Bleah, so… I’m an idiot / can’t be trusted around fence posts. UNBELIEVABLY, only 2-1/2 years from breaking my right elbow in a bike crash, I break my left elbow, the same *damned way… 💥

First things first. We both get respiratory viruses at XMAS/New Year’s. I come down with RSV and HMPV viruses at the same time. They attack me so badly (possbily other factors?), I wind up in the hospital for two days, unable to breathe lying down without massive knife-stabbing pain in my lower left lung. My blood oxygen SpO2 is down in the 80s, which is “go get an oxygen tank cart levels”… We CAT-scan find small “non-life threatening” blood clots in both lungs. Queue blood thinners… Here Hunter is rescuing me from crappy food in my nice view Oakland/Berkeley hospital.

… and only ~45 days later, after spending 1 week hill hiking slowly to rebuild lungs, then 1 week slowly hill biking, slowly more and more, back to 99% SpO2, still on blood thinners, terrified of crashing or bleeding…

.. utter disaster. Just like last time, I get too close to a fence post – this time with a “lasso” cable end (you can zoom in to right side of post just over handlebars). I’m travelling right-to-left in the dirt above in this picture, and the lasso catches and jerks my hanldebars severely, catapulting me down this ~6’ short slope. Scrambling, I cant get my left foot unclipped, and take the entire fall on my left elbow => right into pavement (once again). My elbow is broken in two in this pic, but I dont know it yet. Racing through my head is “please dont let this be another break…”

Next morning, same Urgent Care (osteo specialist) place in Walnut Creek as last time => broken in two again! Interestingly, like last time, if I dont move the elbow, there’s almost no pain.

So… I hike a lot, swapping my six-days-a-week 1-2 hours of biking, for hiking.

Hunter and I find a new absolutely favorite hike in the North Bay, a 4-mile perfect loop starting with panoramic pacific ocean and SF views.

You then hike down to and then up an amazing rushing stream with waterfalls. It’s part of the Dipsea Trail with a loop back on Steep Ravine Trail. I would never have hiked this with an actively broken arm, had I known how technical it can get. But we made it, even up a wood rung ladder section, me 3-limb hopping my way up. Utterly gorgeous though..

Blood thinners and half-casts. Wow, you wanna talk about even worse pain than the break itself? The painful black-and-blues run up/down my arm anywhere where the cast bottom settles.

We have a delightful morning with out-of-town friend Chanel. We start at our local fave cafe, then I head off and hike while they bike. We actually met up ~mid-way through! After the severe bruising & pain (like, not sleeping for 4 nights in a row bad…) they switch me to this removable exoskeleton much better setup.

Two weeks after the crash, I get the same surgery. Ironically, it’s the same (wonderful!) surgeon, the same facility, the same anesthesiologist, the same OR head nurse, the same titanium fix (2 super thin & narrow criss-cross plates, 4 screws into ulna, 2 long screws lengthwise down the ulna from the end).

Two weeks post-op, the x-rays look great, almost zero sign of break. I start physical therapy to get “range-of-motion” back, 6 days after this. Now we can push the PT a bit more..

The 7 sutures (going across the wavey cut line) come out (only takes a few seconds) at this x-ray review appointment, as well.

I hike to end of our bike group “Thirsty Thursday” ride every Thursday, ~6 miles, mostly down amazing view fire roads for one hour, and then neighborhood roads for the second hour. You can see Mt. Diablo in the background.

Have I mentioned how amazing Hunter has been? With almost zero elbow mobility for the first four weeks after the crash, he’s helping me shower and wash my hair, and so so much more..

My bestie and I hike every Sunday – CA redwoods are always a wonder for the spirits!

Here I’m on a Thirsty Thursday hike, and the one fence hop I have to CAREFULING.EXE each week.

So today, after another post-op review with x-rays 3 days prior, I BIKED! again for the first time since the crash 8 weeks ago. Amazing!

I was nervous about how I’d do. My left arm is still stiff and imperfect. I’m wearing elbow and knee crash pads for good measure. And being ultra careful and slow. I’ve lost a ton of bike fitness – but that’s what regular biking is for :)

Here I am “waving” to the fence post that took me out. It now has a traffic cone on it from the Joaquin Miller rangers after I mentioned my crash to them.

So… I’m back to biking, slowly! 🎉

And. We’re going to make 2026 truly amazing, by finally getting married, with our great family and friends, at a place along our favorite bike ride! 💍 (Here we are settling on wine & apps for The Event.)

Stay tuned!