Pesky thumbs and FOMO

Why is it that when everything is perfect something has to go wrong?!

Since our last blog we had been out every day; the weather was still fantastic, our skills and confidence were improving, we'd been exploring new areas and trails, and even done some races. Every thursday evening there is a cross-country "Toonie" race held on local bits of trail, with food and drink provided at the end, all for $2 (Canadians call a $2 coin a toonie). The races are attended by about 200 people and are hard work but brilliant fun! We did our first one last week and were keen for more!

We decided that after Monday we would take Tuesday as a rest day and go swimming in the lake and just generally chill out a bit. As had become the norm, I headed to women's night on Monday evening and our group and guide set off with the objective of pushing ourselves on some more difficult sections of trail with bigger drops, jumps and features, that we hadn't been confident enough to ride on our own. The evening was going great and was one of those days where everything feels brilliant. I was jumping and landing perfectly on some pretty big jumps, I'd just ridden a really steep rock roll that I'd previously thought looked impossible, and even jumped on and off a shipping container........And then I slid off my bike on an easy bit of the trail.
It was fairly unspectacular as I somehow just locked my back wheel up and it slowly slid underneath me. When I slid to a halt, I picked myself and my bike up and examined the slightly scuffed elbow pad I was wearing, thinking "oh well, glad they've finally been put to use!". And then I looked at my left hand (I'd fallen to the right) and something wasn't right......my thumb was definitely not where it was supposed to be! It must have somehow been pushed back against my handlebar. It was slightly bizarre to be looking at it and realising it was most definitely dislocated, but feeling absolutely no pain....in fact the rest of the group seemed to be feeling worse from looking at it than I did. (In a slightly strange physiotherapist kind of way it was actually pretty cool and anatomically interesting, but I didn't admit that to anyone at the time for fear of seeming like a weirdo!!) So after taking my glove off, I pulled the joint up and across to relocate it (still no pain.....no idea why not?!Lots of crunching though!) and then it popped straight out again...pretty gross. The guide who was with us looked a bit unsure what to do, so I suggested someone get the first aid kit out of my bag and help me strap it up so i could ride down (we were near the top of the mountain).
With it tightly bandaged I rolled down the hill slowly on the easiest bit of track possible, and thankfully bumped into Gareth at the bottom, and a first aid patroller. It was decided best to get straight to the hospital to get it looked at. My pleas to wait an hour to see whether I had won anything in the prize draw were ignored :o( so I'll never know whether I won some more nice expensive bits of kit.
Aside from the fact that it costs you $550 as soon as you walk through the door, Canadian hospitals are brilliant. In the space of 45 minutes I had filled in lots of forms, been assessed ($150), x-rayed 3 times ($100 each), splinted, given the verdict, and sent home! At least we are getting the most out of the insurance.
The verdict was a dislocated Left thumb, with a slight avulsion fracture (bit of bone fragment pulled off) of the trapezium......apparently quite a rare injury.......just my luck :o(

As Whistler only has an A&E dept, the next day involved a 5 am start and a trip to Vancouver on the bus to the hospital there (again we were in and out with no queueing....amazing!). The pesky thumb needs a wire in it for a few weeks to get it healing quicker (especially as its a fairly important part of my body in terms of work, and a thumb that keeps dislocating while working on a patient is probably not that great!) so it'll be back again in a few days time to get that put in. The rest of the day was spent exploring Vancouver and being proper tourists! We strolled around Chinatown and ate some weird but tasty steamed pork buns (knew it was a good place to eat as it was full of Chinese people....the best reccomendation for eating foreign food anywhere!) and headed through Stanley Park to the Aquarium (fantastic! Pictures to follow when uploaded).

So since then I've resigned myself to the fact I'll be off the bike for a while. The first day or two I was struck with several attacks of FOMO syndrome (fear of missing out) after thinking of all the trails I still want to ride that will have to now wait, and all the fun that Gareth will still be having without me :o(
But then I realised that actually there is quite a lot of stuff to do around Whistler that doesn't involve riding a bike, and of all the places to be injured, it's got to be one of the best in the world!
There are hundreds of amazing hiking/running trails up in the high alpine meadows and on the mountain, and I will probably be able to see even more bears and wildlife than when whizzing past on a bike.

Friendly neighbourhood bear!

It sucks to be injured and especially as it was just an unlucky fall, but when you see all the people in Whistler who have a lot worse injuries then actually a dislocated thumb isn't that bad and won't take that long to heal, and doesn't stop me doing lots of other fun outdoor mountain activities.......in fact, the sun is shining right now, better dig out those running shoes and get out! See ya!