GDMBR Day 46
Start: Elkhorn Hot Springs Lodge
Finish: Butte, MT
Miles: 87.8 miles
Odometer: 2,093 miles
Ascent: 5,100 feet
Descent: 6,600 feet
Location: https://share.garmin.com/Judice
After yesterday’s relaxing afternoon enjoying the hot springs and feeding my body, I left the lodge this morning in excellent spirits. I hopped on my bike and headed down the dirt road for a quarter-mile where there was a left-hand turn onto pavement to begin my climb up over my first of three passes. As my front tire met pea gravel on pavement my front wheel slipped out and I went to ground very hard and my body skidded down the road. In the end I had some pretty good chunks of flesh torn out of my left knee, left hip, and left elbow. The fall ripped through my three clothing layers, including my wind jacket, my down puffy jacket, and my riding shirt.
In addition to the skin cuts and abrasions I felt some sharp pains in my rib cage and inside of my left elbow (epicondyle). I pick my bike up and moved it over to the side of the road. I could instantly feel emotion well up inside and I physically tried to push that emotion out into some form of tears, but nothing came so I went about the business of cleaning and dressing my wounds. After stripping off my clothing I used the water bottle to clean out the wounds and then covered them with some bandages that I keep in a little medical kit inside one of my bags. I hopped on my bike and began my ride up the mountain knowing that my first stop was the small town of Wise River some 30 miles away where I could get some additional first aid supplies.
I arrived at the Wise River Mercantile where the grandmotherly proprietor, Connie, works the cash register. Out front I removed all of the old bandages washed the wounds with soap and water and started reapplying bandages. Connie came outside and brought me a free cup of coffee and said, “Let Maw help you with this.” So she applied some bandages and was very supportive and encouraging. She asked me if I needed any hydrogen peroxide or other supplies. Then she refilled my coffee cup.
I rode the rest of the way to Butte, Montana with a total miles of around 88 miles. Every bump in the dirt and gravel road sent a jolt of pain through my left elbow and my left rib cage. When I got to Butte I picked up a package at the post office, stopped at the pharmacy for more first aid supplies, including Betadine, bandages, tape, wrap, and triple antibiotic ointment. I checked into a local hotel and did a more thorough job of assessing and treating my wounds. They all appear to be superficial. The elbow wound is fairly deep but I don’t think there are any broken bones. I don’t think my ribs are broken, just bruised. I decided to take tomorrow off to see how my body is recovering and assess the need for medical care (arm X-ray).
On a positive note, when I was coming down from the final climb over a pass I saw a cyclist stopped on the side of the road. It turns out it was the Tour Divide Race leader, Sofiane Sehili, from France. He stopped to assess how much more climbing he had to do. I asked him if we could take a picture and he enthusiastically pulled his bike up next to mine and we took a selfie. It’s a thrill to meet a world-class athlete in the middle of his race.
Oh by the way, I sat through another thunderstorm/hailstorm today. I am on record pace for most hailstorms in one week.