was swelling a lot, and there was no way I could ride day 2. I wished my team well at the event breakfast, got a ride back to the Westminster start/finish from Beverly, the Colorado Springs NMSS staff person, iced my elbow a bit more, had some lunch and drove my way home on to urgent care for an x-ray.
My elbow was definitely broken and the next few days were a whirlwind as I was able to get in quickly to my orthopedic doc and have it surgically repaired with a plate and screws.
It’s once again time to rehab. My summer race season might be over, but as usual, I’ll bounce back!
Here are some more pictures from the event:
Nicole
