When you are a mediocre climber (actually I suck), you learn to go fast down hills so you can keep up with the group in front. So it’s a familiar pattern, get spit out the back on the climb, tear down the hill to catch up, repeat… and so it goes. On this one particular hill, I could see the two in front just at the bottom of the hill as I crested. So, I stood up, took a few feet to shift into the highest gear I could, cranked it up while beginning the descent (to around 37 mph or so), settled in the drops, looked up and HEELLLOOO– a big 90 degree bend in the road is 20 feet in front of me. I must have had my head down too long cranking and getting in the drops – completely misjudging how close I was to the bottom of the hill and the bend.

I knew if I tried to skid and lean into the turn I was going to put it down in the lovely moonlike tar and chip road that Pennsylvania is famous for. So instead, I headed for the bank. With a flash of Michael Rasmussen going through my brain, I planted my shoulder in the middle of the bank, and at that speed, instead of just sliding forward and over the handle bars like Rasmussen did in the 2007 TDF, I bounced about 6 feet in the air and landed on the road. The rest was uneventful – I just slid, skid, rolled and otherwise flailed about till my body came to a stop.

I never lost consciousness, but as I sat up, I couldn’t immediately figure out if what just happened was real, or just a bad dream. I had a little pain on my left side, but then it hit me… LOOK AT MY SHORTS! I had just gotten this team kit from Italy, as my only take away from the “Giro d’ Italia. My first thought was – “These better come clean”. I know, the guys are groaning right now, and the women totally understand. I can’t help it if I’m in touch with my “fashion” side.

Seriously though, I was truly blessed to not have been seriously injured. Right after the fashion shock, I checked my hips, and thank God, they suffered no trauma whatsoever – a definite miracle for someone with 2 artificial hips. This is one more reason why the surface replacement ROCKS! If you would see the size of the ball and socket of my prosthesis compared to the “traditional” hip, you would understand how it could take that kind of impact and not be damaged – it’s bigger, sturdier and built for an active guy like me.

After receiving a lot of Twitter and Facebook family love on line, I returned home to lots of phone calls of folks praying for a speedy recovery. These prayers were the real thing because I have a picture of my shoulder blade sticking up by a quarter inch above the top of my arm, and by Sunday night it was smooth as a baby’s bum. God was continuing to bless me. I say if you ask for prayer, you give Him credit when they are answered, right?

Don't hate me because I'm stylish

I saw the ortho doc on Monday and he told me despite the shoulder separation, I would not need surgery there – and time itself would heal it. I would however need a cast for the broken wrist for about 6 weeks. Since the 6th week would take me right into the only team road race I had planned for the year, I made sure she used my team colors for my cast (come on, it’s important to honor your sponsors right?). I’ll probably begin teaching indoors next week, but I’ll stay off the outdoor bikes until the race – I still want to catch those guys ☺.