4/27/15 7:04 PM

Well I just got back from Mallorca and things didn't go exactly as planned. I went with a friend to ride and do a difficult event, the Mallorca 312. Unfortunately the first day out my friend fell in a hairpin and, a la Walter, fractured his femur. He is an experienced masters racer and claimed no excuse, he just flubbed the turn. The next day he had surgery at Hospital General de Muro with a rod and a bunch of screws inserted.

So my priorities shifted to supporting him and trying to get back on schedule if possible (not easy as we had a rental car, the airport was 40 miles away, an early flight in Palma and switch in Madrid, 2 bike boxes and luggage, customs, and one guy who could barely walk on crutches). I didn't do the event as I really wasn't into it mentally, plus I didn't want to take the risk of getting hurt (there were several thousand riders and lots of the same type of hairpins). That risk normally would not stop me from riding, but in this situation what was a cluster would have become a cluster cubed with my friend discharged with no immediate way to get back.

Fortunately I believe this was a very good hospital, my friend got discharged with clearance to fly, and we got back on schedule (20 hours from when we got up this morning until when I got home).

One very striking thing was how helpful other cyclists were; without them things could have been much worse. The accident occurred out in the middle of nowhere (my friend had plotted a GPS route, and I had no idea where we were, the route having taken us down several narrow rural lanes). But in Mallorca there are cyclists on organized rides everywhere, and lots of them came up this climb. Many stopped, and getting an ambulance out there required a Danish cyclist who connected us with an ambulance company through the Danish tour company he was using, a German orthopaedic surgeon who was a saint and refused to leave until everything was sorted out, and a Spanish guy in a car who stopped and was the only one who could explain to the ambulance company where the hell we were and how to get there. We are eternally grateful to all these people. Cyclists are a real community (and the guy in the car was great too).

I got a bunch of rides in, but nothing like I would have done otherwise. It is a beautiful place to ride and incredibly cycle-centric. Many of the cyclists are German. I bought something at a supermarket and the girl said "Danke Schon." I said "I'm American, not German." She said "Sorry." I said "Gracias."

So be careful out there. I may go back and take a crack at this damn thing.

4/28/15 6:26 AM

Good grief. I feel for ya. I know how hard you trained for the event. I guess it was a blessing that your friend had someone with him, imagine flying solo under those circumstances.

4/28/15 7:16 AM

Lucky he had you there

now with all that fitness I would be afraid to be on any of your local rides with you this spring / summer.....

keep the rubber side down.....

4/28/15 11:06 AM

yikes! Still pedaling through my sprained ankle and feeling fortunate comparatively... Between Walter and now this...

Hope your friend has an uneventful full and quick recovery.

4/28/15 11:19 AM

Holy cow! Sorry to hear about your friend and the trip getting scrubbed. Sounds like not much more could have gone wrong. Hope your friend heals fully and fast.

4/28/15 3:49 PM

Youch! Never been there but I can imagine narrow roads, cliffs, twisty, up and down. Maybe you can think of it as your friend taking one for the team :)

Sandiway

4/28/15 6:53 PM

Thanks all for your thoughts.

Sandiway, yes, these are hairpins like I have not seen in the U.S. These are actually like hairpins, where the ones here to me are like coat hangers. Here is the offending 'pin (there were about 6 on this climb).

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=da898928b04ea70c&sid=1ActGblq5bsWIM

Not really taking it for the team though, I think I'm at low risk for wiping out on these simply because I know I am not a skilled descender so I approach them cautiously.

Two quick product reviews from the trip. The Scicon hard case I bought is awesome, light years better than my old Ironcase. Take off the wheels, pull the seat post, loosen up the bars and rotate down, that's it. With a little practice, 5-10 minutes. Very secure, case rolls great.

In Mallorca I bought a Catlike Mixino helmet (the one with all the holes Valverde wears). The aesthetics are kind of a matter of taste, but it fits great and has great ventilation. And it's....Catlike. Love it.

4/28/15 10:12 PM

Dan, sorry to hear about your friend's accident and the unfortunate change of plan, but glad he's been taken care of by the cycling community. You sir, is the biggest shining example of that cycling community! He's lucky to have you be there with him.

I can speak with experience on both the generocity of the cycling community and that of Dan. I had my share of broken bone 2 summer ago, a mere 100 mile from home. But had it not been for all the support I got from random cyclists there, Dan, and friends from my local club, it could have been a very tedious 100 miles!

When I used to mtn bike, I found mtn bikers extremely friendly and supportive. Roadies are a more reserved bunch. But when one is in need, one finds roadies are just as helpful and supportive.

4/29/15 8:34 AM

Hey,

That is a bummer, especially considering all the hours you spent over the winter deep in the Pain Cave preparing for this.
Hopefully you can try again next year.

And on the helmet note, yeah I picked up a Catlike Mixino last year and I love it, it is super light and I can actually feel the breeze coming through the vents like no other helmet I have ever had, and I love the Euro look.

4/29/15 4:04 PM

Made me think of this great shot of the Stelvio Pass:

4/29/15 5:18 PM

Sorry to hear about your friend's crash. He is lucky to have such a great friend.

Having busted my own femur in a MTB fall, I often wonder if my low bone density had something to do with it. (Previously I did almost zero impact-bearing sports.)

Curious, does your friend do any impact-bearing sports or is he mainly a cyclist like I was? Nowadays I try to run 2 or 3 times a week.

5/3/15 8:45 AM

quote:

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Having busted my own femur in a MTB fall, I often wonder if my low bone density had something to do with it. (Previously I did almost zero impact-bearing sports.)

Curious, does your friend do any impact-bearing sports or is he mainly a cyclist like I was? Nowadays I try to run 2 or 3 times a week.

---

5/3/15 9:16 AM

April, I'm really sorry to hear about the break. I hope this one can just heal without intervention.

I checked in with my buddy yesterday and he said "I just finished 5 minutes on the treadmill." Not sure if that's good or bad, but it's him....He sees the local hip guru this week (the guy who replaced my hip), who is a cyclist and great guy and rather blunt, so I'll be interested to hear about that.

@sanrensho, my friend is mostly a cyclist other than walking a lot. I suspect the nature of the fall is the biggest factor in whether you bust anything. I did not see the fall, but think it was one of those low speed falls where the hip takes the full impact.

One other product test from the trip is that I put on Schwalbe One 25s and thus far they are great. Go on straight, roll well, great ride. Too early to know about durability, and the roads in Mallorca were immaculate so that may be a low flat environment. I became a bit disenchanted with Gran Bois after what seemed to me like a few too many problems.[/i]

5/3/15 10:46 AM

The x-ray looks like it should knit back together easily. The two ends of the bone are so close they rub against each other when I move. Ouch each time that happened. Will of course get an "official" opinion when I gets an appointment with an ortho next week.

BTW, you buddy who had the surgery done in Italy, how does the money thing work? Did he have travel insurance or other kind of insurance?

5/3/15 11:12 AM

That's a good question. No travel insurance (I'm not sure exactly what that is, but people kept asking about it). He has insurance in the US, but we were told no one in Spain would take that. So the model was for him to pay up front and then submit the bills to his U.S. insurer for reimbursement. It is my understanding that the insurer will cover it. He was on the phone making sure $ got transferred pretty quick. If he hadn't been able to do that, I think we may have needed to go to a more public facility.

Glad to hear your fracture doesn't look too bad.

5/3/15 11:16 AM

"surgery done in Italy, how does the money thing work? "Did he have travel insurance or other kind of insurance?"

I was wondering that myself...


-----
April, heal well and fast. The more immobile, the faster the bone will mend. Are you in an X-brace?

After my 40 mile ride the lividity below my ankle moved to the front of my foot just before the toes. The pressure of the fluids is quite uncomfortable. I was wondering why I was getting pains in the foot in bed Friday night. I must have got no more than 1-2 hour in a row of sleep...

We are a ripe lot [watching torchwood ;)]

Walter, how are you doing ??

5/3/15 12:18 PM

Dan, will be interested to hear how well your buddy's insurance reimbursement work out.

That's how I read about my insurance policy too. But would be nice to hear how the real world experience on that part of it.

5/3/15 1:58 PM

I've heard stories of even Hawaii, a US state and state side residents having near third world insurance issues on vacation upon injury/treatment. Which make little sense to me.

5/3/15 2:04 PM

I'll check back after the dust has settled but they are pretty confident it's covered. His wife is a lawyer at my old firm and she got clarification quickly - I saw an email from the insurer to the effect that policy coverage was the same as if it happened in the U.S.

And going through my wallet, I find a card which reminds me to give a heartfelt endorsement for Stig's Cykelrejser Mallorca. Our first break came when one of Stig's cyclists stopped and gave us a card with numbers for Stig and an ambulance company. We talked to both, and that's how we got an ambulance. Then a bit later Stig himself came riding up the climb and stopped. Learning we were from Maine, he noted that he had ridden Boston Montreal Boston 5 times. Thanks Stig (and to all the others who helped).

http://www.cykelstig.dk

5/15/15 3:57 AM

Well my buddy saw the hip guy here who decided to redo the surgery as he felt the hip needed to be repositioned for full recovery. So yesterday all the hardware come out and a plate went in. An interesting thing about the surgery was that both surgeons are cyclists, the anaesthesiologist is a cyclist, and a 4th cyclist doc (my buddy's partner in climb, a nephrologist known to Rick) watched all the imaging remotely (I guess they do constant imaging during these procedures). Anyway, all 4 cyclist docs thought the surgery came out great and there should be full recovery (and these guys do not sugarcoat anything). So that is great news. There is some thought that if this procedure had been done in Spain, he may not have been able to fly back as soon as the rod installed there provided strength.

The chief surgeon (who rides up the Rockpile) said he should be on the trainer before he can walk unassisted.

I haven't asked about the insurance, but haven't heard any complaints so I'm thinking the coverage is fine.

5/15/15 5:41 AM

...LONG before I was able to walk unassisted. IIRC, my first trainer ride was within 3 weeks of breaking my hip. I wasn't walking unassisted until 10 weeks.

6/26/15 5:23 PM

People asked whether my friend's surgery in Mallorca was covered by his U.S. health insurance. It initially appeared so, but now they are denying coverage. Not sure if this has to do with the fact that the surgery was redone in the U.S. I don't think the saga is over.