Broken Hand

There are 8 days until the first race of the year. Usually I am getting really excited by this point, my bikes are ready to go, I'm mentally and physically prepared to go as fast as possible and I'm in the best shape of the year. All of the above is true right now, except one tiny detail. I can't hold a handlebar.

Parked at Starbucks before the ride. Trust me, the van is a compact car.

Adam Ransavage is back from school for spring break, so we decided to go for a morning moto ride at Tahuya State Forest yesterday.  I loaded my bike in the van and we headed out south west of Bremerton for the ride. We made our way through the rain to Adams lake cabin and got ready to ride.

Adam filling some gas for the day. Note the weather conditions.

If you've never been to Tahuya, all you need to know is that it doesn't drain well. I started the ride by following Adam, as he knew where he was going and I didn't. I was impressed by how fast Adam was riding. Its obvious where his bicycle skill comes from. The best part about watching him ride was that he wasn't afraid to get wet. He twisted the throttle through every puddle he could find! Some of the puddles/lakes were really deep. There were a few that were fender height! There were multiple times where I thought I was going to flood my bike, but luckily, that never happened.

Rylie enjoying the lake before we went for the ride.

We were part way into the ride when I came upon what seemed like the 10,000th puddle. I twisted the throttle into the murky water when all of a sudden, the front wheel of my bike hit a submerged root and sent me sideways off the trail. I came to a very quick stop wedged between to large trees with my left hand pinned between the bar and the tree. I pulled the bike back and took my glove off to assess the damage. Adrenaline is an amazing pain killer and beyond the strange bump and coloring, my hand was tingling a bit but seemed alright. My grip on the bars was pretty weak, but I had to go catch up to Adam. I caught up and we finished the loop before heading home. I figured I had just smashed my hand hard so I taped it up and went to work.

Normal hand on top, swollen one on bottom.

Throughout the day the swelling got worse and it started to hurt and get black and blue. I decided to leave work early and get it checked out. Ruth accompanied me to the hospital where I learned I broke my 5th metacarpal (again). The break was pretty small, but right on the knuckle. The ER doctor said it will be 6 weeks, but I'm seeing a hand specialist on Monday after the swelling goes down. I'm hoping I'll be 100% by the time Sea Otter rolls around April 19-22 (5 weeks).

The current set up.

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has called, text-ed, Twitter-ed, sent emails, or Facebook messages. Its awesome to have that kind of support from my friends, family, and sponsors. It really does help and I'll try my best to get back as soon as possible.

Thanks a ton to everyone and I'll post another update after I talk to the doc on Monday.

-KT