Like everybody, I read (and know) of elderly people who take falls in their homes and break bones. Often times these are quite debilitating and often begin a gradual decline that ends in death. My Mother is one operative example, fell and cracked a rib -> shallower respiration -> pneumonia and death a short time later.
So how do these happen? Sometimes they're brought on by dizziness or some other physical malady but all too frequently they're a result of just being careless.
Enter today's story....
I was working in my office on brevet cards for this weekends 1000K. Stood up to get something and sat back down without looking. My chair, which is on casters on a hard carpet protector, had turned sideways. Fell straight down and landed on my coccyx (tailbone).
Man oh man did it hurt! Man oh man does it hurt (three days later). I've not ridden in three days (and gained 3 lbs, thank you very much). Yesterday I went to get gas for our garden tractor and learned that picking something up uses the glutes/lower back muscles pretty hard and I thought I was going to scream there at the gas station.
Going to go for a short ride today but it might literally be down to the end of the driveway and back. Hoping for more as it's a lovely day but not counting on it.
This is particularly disconcerting as I have two 1200K's coming up soon (I leave in a week): the Herentals 1200K and the Prague 1200K. Hopefully I'll manage to get in at least a couple somewhat longer rides between now and when I leave if for no other reason to stop the precipitous weight gain.
Be careful out there!
