My First Wreck

Well, it looks like there might not be much to report for a little bit...had a wreck at the Austin Driveway last night. 3rd degree shoulder separation, some nice road rash, but nothing terribly serious. The doc said I'll be able to ride pain free in about 5-6 weeks, but I can ride once I feel up to it. The legs are unscathed, so I'll probably be on the trainer soon, just can't get down on the handlebars. I'm also pleased to report the bike is safe. The only parts that need replacing are the bar tape and a water bottle cage.

Here's the story of the night:
This was the first time I was trying out the 3/4 race at the Driveway. I figured even if I got dropped, it would serve as a good warmup for the 4/5 race immediately after. I actually felt surprisingly good, and was hanging in the pack pretty easily, but, I knew I wouldn't end with a decent result, so I pulled out about 20 minutes in with my legs still relatively fresh.
And now on to the 4/5 race. It went pretty much as usual, with the typical sketchiness present, which I'm sure I'm not completely innocent of not adding to...nice double negative there, but it's my blog, so I don't care. Anywho, I was mid- to front-pack going into the last couple laps, so I was alright there. With 1 to go, I figured it was about time to start moving up, and I saw Mike Bowker, a solid rider from CCRCC cruising toward the front, so I started to mark him a bit. Everything was going as planned, and I came up the little uphill in about 10th. Going just fine down the little straightaway, coming up on the 180 and chicane leading to the finishing straight. I go outside and start to dive into the 180, when one of the guys directly in front of me slides out and takes the guy next to him out. So, my choice was to run into the guy on the left, or the guy on the right. I chose right, but not sure it was correct. I ended up over the handlebars, with my left shoulder taking most of the impact. Apparently my head hit fairly hard as well, as my helmet is trashed, but the doc found nothing wrong there...at least not more than usual.
I just kind of chilled there for a few minutes, gathering my bearings. People began coming over to check on me, got me over to the tent, and kept an eye on me until my buddy Ryan got his van to take me to the ER. A big thanks to Matt Moore of Team Wooly Mammoth/the Austin Fire Dept for keeping close tabs on me. After that, it was the usual shenanigans at the hospital, which ended up with me leaving in a sling.

That's the story for now, as I'm chicken-pecking this entire thing with one hand. I'll report back once I get back on the bike...