Dogged

Knee took the worst of it.

Some of the dog's hide still on the rear wheel

Point of impact at 31 mph down to 0 mph in a second.

Route and Ride Data Links:

Strava - Today's Route

Ride Metrics:

Distance (mile): 55
Speed (mph): 16.9  
Cadence (rpm): 69
Time Moving: 3:15:14
Time Total: 3:38:51
Work (kj): 1424
Normal Power: 144
Average Power: 122
Max Power: 417
VI: 1.18
TSS: 188
IF: 0.76

Goal:

Survive!!

Ride Description:

I set out with hope to do my usual route and do 80 miles, but at mile 27 this menace dog decides to take me down and it shortens today's ride and will add some recovery time. The adjacent home owners said it is a wild dog that hangs out in that area and said it was aggressive. No doubt since it has chased me hard at other times and has tried to bite. Earlier this week I put pepper spray in my Amazon cart, but never finished the order. Ugh!!

I thought I could speed past it so while down in aero I picked up my speed to 30 mph. The dog was very fast and came across the road in front of my wheel. I went down hard and thought as I stood up that I had cracked a rib. I saw my knee and could feel some other areas already stinging from the road rash. The nearest homeowners, Matthew and Jessica, asked me to come sit on their porch and brought out some medical spays. I soaked each noticeable area with hydrogen peroxide. They offered to drive me back, but I thought I was okay to pedal back the 25 miles and I was. When putting the bike on the car rack I noticed some of the dog's hide and hair on the rear wheel. We both lost some hide today, but I think I lost more.

Now at home the pain and stiffness in my knee is starting to set in. I will see how this plays out. It could have been a lot worse.  

Weather:

Temperature Start (F): 66

Temperature Finish (F): 75

Wind: Calm

Sky: Clear

Nutrition Intake During and Immediately After:

Bottle #1 16oz. Water, BSN Amino X, Maltodextrin, Trace Mineral Drops

GU gel at mile 24

Post Ride: 30 gram protein drink

Gear:

 Felt  B10 

Update 6/16/2017:

I am very grateful that Gordon County Animal Control picked up the dog on Monday. The Australian Cattle Dog is up for adoption so I hope someone from California adopts that dog if anyone does. The nature of the ACD breed is to herd and bite while herding. It is not a good dog to be left loose near the roadway. 

In a few minutes I head to the orthopedic to have my knee check out. I hope to get news that the injury will heal on its own without surgery. I still have a fair amount of pain in the knee but most this discomfort feels like it is at the surface of skin from the road rash.

Orthopedic doctor examined the x-rays and found no bone damage, but there was still too much swelling for him to diagnose much else. I will get a MRI next week see what the doctor says. He wanted me to do some unweighted leg extension motion just to keep that leg active and if I can tolerate I can do some light spinning on the stationary trainer.

Update 6/18/2017:

Most of the road rash is healing well except for the knee. The knee is still draining after a week of changing dressings and keeping Neosporin on the wounds. The amount of skin removed is down to where the tissue looks white. The non-stick pads soak up the fluid and still tend to stick to the wound. The pressure from fluid around the knee also makes bending my leg very uncomfortable, but I can just about walk up and down stairs without much assistance from the handrail. A lot of the fluid and blood from the knee has move down into my foot and ankle. 

Non-stick pad stuck to the wound.....ugh

Healing right forearm, but it is pitted looking. I think there will be a scar when it fully heals

One gash on the upper left has healed and the other gash is healing.

Update 6/20/2017:

This is my fourth significant crash involving road rash and I have always treated with traditional cloth wraps and bandages. Hindsight on road rash treatment this time after receiving some good tips from guys responding to my questions at Slowtwitch I hope to be better prepared if and when it happens again. 

Over the weekend I did a bit of web searching on improving road rash treatment. This time around I had to use what was available locally, which was traditional type dressings. The first hours in fact I used a plain sterile cloth wrap that stuck deep in one of the forearm gashes that had to be cut out and from that point forward I used non-stick pads and Neosporin with the petroleum based ointment to help the non-stick pad from sticking to the wound and yet they still stuck to the wounds. This led me to search the web and ask if there are better products to keep in stock. 

The thought of something like Duoderm that can be applied once the wound(s) are thoroughly cleansed and left on for days is a huge bonus. With the traditional type dressings I have been changing twice a day and each time the wound is slightly reopened.

Most posts all seemed to be in agreement to keep the wound moist and covered until it heals. In pictures above I did let some of wounds scab over, but next time I will do a better job in keeping them covered. I live in a metro area, but most of the following products listed were not available in the stores that I checked so it will be worth it to research these products and maybe order online and keep them in my inventory for home treatment. Unfortunately my record so far is to go down on the pavement every couple of years or so it seems. 

Of the products suggested this is the summary: 
(Thanks to all who contributed with products and tips)

• Duoderm or a hydrocolloid dressing with a tubular mesh bandage as an outer protection.
• Manuka Honey bandage or ointment on the dressing and wrapped.
• Mepilex AG Antimicrobial Soft Silicone Foam dressing
• Silvadene Topical
• Aquaphor
• Tegaderm

Maybe this information will be helpful to others who have been treating these types of wounds with what is typically available at the local store or letting the wounds scab over which may take longer to heal and leave scars.

Update 6/24/2017:

My first application of the Duoderm was a bit sloppy. The second was on as tight and smooth as skin.

Perhaps a little too much tubular bandage here, but the two combined just made it all feel better

14 days after the crash and this is how it looks. It has improved.

14 days after the crash and this is how it looks.

Going out to look for some Silvadene and Aquaphor locally. I am swapping between the Duoderm and non-stick pad dressings depending on being inactive and doing activity. The Duoderm does not do well in activity even when I have tried to use an elastic wrap to help keep it in place. There is just too much movement at the knee joint.

I really like the feel of the Duoderm and it would be great if I were to remain inactive, but I can't stand just hanging around and I do want to get more motion in my knee and keep some semblance of strength in my legs. I will use this dressing between activity. For now I am going to try simple kitchen plastic wrap with Aquaphor to keep the wound moist and an outer light elastic knee wrap to hold it in place and see how it functions during some indoor spinning.

 I've been doing short easy spin indoor spin sessions and continued to train at the gym. With the leg training I working cautiously getting more range of motion while waiting for the MRI appointment next week.

Update 7/1/2017:

The wound on my knee is healing nicely now and I am anticipating the doctor appointment this coming Thursday to go over the MRI results. Meanwhile mobility in my knee is feeling better all the time. However, my fitness feels like it has hit rock bottom. I am going to have to drop my FTP way down and start back with endurance level intensity and start over again with a slow ramp up based on a short indoor session yesterday. Even at low watts I felt like I was struggling fitness wise. I am counting my blessings though because that crash could have always been a lot worse.

Update 7/6/2017:

Result of the MRI and consulting the orthopedic from Resurgens is a torn PCL and surgery is not recommended unless there is consistent stability issues. The doctor's recommendation was a couple of physical therapy appointments to get an idea of exercises to do at home or the gym. I have already started with light cycling and have been moving into regular cycling training indoor and outdoor. I am taking it slower in terms of ramping up strength training and will increase weight and repetitions based on how it feels. I am able to do full hack squats with just the weight of the sled, but the knee is still healing and has fluid and pressure at full range.