By: An Jimenez
6am: Woke up to mosquitos and weird bird noises. Packed up the car, changed into biking clothes, snacked on some leftover pizza.
8am: Left Alta Mons Campground with enthusiasm and energy for the ridiculous uphill at the start of our day (thanks for the quad workout, Appalachian Mountains). We scaled over 1,000 feet in less than 7 miles. For you non-biker readers: this means extremely difficult morning.
10:30am: Was biking on Route 626 when I lost control of the bike's handle bars, fell off the bike in the middle of the road, and took a hard hit on my right ankle. A truck that was parked on the side of the road came to assist me as well as Matt and Delia who were right behind me. I don't remember exactly how I fell, just that I was lying facing up in the middle of the road looking up at the sky and thinking, "Oh no, what just happened."
11am: Picked up by Kate and Alex in the support van. Although I wasn't cut or bruised, my ankle was throbbing and swelling fast. We drove to the Carilion New River Valley Hospital in Radford, VA (thankfully it was close by). I was in the emergency room waiting area for less than 20 minutes before I was called in for x-rays. By now, my ankle was so swollen it looked like I had a tangerine implanted into my ligaments.
12:30am: Doctor said nothing is broken, just a really bad sprain. It will take several weeks to recover, and in terms of biking, I can't and shouldn't get on a bicycle for another month at least. The experience was incredibly overwhelming. They gave me crutches, a splint, and an ice pack and sent me on my way.
1:30pm: Stopped at Radford University to have lunch with Kate - the classic two slices of Dave's bread, a thick layer of guacamole, a slice of Muenster cheese, two slices of turkey, and a handful of BBQ chips. I called my parents to let them know what happened. We also got the message that Bethany, Lisa, and Alex needed a shuttle from their current location to our final destination because of heat and high mileage.
3pm: Arrived at the Elizabeth Brown Park to wait for the bikers to arrive. This was where I met Linda (the wonderful lady pictured below). She saw me on crutches and immediately asked what had happened. She listened to the day's crazy events and offered a hug, a large bag of ice, and a pint of chocolate ice cream (what more could one ask for in a moment like this?).
6pm: Checked into a motel nearby. Team prepared a lovely dinner of pasta + marinara sauce + parmesan cheese. Snacked on Milano cookies and Fritos. Alex did 100 pushups. Delia did our laundry. The team shared several laughs over more BBQ chips and artisanal motel tap water.
8pm: After discussing with my team members and parents, I decided to book a flight home to Dallas from North Carolina the next day.
As much as I really (really) want to continue the trip, I think it’s best for me to go home and recover properly and comfortably. When I am 100% better, I will rejoin the team at the closest big city. It almost feels like I'm giving up on something that I've worked hard for, but the trip is too physically demanding for me to recover on-the-go. It's a tough call to make, but I know this is what's best.
Readers: thanks for following along thus far. I'll be signing off on blog posts for now but will continue to maintain the website and Instagram (@mitspokes) until I rejoin the adventure. See you in a short matter of time (and continue to follow along on my team members' posts!).