I'm alive. 

It's been already two weeks today that my life was spared. I believe that the fact that I am breathing, heck, even walking today can be compared to a miracle. I remember only faintly what actually happened in the seconds leading up to the accident  but it's scary to even think that I was out, unconscious for probably minutes before waking up. I could have easily laid there for a lot longer, with limp body and likely never open my eyes again. I'm not the person who would over-dramatize the facts. But every day I'm reminded by just how "lucky" I was on September 14. 

It's still a mystery to me how on Earth did a truck ended up in my lane, right in front of me, without showing any signs of trying to get back to the side of the road where it was supposed to be. I went out to the crash site today and took some images. Honestly, from the driver's perspective it's almost more difficult NOT to see what's coming up. The turn has no absolutely no trees, shrubs, tall grass. Nothing that would distract a driver's sight at the curve. Speed limit? 35mph. The road has the double solid line painted hundreds of yards in both direction. Although it was past 7pm the sun was still up. It's just unbelievable. 




I really hope that the video that KFYR TV's crew put together will reach some drivers out there, local or non-local. The purpose of it was to get the attention of the drivers There's a reason why you see more and more "Share the road" signs along the paved routes. There's an increasing number of people who use the roads on a bike for transportation, training or just for a weekend rides.The roads were created not only for motorized vehicles but for also for the self-propelled ones as well. Yes, I do wish the shoulders were wider although it would not solve the issue. The shoulder is not meant to be used by the moving traffic, including the cyclist. The rumble strips along some highways in my opinion are only an endangerment to the cyclist. It not only narrows the road but some rumble strips are so deep that they damage the bike's wheels or cause accidents if  biker lose control over the wheel. It can happen. Not to mention that the right side of the rumble strip, the shoulder is covered with debris, broken glass, wires, nails, rocks. It's nearly impossible to ride safely without puncturing the tires. 

My nights are still long and painful. It's been 14 days that I didn't have a good night sleep. I wake multiple times a night. I want to move but my back, my ribs, my broken bones prevent me from turning on my side. I set a timer 4 hours later I go to sleep to remind me about taking the next painkiller. I lay still for hours and not move a bit. My head sometimes fall to the side and I wake for some really bad neck pain, like when you fall asleep on a plane without a head rest. In the morning when I try to get out of the bed I feel my ribs are splitting in half again. All the healing that happens during the night nullifies as I move. I can't breathe for a little while after standing up and  for minutes after I can only take shallow ones. I can't lift anything, not even with me left arm. At least nothing heavier than a box of milk. I can't help my wife with the chores around the house. It's really sad to see her trying to do everything but I have to keep my healing in front of me. When I sit I try to sit there for a long time as it's painful getting up from the couch. I must use my legs to push myself up. My right arm as well as my right side of my body feels like I just had a stroke. I'm unable to grip anything and because the broken shoulder I have almost zero range of motion laterally and I can only lift my arm forward about 30%. It's more than nothing at least. When am I going to heal? The bones will take, best case scenario, 8 weeks. Ribs and sternum maybe even longer as the scar tissue can very easily break apart by an accidental cough, sneeze, laugh or a "bad" movement. That means that for at least 8 weeks I'm unable to do what I'm supposed to do, instructing the fitness, bootcamp and spin classes. I will be just a half man at work, likely sitting in my office while some one else does why I'm hired. My cross country team just ran it's first race of the season. I couldn't be there with them to help them as one of the side effect's of the painkiller is the extreme nausea  it cause when I'm in a car. Even a short drive is like a hell. I'm likely half a year from the time when I can return to regular training sessions. This is only my prediction and I can only see that time frame go up. My plans for this year may have been crushed but in the long run it just made me stronger. I will come back and now I want to reach my goals even more. No one can tell me I can't and no one will can stop me from getting what I deserve. 

Life.

First of all let me thank all of you for thinking of me, sending strength and energy my way. I would like to say special thank you to my family in Hungary and in the US as well. I believe its more difficult for my mom and family to hear and on rare occasions to see what I am going through. As much as they would like to help me get through the days circa 5000 miles difference prevents that from happening.
I spent the first 2 days in the hospital. I would like to thank the nurses who helped me get through the initial days. Marla, Julie & Deb, thank you. It was good to finally come home though because I didn't get much sleep there. Not that I got much more the first night at home either. Sleeping horizontally in the bed was OK but getting out was a nightmare. We also missed a painkiller that resulted in a really bad chest and back pain. We learned from it and since then no 4 hour goes by without taking a pill. We also stacked about 6 pillows behind my back and I have been sleeping in a semi-sitting position since Tuesday night. Regardless I wake every morning with stiff body and it takes a good hour until I can walk more freely. Multiple time a day we need to replace the bandages on the road rash and put antibiotic cream over it to prevent infections. No fun. Shower is only allowed 2 times a week. I do brush my teeth frequently though :)
My right arm is useless and breathing or caughing cause some serious pain.
When am I going to heal? I have no clue. As for now it very much seems that I have only learned how to cope with the pain better.
Without Anna's daily care it would be a lot worse. She supports me in everything and probably life won't be enough to thank her for all her help.

I was hit by a vehicle on Saturday. Below are some images taken after the accident. Story to follow later.
A KQCD interview can be see when you click the link below
KQCD interview

This race was sort of a last minute add to my racing schedule. I caught a facebook message where an already registered individual was ready to transfer her spot. I looked at the social site in the right time and made a decision right away. Arranged everything two weeks' in advance during the XTERRA Iron Creek event in Spearfish, SD. 
Was I ready for a 50 mile mountain bike race with elevation over 6000 feet? Not really.. But is it a good workout preparing for the toughest race of the year? You bet it is!
Anna and I drove down a day before. Oh yea, Bundi tagged along in the back of the Prius as well. We camped out at the city campground that was just about overflowing with campers. It was a really clean place though and race's vibe was in the air. There was bikers everywhere, testing their rides, pre-riding part of the course. Have I told you how much fun it is to sleep in the same tent with Bundi? She was so creeped out about everything that I bet she didn't sleep a bit. For every little noise, light she got up and looked out through the window. Good times. 
There was some 600 riders from across the US. There was many professionals both in the geared and single geared division. I started with the first wave right at 7am. I planned to get back to Spearfish by 11am, to break 4 hours for the 50 mile race. I guess it was a  bold hope/prediction. 
Right after the start before we could have even broke into groups the start had started. That climb nicely scattered the wave apart and into smaller groups. After a few miles of hard riding with heart rates up in the 160-170s I decided to take it back a notch so I had a chance to get through the race. Some steep uphills also included technical sections over rocks and as I have never ridden the course before they came as a surprise and rather slowed me down. From that on I really played safe. Although I never crashed I still had a few sections where I could have. I managed to maintain a good pace and the 600 calories I ingested was about just enough to prevent me from bonking. I suppose I could have easily finished farther back and honestly it was just luck that I ate as much as I did. I noticed that I was much slower over the technical and downhill sections while I made up ground uphill and on the flats. The full suspension Specialized Epic Comp Carbon worked smoothly and got me through this race without a trouble.
I ended up finishing 38th in the geared division and 42nd overall. It's not too bad considering I have never biked this much in a race and the course was everything but familiar. I also used this race as a workout and so without hesitation I say I could have gone a good 10 minutes faster even.
Next up: XTERRA USA Championships in Ogden, Utah on September 21, 2013. 

Overall RESULTS 
Age Group RESULTS