lethargic_man: Yellow smiley face, only with a neutral expression instead of the smile (Have a [gap] day)
Lethargic Man (anag.) ([personal profile] lethargic_man) wrote2011-01-25 07:15 pm

I hate bikes (PS: Ouch!)

I'm having a bad bike day. My front mudguard has been coming into contact with the wheel recently, and the problem's been getting worse. (Can't figure out why; it's not as if the wheel's off true) Halfway home it got so bad I got off, turned the bike upside-down and attempted to bend the mudguard supports to get the mudguard away from the wheel, but all I could do is make it worse, so the wheel was rubbing against the mudguard all the time. Worse, in attempting to get the front light off so I could see what I was doing, I managed to snap the lug which keeps the light secured in place.

I continued cycling home like that, then suddenly, without warning, the front wheel seized altogether and I went flying head over handlebars. I've now a large bruise on my hip which, frozen vegetables notwithstanding, is probably going to keep me from cycling for at least the rest of the week once it swells up; and several square centimetres of skin missing from my elbow. My front light also went flying (remember that broken lug?), and got run over before I had a chance to retrieve it. (Astonishingly, despite most of the plastic casing being reduced to small fragments, it still works.)

The worst is that I can't figure out what sent me flying. I thought I must have hit a pothole, but I couldn't see one. I can't see how it could be related to the rubbing mudguard... but OTOH I can't see how it could not be related. (I think it must have been the front wheel, as if the rear wheel had seized, surely I wouldn't have gone over the handbars like that.) I cycled home the rest of the way very slowly, afraid it was going to happen again.

I hate bikes. (Love cycling, but hate bikes.)

Question: how important is it to keep a wound dry? One always hears that one needs to do this, but it's a nuisance. Does anybody know what, really, is the risk of sepsis from just taking a shower?

[identity profile] khiemtran.livejournal.com 2011-01-25 11:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Not a doctor, but... when I lose skin playing soccer ("several square centimetres" is not unusual playing on astroturf), I'll still shower every day. If it stings, I'll shower with the dressing on and then change the dressing.

[identity profile] lethargic-man.livejournal.com 2011-01-26 07:48 am (UTC)(link)
Wouldn't changing the dressing just tear off the developing scab? (Well, it certainly would for me, whose dressing is a mess of overlapping elastoplasts.)

[identity profile] khiemtran.livejournal.com 2011-01-26 09:20 am (UTC)(link)
Not that I've noticed. I use proper conformable dressings though. I don't know if it's actually okay to leave them on after a shower, but the wound seems pretty dry underneath.