(May 1, 2022 – written by Dave)

This blog post will remind long term readers of a similar post back in 2010 when we were getting ready to ride across Australia and onto Europe. The day before we were supposed to leave we were riding our bikes over to a friend’s house and somehow Nancy ran into me (Senior editor’s note –he meant to say, ‘I ran into Nancy’), she crashed, fell and broke her collarbone. When we took her to the hospital, they had to cut her out of her cycling jersey. All she remembers about the jersey now is that it was one of her favourites. She is not sure what colour it was. Maybe that’s just me but it seems that if it was really a favourite jersey, she’d remember more about it. Just saying, anyway…

Flash forward to 2022 and it was my turn to crash and break my collarbone. Yes, that’s sad but even worse, when I crashed I was wearing my favourite Kitsbow cycling jersey. As I lay on the ground holding my shoulder, all I could think about was if the ambos went crazy with their scissors I would have to find a new favourite jersey. Yes, I should have been worried about my collarbone and/or if I was seriously hurt but adrenaline does funny things. My only thought was “Please don’t cut my jersey!”

I received my jersey back in 2019 when we first became brand ambassadors for Kitsbow. Like a good chunk of the cycling industry, in the last three years Kitsbow has focused more on gravel/mountain riding, less on road riding. So, you guessed it, they no longer make my super hip wool Gersey road jersey.

Anyway, back to the crash. It was silly. Aren’t they always? We were just about home when we came upon some other cyclists. I was hanging back chatting with them and missed a corner. It’s a really sharp and dangerous corner but I’d been around it many, many times previously and knew it was there. I was just too busy being “Chatty Kathy” and I ended up in the ditch (Senior editor’s note – those that know Dave well will not be surprised that he was being Chatty Kathy…).

Nancy and our new friends, Judy and Karl, pulled up right away. Judy and Karl were both super helpful – thanks guys. I pretty much knew that my collarbone was broken. It’s something you just know. There was really no need to call the ambos as after all, it’s just a broken collarbone, happens all the time to cyclists. Well, not all the time, but often enough. Having ridden some 160,000 miles in my lifetime, it’s sort of a miracle that I’ve not broken one before now. While I rested roadside, Nancy rode home to grab the car. We loaded up my bike and then headed off to the urgent care clinic at the local hospital.

At the hospital, they confirmed the break. It was Sunday so they couldn’t do much more. They sent me home with some drugs and a sling. I had a follow-up meeting with an orthopaedic surgeon on Wednesday and then surgery on Thursday. These days they only insert plates in collarbones that have compound breaks. Mine was a “z” compound fracture – not good – I needed a plate. Without surgery, one of my arms would have been about an inch shorter than the other, easy call, get the surgery. Post operation, I now have a plate and 8 screws in my collarbone. For the record Nancy has a plate and 11 screws in her collarbone so she must have broken hers worse than I did.

The accident was on May 1^st and my surgery was on May 5^th.,  Right now I feel like I’m doing pretty well. I’ve had no pain since surgery; I’m sleeping well and can move my wrist and elbow without issue. I have a follow up with the orthopaedic surgeon next week and hope to start therapy soon after. It all depends on the bone healing and only an x-ray can reveal progress there. Riding may be slightly curtailed this year but getting the recovery right is most important now.

If there is a silver lining to this story, I’m happy to report that my Kitsbow jersey survived. With Nancy’s help, I managed to remove it in the emergency room carpark, without scissors! There was some pain and whimpering, but it was worth it save my favourite jersey. Thank goodness for the full length zipper.

And on a marginally related note, a couple months before the crash, Kitsbow accepted us again this year on their ambassador team. We won’t be shredding, getting big air or even riding (short-term) but when we do, you’ll find me in my well worn, formerly bright blue Gersey wool jersey. And if you want to pick up some Kitsbow for yourself, we’re happy to share a discount code with readers – just shoot us a note/comment.

Meanwhile, be safe out there and watch those sharp corners, especially if you’re one of those Chatty Kathy types!