Holiday Horror

Sunbathing on La Gomera, combined with some easy training building up to be fit to run again - this was the proposal. Everything started according to plans - the weather was perfect, warm and sunny, a decent hotel, and during the first days we did some enjoyable hillwalks. The best was that my knee did not complain when descending steeply for several hundreds of height meters.

So I felt ready to do the next step and booked a mountain bike to have a nice day out in the island's hills. You might reckon what happened next. The streak of bad luck turned back on me. After reaching the mountain ridge by shuttle taxi I took the easy track up to Gomera's hightest peak - Garajonay, 1487m - enjoyed the view and ascended my bike to drive down again. The path was not very steep and I didn't drive really fast - speed certainly less than 20 mph. Then I spotted this little hollow across the track in front of me. Still I was not feeling threated by a potential danger. The accident took place so suddenly that I was not able to realise what happened. The next moment I could think again I was lying on the ground seeing my own bike flying just onto my body. I guess my decisive fault was that I draw the front brake by too much power what left me no other chance than leaving the bike head first after crashing the handle bar with my chest.

The first attempt to stand up failed because I couldn't get enough breath. I already saw myself being transported to a local hospital. After the main shock was absorbed I managed to get up and noticed the pain in the right half of my chest and my right elbow and saw a couple of small bleeding wounds on my right hand. A bit of stretching and placing plasters let me get on my bike again and completing the tour I had planned. What meant I did another 50K up and down the island's hills.


To shorten this crime story: For the rest of the holiday I was not able to move without pain, esp. the nights were dreadful. Returning home I paid my best known doc - the orthopaedist - a visit. He immediately reckoned that the elbow was broken and - after checking the x-rays - he proved to be right. Tomorrow I will see a surgeon who will advise if it has to be operated.

8 weeks to go to the London Marathon ... Do you bet on me?