# Rider down on Roadbikereview May 4 ride



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Good ride as usual. It was windy!!

We did have a bad accident though. At Arastadero Road, right after the right turn from Page Mill, the back group slowed down unexpectedly and Alex Wheeler ran into the back of Scott. Alex fell to the side and broke his fall with his hand. 

His right hand is badly injured and his wrist did not look good. He was quickly ambulanced off and is in good hands.

Alex is co-owner of SVCC bike shop. He is an expert rider so this is unexpected. He is scheduled to go on a big trip to Australia in three weeks so this is a major downer.

Heal well Alex. 

fc


----------



## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

Hope you're not hurt too bad Alex. Let us know how you're doing.


----------



## bikerbert (Jan 28, 2005)

Definitely get better soon, post an update when you get the diagnosis.


----------



## thien (Feb 18, 2004)

Spoke to Alex a lil bit ago. He's alive, but with a busted wrist. He'll need surgery.  

I just hope it heals quickly, and that it comes back harder, better, faster, stronger!


----------



## CrankyMonkey (Jul 8, 2007)

OUCH! Good healing vibes to Alex... You saved my butt on the SVCC ride a few weeks back with giving me your water bottle.


----------



## bikerbert (Jan 28, 2005)

Get some Arnica as soon as you can. They have it at Whole Foods. It will help with the swelling. At the OT clinic my wife interned at last summer, the main hand therapist would recommend it to her clients for swelling. I will attest first hand that the stuff is great, and really effective.


----------



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

Here's the photos from the scene.

When I made a U-turn to get back there, Alex was on the ground already on the phone with 911. He knew we needed some backup.

fc


----------



## wipeout (Jun 6, 2005)

Dang, get well fast Alex!


----------



## CoLiKe20 (Jan 30, 2006)

Get well soon.


----------



## bikerbert (Jan 28, 2005)

Did you send Alex the craiglist ad to get his bike back? You said you'd give him a good deal!


----------



## onebigbikeboy (Feb 14, 2008)

"Hmmmm...that could be a fractured ulna, I'm afraid you forfeit" - Dr. Beeper, Caddshack

Hi everybody, thanks for all the kind words. I appreciate all the help from everyone and I am glad the rest of the ride was fun. I got home from Stanford Hospital about 5pm. I am doing well all viked up with a broken wrist. unfortunately, the breaks are in the joint so I will have to have surgery next week to reconstruct it. Dr. Noah Epstein and Dr. Kelly did a reduction on it to re-align the bones. That was super rad. They basically shot it full of anesthetic, gave me a bunch of morphine and pulled, pushed, bent and tapped everything back into place. Thanks guys...you were awesome. The prognosis is good and I'll be back in a couple months. until then, trainer hell 4 me.

Anyway, the crash was my fault. I made every mistake in the book in that nanosecond and certainly did not exhibit the habits of an "expert" rider. My deepest apologies to Scott who I hit and whose bike I broke. Thanks to everyone who stopped to help and thanks to Thien for getting my stuff together.

Go here for some pics...http://gallery.mac.com/onebigbikeboy#100035

best,
alex


----------



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

onebigbikeboy said:


> "Hmmmm...that could be a fractured ulna, I'm afraid you forfeit" - Dr. Beeper, Caddshack
> 
> Hi everybody, thanks for all the kind words. I appreciate all the help from everyone and I am glad the rest of the ride was fun. I got home from Stanford Hospital about 5pm. I am doing well all viked up with a broken wrist. unfortunately, the breaks are in the joint so I will have to have surgery next week to reconstruct it. Dr. Noah Epstein and Dr. Kelly did a reduction on it to re-align the bones. That was super rad. They basically shot it full of anesthetic, gave me a bunch of morphine and pulled, pushed, bent and tapped everything back into place. Thanks guys...you were awesome. The prognosis is good and I'll be back in a couple months. until then, trainer hell 4 me.
> 
> ...


Uggh, I just got lightheaded looking at your hospital pics.

Dude, make sure you take tons of meds. You are one tough puppy. When your wife beats you up for getting yourself broke, double up on the meds.

When you dream that you just won the TDF and the podium girls are smothering you and you can't get out, have no fear. That's just the vicodin messing with you.

Keep your spirits up and heal up.

fc


----------



## bikerbert (Jan 28, 2005)

Good to hear you're doing well. I gave your glasses to Thien, if you haven't gotten them back yet.


----------



## bikerbert (Jan 28, 2005)

WHOA MAMA, I just saw the pics. The pics of you post morphine were great. The look on your face was like "wow, my wrist is broken, but look at all of the pretty colors in the room......"

Get well soon man!


----------



## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

Ouch, I certainly know how you feel. I broke my wrist back in high school and it took a long time to heal to the point where it was normal again.

Sorry to hear about your accident.


----------



## Cruzer2424 (Feb 8, 2005)

Wow man. Gnarly pics. Get well soon. 

I feel for you with the trainer hell.


----------



## kwc (Mar 10, 2008)

egads, gnarly. Get better Alex!


----------



## rfrancisco (Feb 2, 2004)

Hi Alex, hope you heal fast and don't forget the meds.


----------



## bustamove (Aug 12, 2004)

Cruzer2424 said:


> Wow man. Gnarly pics. Get well soon.
> 
> I feel for you with the trainer hell.


No way am I going to look at those pics. Sorry to hear about your accident. I got back to the scene of the accident just as the emergency vehicles were pulling out. So, I got spared seeing your wrist before you were taken away.

Get well quick, Alex. Trainer hell is no fun.


----------



## chas (Aug 10, 2006)

onebigbikeboy said:


> "Hmmmm...that could be a fractured ulna, I'm afraid you forfeit" - Dr. Beeper, Caddshack
> 
> Hi everybody, thanks for all the kind words. I appreciate all the help from everyone and I am glad the rest of the ride was fun. I got home from Stanford Hospital about 5pm. I am doing well all viked up with a broken wrist. unfortunately, the breaks are in the joint so I will have to have surgery next week to reconstruct it. Dr. Noah Epstein and Dr. Kelly did a reduction on it to re-align the bones. That was super rad. They basically shot it full of anesthetic, gave me a bunch of morphine and pulled, pushed, bent and tapped everything back into place. Thanks guys...you were awesome. The prognosis is good and I'll be back in a couple months. until then, trainer hell 4 me.
> 
> ...


That sucks so much dude. Your hospital pictures brought back memories from about 5 years ago of a skateboard demo gone wrong. Same S-bend in the wrist, same finger-cuff thingies, same doctors hanging from your elbow trying to pull your wrist straight again, same morphine euphoria - I was in such a good mood I asking the doctors at Good Sam if they wanted to go out for drinks when they were done with me. I ended up with the end of the radius broken in 6 places, requiring 3 pins and an external fixator for a few months. I'll try to find some pics of that when I get home, but it's a pretty sweet gadget and my wrist healed up fairly well. Added bonus is that you get to choose between Kraftwerk's "The Robots", or Styx's "Mr. Roboto" as a personal theme song. 

You should ask your doc about the external fixator as opposed to a cast. I'm not sure which situations call for each, but the external fixator is awesome because you can take showers without having to bag it, and scratch when you get an itch without resorting to the coat hanger technique. Also, it's getting be be summertime, so a cast will get sweaty and gross while the external fixator is sleek and shiny. I think it may even be titanium!

*[email protected]*


----------



## gregg (Oct 30, 2000)

Dang....that looks like it hurts, big time! Sending healing vibes your way Alex.

Don't blame yourself Alex....blame Francis! I kinda cringed when he was giving the pre-ride debriefing and said, "we've been having a lot of fun and good times on these rides, no crashes, let's keep it up!" I looked for some wood to knock on, but none was to be found.

Heal quick, heal well. Hope the wifey isn't too hard on ya'.

-g


----------



## ride_lite (Mar 11, 2008)

a true cyclist....flat on his back in the hospital, arm in a cast, and he still has his cleats on. A clear sign that he'll be back soon. Heal fast.


----------



## onebigbikeboy (Feb 14, 2008)

Thanks all for the encouragement. So far so good. I was able to clean up today so smelling much better. Pre-Op meeting with Dr Yao on Wed. Surgery on Thurs. I'll definitely inquire about the articulator Chas mentioned. That sounds like the way to go.


----------



## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Alex, that's tough stuff man. Hang in there, keep up with your PT once you're at that stage. Glucosamine and chondroitin can help with your recovery as well. We were in the black 4-runner with the tandem right next to you, before we rolled out of the parking lot. Heal fast!


----------



## chas (Aug 10, 2006)

onebigbikeboy said:


> Pre-Op meeting with Dr Yao on Wed. Surgery on Thurs. I'll definitely inquire about the articulator Chas mentioned. That sounds like the way to go.


I'm sure it really depends on the particulars of your injury, but I was extremely satisfied with the procedure and results. I don't have quite as much flexibility on that wrist as I used to, but nothing that gets in the way of life. 

Here's a brief description from Wiki: 
_External fixation is a surgical treatment used to set bone fractures in which a cast would not allow proper alignment of the fracture. In this kind of reduction, holes are drilled into uninjured areas of bones around the fracture and special bolts or wires are screwed into the holes. Outside the body, a rod or a curved piece of metal with special ball-and-socket joints joins the bolts to make a rigid support. The fracture can be set in the proper anatomical configuration by adjusting the ball-and-socket joints._

There's a picture on the wiki page if you're curious. It's kinda graphic if you're not familiar with the gear, so I didn't want to post it. I was under general anesthesia for the install and local for the removal.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/External_fixation

Hopefully you heal as fast as you ride.

*[email protected]*


----------



## Gee3 (Jan 31, 2006)

Yikes! Just saw the pics! I'm glad you didn't hit your head at all either. 

I was also one of the ones that stopped. I also helped to take the tube and bike pump out of your back pockets since they didn't quite make for good cushions! I gave them to Thien as well.

And I hope your wife didn't kick your butt too badly when you got home since I know that was something you were concerned about! Believe me, I have the same fear with my wife!! 

And Scott... I hope the seat stay can be repaired on your Look. 

Alex, I hope you heal fast [from your wife's beating too!]. 


Gary


----------



## rroads (Dec 14, 2007)

Get well Alex


----------



## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

onebigbikeboy said:


> "Hmmmm...that could be a fractured ulna, I'm afraid you forfeit" - Dr. Beeper, Caddshack
> 
> Hi everybody, thanks for all the kind words. I appreciate all the help from everyone and I am glad the rest of the ride was fun. I got home from Stanford Hospital about 5pm. I am doing well all viked up with a broken wrist. unfortunately, the breaks are in the joint so I will have to have surgery next week to reconstruct it. Dr. Noah Epstein and Dr. Kelly did a reduction on it to re-align the bones. That was super rad. They basically shot it full of anesthetic, gave me a bunch of morphine and pulled, pushed, bent and tapped everything back into place. Thanks guys...you were awesome. The prognosis is good and I'll be back in a couple months. until then, trainer hell 4 me.
> 
> ...


Best of luck. Heal fast.


----------



## Superunleaded (Jun 19, 2006)

Sorry to hear the bad news folks. Maybe I shouldn't have skipped this ride since I usually take all the good karma on a fall  which I did on the 1st RBR ride btw. No injuries on that one.
Anyways,
Heal fast Alex.


----------



## Francis Cebedo (Aug 1, 2001)

I forgot to mention that we saw Alex Wheeler last week. He had surgery and the hand looks good. He has a plate and 20 screws that stay in there for good.

Swelling was down and he had a removable cast.

And best part, he was leaving for Australia for two weeks.

He should be back riding in two months.

fc


----------



## Cruzer2424 (Feb 8, 2005)

francois said:


> I forgot to mention that we saw Alex Wheeler last week. He had surgery and the hand looks good. He has a plate and 20 screws that stay in there for good.
> 
> Swelling was down and he had a removable cast.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the updates.

Hope all goes well, Alex!


----------

