Man Down

     May 12th, I fell off a bicycle and broke my scapula, four ribs, fractured a cheek bone, and partially collapsed a lung. After 20 days in the hospital, I've been fending for myself, waiting for Alex, Thomasina, and Isolde to return from America. I cant't drive. I don't sleep well. I can't lift heavy objects. And it hurts.

     Normally during July I'm hard at work; but this month, being injured, I can treat myself to live Tour de France coverage. Which I normally love. I love the moving landscapes, the aerial photography, the grace of the peloton, and the drama of effort.

    On stage 9 of this year's Tour de France, five break-away riders flew down a wet mountain road. The camera motorbike caught Jonny Hoogerland wobbling on a blind corner, un-clipping his foot to help stabilize himself. A couple minutes later the fast pursuing front group arrived. A couple of riders hit the deck. Trying to avoid men down, Alexandre Vinokourov veered to the outside, hit a low brick guardrail post and plummeted into the trees below breaking his femur. Jurgen Van den Broeck slammed the pavement breaking his scapula, three ribs and collapsed a lung.

   Up front, young Jonny Hoogerland, now going hell for leather in the break-away, found himself tumbling through the air into a barbed wire fence when side-swiped by a television car. At the finished he collapsed in tears. Three days later he races on, leading the mountain climber's competition by five points. He will not retire wearing this jersey despite carrying some 30 stitches on his legs and back. Two days earlier a serious crash ended the race for three other favorites. Chris Horner suffered a severe concussion, riding the last 25 kilometers not knowing where he was.

      I've always enjoyed the movement and freedom of cycling. I can fly free with my bicycle, leveraging my power with chain and gear to gallop over the hills and fall through the wind on the other side. But these old passions are tempered now. My imagination embellishes the pleasures, but it has also magnified the nightmares. I'm haunted by memories of impact, disabling injury, and enduring pain. I have suffered three of the injuries I've watched in this year's Tour and they have spoiled my live Tour treat. But I'm still watching.