On Wednesday evening at 6pm a group from out Bike Path Riders of Michigan met at the Nunica trailhead for an ~11-mile bike ride in 91F heat. Not wanting to get heat stroke or dehydration, I carried (2) 20+ ounce bottles of Tru-Lemon (10 cal per packet in each,) 2 cans of LeCroix flavored carbonated water (0 cal,) 2 8-oz bottles of water to spritz with, a gel-pak neck wrap, and my small purse with my phone in it.
I got the front basket loaded with everything, put my helmet on, turned the handlebars sharp to the right, put foot on push-off pedal, pushed off, and — fell hard on the cement. I felt my head hit the cement and thank god the helmet was on. I got a small scrape on right temple. The contents of the basket were sprawled upon the parking lot as Cari, our host, and her husband pulled up. I didn’t tell them I fell only that the bike fell. The other 2 people waiting in the shade I was headed for couldn’t see the fall either as a car was blocking the view.
I felt fine to ride and didn’t think anymore about it. I was careful doing turns, and everything seemed fine.
Until yesterday. Not only did I get the temple scrape, my left pinky was bruised, I have 2 large contusions on the left leg, my whole body hurts, and saving the worst for last, my right foot, just below the big toe, at the wide part of the foot, started to swell up and got quite painful, especially after sitting in dream class for 2 hours and then in a restaurant for another hour. By the time I got home it was getting pretty uncomfortable.
Older son told me to put cold pack on it and take ibuprofen — just after I had taken tylenol — so I elevated it and put the cold pack on it and waited until 8 hours passed. The cold pack helped it a lot. Before bed I took ibuprofen and also remembered I had Arniflora Gel which is good for bruises, sprains, pain, etc. I rubbed a bunch of that gel on it and went right to sleep.
This morning the foot is pain free but still a stiff joint that will take some time to heal. I am keeping ibuprofen and Arniflora going until the joint calms down.
Pro-Tip for people going on bike rides:
DON’T OVERLOAD YOUR FRONT BASKET WITH HEAVY THINGS!
Tao Talk 
Im glad it didn’t do any permanent damage. Take care and rest a while my friend
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Thank you, Sadje. God’s grace kept me from worse harm. Going to be taking it easy at least for a few days.
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You’re welcome. 🌸🫶🏼
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Oh no! Rest up and feel better ❤️
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Thank you, dear Paula <3 Plan on taking it easy over the weekend for sure.
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Hopefully you’ll feel better soon!
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<3 Thank you!
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My goodness, Lisa, I’m glad this didn’t end worse and you wore a helmet. It’s also great to hear your condition appears to have improved. I wish you a full and speedy recovery. Perhaps better to take it easy until everything has fully healed.😀
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Christian, thank you <3 I definitely plan on taking it easy and continuing with the remedy until things feel better.
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I’m glad you apparently didn’t suffer any brain concussion. That’s the real big risk when hitting your head hard. That bike helmet surely appears to have paid off!👍
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Ouch. You are lucky to have wearing a helmet for sure, but falling on (or off of) a bike can have consequences that don’t show up right away. I’m glad your foot is feeling better.
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Thanks much, Fandango. This trifecta of cold pack, ibuprofen, and arnica gel seems to be doing the trick. I pray nothing else shows up. I do know my whole body hurts.
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Sorry you took a fall. Glad you had the helmet on for sure. Take it easy over the weekend. Keep cool. We are having record heat here, too. :)
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Thanks much, Barbara. I heard you guys are in the triple digits now?
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Yes, we sure are. Today will be 108, and almost all of next week, too. Typical TX summer, actually. We did have some rain and hail last evening though. Two little towns nearby this past week almost got completely destroyed by tornadoes though. Bad and sad to hear.
Hope you are keeping cool. :)
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Barbara, I guess you get used to it in Texas. Oh no on the tornadoes. Am trying to keep cool and it has been easier today. Noon and only 79 right now :)
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Thank goodness for helmets! I’m glad it’s better, but don’t overdo it until it’s fully healed. (K)
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Kerfe, I’m taking it real easy.
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Glad you’re feeling better. Remember, a helmet is a single use item. If you fell on your head, you need a new helmet even if there is no visible damage. (Sometimes, if you look closely, you will find a small hairline crack in the foam.) While that may seem like overkill, a helmet is way cheaper than rehab from a brain injury. When you throw the old helmet away, smash it. That will protect someone else from thinking they got a free helmet and risking a brain injury of their own. If the helmet is less than a year old, the manufacturer might offer a discount on a new helmet if you send them the old one. (In that case, don’t smash it, as they want to inspect and analyze it.)
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Thanks for the info. I will destroy it. TBH the thing never fit properly anyway! I will probably go to a bike shop and get fitted. I was tired of messing with it!
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Oh dear. I was reading all the liquids you packed and was thinking, geez… is she going for 8 hours? ;-)
You know you can take Ibuprofen 3-4 hours after having taken acetaminophen… Glad all is much better!
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I know, I have a tendency to overdo. Most of the others brought no water at all. But it was 91F in the blazing sun and I get anxious being out in it with no water. I didn’t know that about ibuprofen. Foot/joint is doing much better. The trifecta of care is working beautifully. Thanks for caring, my friend <3
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Well, normally, I would say it’s best to err on the side of safety but maybe you had a tad too much ;-)
Yes, you can even alternate every two hours – not for the long haul, but for the first couple of days. Glad you are doing better! Of course I do! 💞
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Dale I have one of those lightweight pull behind carts that has been sitting in the box in the garage since I bought it over 5 years ago lol. Older son said he’d come over and assemble it. Problem solved. Thanks for caring <3
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Excellent!
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Oh dear, that’s no fun, glad it was not more serious, you did well considering, I have a friend who had a spill and she took a long while to fully recover.
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Thanks for reading and commenting. I know I am blessed not to have been more seriously injured. My foot is still swollen but not hurting with remedies applied. Will be taking it easy and not doing a lot of walking or bicycling for at least a few days.
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You always find out the next day usually on how bad something is….sorry about that…I hope it’s feeling better tomorrow.
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You’re right about that! Whole body hurt. Thanks, Max. What’s that saying about anything that doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? Also wiser, I hope. No more overloading the front basket and I’m taking half-fast’s advice and getting a new helmet — one that fits right. I’m on the mend, pain is gone from foot/toe joint but the swelling is still there. Will take it easy until swelling goes down. I’m supposed to go on a garden tour next Saturday so really hope it is better by then.
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Just be careful and avoid any stress on it…I was bit by a prairie dog a couple of weeks ago. It was a pet of a woman I work with and she hasnt’ socialized it yet. It was fine that day…but the next day it throbbed…thats why I said that. And no it isn’t rabid… she just needs to be socialized…I want two of those so bad. She warned me before…and they hurt!
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Oh wow, Max :( I can’t imagine being bit by a prairie dog! They probably have really long teeth from both the top and bottom? What kind of enclosure does she have for them? Don’t they usually live underground?
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YES they do! It went to the bone…she was so frighten and I was warned…it was my fault. Well you can get a huge frame and fill it with hay…that is what I’d like to do so they could dig holes and do what they normally do. They usually love human beings…if they are socialized.
Some people put them in their backyards…but I wouldn’t do that in TN…there has to be a reason they are not here and I wouldn’t want to take a chance. Plus the hawks around here are bad.
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Did you soak your hand? Peroxide? Antibiotic? I would imagine you’ll need a steel box or steel mesh liner or they can dig/chew out…
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Oh yea….that lady started to pull stuff out of her purse and put everything on it. It’s pretty much gone now.
Yea if you don’t have the room for a giant wooden box…a metal cage…and some after they are familiar with you….some just let them roam the house and only put them up at night….I wouldn’t do that…unless I was awake…I could imagine them chewing on cords.
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