34. January to May 2023

It was a lovely, frosty morning on 16^th January 2023 when I loaded my Dawes bike in my friend Michael Sutton’s van and we headed off to Hest Bank.  We parked the van and set off at about 10:40 heading North on quiet roads alongside the coast.  It was cold (probably two or three degrees Celsius) and there was a bit of frost and ice on the ground but the roads were generally dry so that wasn’t a problem.  We called in at Jenny Brown’s Point to admire the view, and since I had to change the pre-programmed route on my Garmin, I had to re-set it to zero before setting off again. 

As we descended into Arnside, the road took a left turn besides some cottages which were high up on the left and casting a deep shadow.  By the time I realised that the road was no longer dry here, my wheels had slipped from under me and with no time to recover, I found myself sliding down the icy road.  When I stopped, my first thought was to warn Michael of the danger, so I jumped up and flagged him to slow down and he just managed to stay upright.  I think I must have hit the curb on the way down since I realised that although my helmet was undamaged, I was bleeding profusely from above my left eye.  Nothing else really hurt, although I’d taken a bump to my hand and my hip.

Whilst on the ride, Michael was taking a video which he later posted on YouTube. Look at it here, if you like. Thankfully, I was a bit ahead of him at the time I took a tumble and so the video misses that bit, but ends with me calling out to Michael about the ice on the bend.

Michael decided that I needed stitches above my eye, so we thought about how this might best be achieved.  Thankfully, a passing motorist offered help and her husband kindly ran us back to the van with the bikes in the back of his Mercedes estate car.  We only just fit! Michael then drove me home to drop off the bike and then onto Chorley Urgent Care where I was seen very quickly.   The doctor who stitched me up asked if I was hurting anywhere and I said that my hand and my hip were a bit sore.  He manipulated my fingers and declared everything OK, discharged me and then Gee collected me and brought me home.

I had to have my stitches removed a week later and went to the surgery in Collingwood Road, Chorley for this.  No problem, but my hand / wrist was still hurting, especially when I changed gear driving in the car.  After a haircut on Wednesday 25^th, I returned to Urgent Care and this time they took an x-ray of my wrist and declared it broken!  So I had a cast fitted.  Later that same day, a consultant telephoned me and told me that the cast was the wrong treatment for me and that I should have been given a splint.  So the next day I went in for the cast to be removed and a splint fitted.  Whilst the cast felt very comfortable and eased the pain, the splint didn’t seem to do very much, and it actually hurt round the base of my thumb if I had it a bit tight.  So on 3^rd February (2.5 weeks after the fall), I returned to Urgent Care and after a bit of passing me from here to there, a horrible nurse eventually told me off for not taking pain killers and told me very abruptly that they weren’t going to do anything more since I was still under the Fracture Clinic’s care and that I should return there.  That actually made sense, but the pain I was experiencing didn’t feel at all like a break, more like nerve or tendon trouble in quite a different area around my thumb.

So I called the Fracture Clinic and got an appointment on Monday 6^th February with Mr Yates.  He examined the thumb and the x-ray and told me that I was being too impatient and that the bone was set to recover and it would just take time.  He advised wearing the splint for another 4 weeks and then gradually build up movement from then.

I did a bit of light gardening later that week, but my thumb was really sore so I stopped and just behaved myself and did nothing but wear the splint throughout February.  What hurt the most was picking up small objects (like my pills from the counter) and any twisting motion, such as drying up cups or glasses. 

I stopped wearing the splint full time after 1^st March but the pain remained.  From the 9^th March, Google searches had suggested that I had a type of tendonitis and the cure, they said, was to take Ibuprofen to ease the inflammation and not to move the area.  I did this for a week from 9^th March and I noticed some slight improvement.  By 18^th March, I began driving again.  Gear changes into 3^rd and 5^th were painful, but otherwise, everything was fine. More improvement followed and I began cycling again on 27^th March.  Whilst I experienced some pain during the actual ride, once I stopped, the pain went away.  However, after a ride on 1^st April (just 17 miles round Bezza Lane), my thumb really hurt afterwards and for two days following.

On the Tuesday following (4^th April), I went to see the Nurse Practitioner at Whittle Surgery and she was surprised that I wasn’t receiving physiotherapy and she gave me a number to call to arrange this.  Unfortunately, since it was less than 6 months since the accident, I couldn’t self-refer to them and a doctor would have to do it.  A call to the Fracture Clinic again secured me an appointment on the 18^th April.  Almost immediately I began to feel less pain in my hand so I started riding again including 38 miles round Rufford and 30 miles round Standish.  So I cancelled the Fracture Clinic appointment.  Then, ironically on 18^th April (!!), a sudden pain returned in the morning but it eased and I went for a ride round Ribchester.  Once more, it was sore as I rode, but fine afterwards.  Between then and 27^th April, I took it easy, hardly riding at all but that was really frustrating. 

I was very keen to get riding again because in January I’d planned a long five-countries cycle tour in May, going from England to Wales, Southern Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and back home to England. If I didn’t start riding soon, I would have doubts about my fitness to complete the 800 mile trip.

On 20^th April, Jim called me to tell me he’d lost his passport in India, so it was very doubtful that he’d be able to get another before our trip in May.  This was my way out and I so suggested we cancel the Irish and Scottish accommodations and just do a trip round Wales.  So this is what we planned.  However, by 25^th April I decided that since my thumb was still giving some pain I would cancel the entire tour rather than risk it hurting every day for a week. 

On 27^th April with improvement still very slow, I called the Fracture Clinic again, only this time I was told I now needed a doctor’s referral to see them!  I called my GP to arrange an appointment but when they called back (I was put in a queue) I fumbled answering the call and they rang off!  So then I decided that I’d just live with the pain, which, in fairness, is much less intrusive than it once was.  The worst pain is actually texting on the phone!  So now (8^th May) I think I am finished with doctors and nurses and I’ll just wait until I feel OK before going on long rides.  I want to get back in the saddle, but the thought of cycling with a sore hand for hours doesn’t get me too excited.  I’ve planned a two-day trip to Chester again and some rides leaving from Mansfield to chase some tiles before I have a week in Sheffield cat-sitting for Emily.

Since the accident, I have been walking a lot more.  Since January, I have walked for exercise instead of cycled for over 61 hours covering 212 miles.  If I’d been cycling for that time, I’d’ve covered more like 770 miles which is less than I expected to ride.  This suggests I don’t like walking as much as riding, or at least that I spend less time voluntarily doing it.

Let’s see what happens.

[Post script. 18 months later, I still don’t have full use of my left hand which still hurts a little bit. I can do most things, but opening jars has to be done a particular way and I can no longer place my palm flat on the table. But I’m resigned to it now. I am still awaiting an appointment at the fracture clinic (arranged through my GP), but I’ve been waiting since November 2023, so I’m not hopeful I’ll ever be seen. And I realise that there are many people a lot worse off than me.]