Beginner’s bad luck

OUCH. My first ride on a bike as an adult in DC, I fell right outside that tunnel after a little kid came the opposite way and almost hit me inside it. I had some nasty road rash and was pretty embarrassed. Took me awhile to become comfortable with that tunnel again after that. It’s an annoyingly narrow tunnel, and people don’t always let others through before starting.

I hope your (wife?) feels better soon, and it’s not a bad break. Let her know we ALL go through this, especially at the start biking. The key part is getting back on and doing it again, which she seems eager to do which is awesome

@lordofthemark 158095 wrote:

Okay, all of you guys know the “tunnel” on the MVT under the Memorial Bridge? Apparently it has a railing? (I have no memory of any such railing, but QOTM insists there is one, or maybe it was the wall, maybe)

When we got to the bikeshare station, she said “don’t be mad, I think I broke my pinkie finger”.

If it’s her right pinkie, then, yes, there’s a railing separating the “trail” from the traffic. If it’s her left, then it’s the wall.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14514[/ATTACH]

Sorry to hear about QOTM’s likely broken pinkie. I’m guessing it’s her right pinkie because if she hit the wall (to her left going SB), she likely would’ve scraped it (ideal only to the idea of a broken bone) whereas the railing likely caught her pinkie. This is the drawback to those kinds of railings like on the 14th St Bridge (catch that with your hand/handlebar and you’re going down).

Also, it was a wiser choice to use the relatively flat MVT instead of heading uphill through Arlington’s neighborhoods since she was already feeling tired.

I’m glad to hear her love of cycling has not been damaged, and I hope she heals quick!

Sorry to hear about her injury. The good thing is, broken fingers are usually pretty quick to heal and you can still do stuff (like ride a bike) while waiting for them to heal! (Can you tell I have broken a few fingers?)

Her stoicism regarding it is impressive. She should be a mountain biker.

Sending well wishes for a clean break and quick healing.

@lordofthemark 158155 wrote:

Update – its a broken hand, I am afraid, not just a finger. Right hand, so yes, the railing. She is grateful for the sympathy from y’all. She has a real cool hi tech cast (she has broken bones before, not biking, so is familiar). She is left handed, so she can still drive and do most things she needs to do.

Oh no. Darn! Sending healing wishes!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Whoa! Ouch. That underpass is way too skinny for its own good. Could happen to anyone.

I hope she has one of the high tech casts that you can mold to your hand with heat and take it off for washing. I had one for my broken wrist last year and it was a vast improvement over fiberglass ones (though still not a joy to wear). Glad to hear it’s not her dominant hand because that would be a PITA. Fortunately small bones heal fast; getting the muscles loosened up and flexible again is what takes forever. I’ve broken my wrist and a thumb and all are healed up and fine now; no lingering effects. Sorry a nice ride got spoiled; hopefully she will be riding again when the warm weather is here to stay.