Homemade Energy Pacs and Hand Massacre (or, I AM a wimp)

Once again, yesterday started hopeful. My parents were taking the kids in the evening and I planned to ride gravel roads in the hills of Oceana County.

I've been working on making my own energy food, experimenting with sweet potatoes. I made a mixture of Sweet Potato, Quinoa, and Lentils lightly seasoned with Salt and Curry (I love curry!).

I've made the mixture before but I had not tried packaging it so that I could eat it while riding. I needed to come up with a way I could package and quickly consume the mix:

I took a "Snack" size zip loc bag and cut a piece about 1.5" wide.
Not pictured: Then used Scotch tape to seal the open edge.

Then I stuffed the baggy with my mixture and sealed the zip loc.
Voila! Homemade energy pac!

Once I had a couple of energy pacs made, it was time to change and load the car! I could feel the hills of Oceana trembling in anticipation of my arrival . . .

Lately I've been dealing with slow leaks in my tires. In my brilliance I thought I would put air in the tires before I left and then check them again after the drive to Oceana--just to make sure there's no leaks or issues pre-ride.

(give me a moment whilst I take a deep breathe . . . )

I'm really bad at putting air in my tires. I know, its a simple, simple thing but for some reason I always have issues with it. This time turned out to be disastrous.

After successfully putting air into the front tire, the air pump nozel-thingy was stuck on the tube stem-thingy. It would not come off. 

Apparently my strength training has been working. I used near-superhuman excessive force to remove the nozel and sent the back of my hand hard into the disc brake.

Dang. That hurt. It really, really hurt. Think, stubbing your toe really badly.

I shook my hand out a few times, looked fine to me and then moved on to the rear tire. Pain is temporary, that's what I told myself.

As I curled my fingers around the pump a gaping hole opened just below the middle knuckle on my right hand, and a pool of blood spilled out. I could see the inside of my hand.

I was hit with a wave of nausea. Fortunately my "survival instincts" kicked in. I keep clear athletic tape and gauze pad in my purse (not for emergencies but for poor fitting 'cute' shoes). I fumbled around with my left hand and managed to grab some tissues to slop away some of the blood before applying the gauze and then I wrapped half the roll of athletic tape around it—ensuring I would never have to see that hole in my hand again.

Now that I had the wound taken care of, I was feeling much better. Still in pain, but I can handle some pain. It was time to go ride. 

While loading my front wheel, I regrettably noticed something that made me dizzy:

Hand juice on my disc brake.

I could see exactly how deep into my hand the brake had cut. Obviously I knew it was deep and had hit bone, but seeing the brake . . .

Perhaps I should go see a doctor after all.

I detoured to the nearest Urgent Care center. I was pretty light-headed by the time I walked myself up to the sign-in counter. The receptionist noticed my hand, commented on how pale I looked.

Yeah. Is all I remember saying. 

A kind nurse quickly ushered me into a private room, laid me down, applied a cold compress to my forehead and brought me a nice cup of water. I can't remember the last time I was so well cared for. As nice as it was, I was trying to swallow back fear, knowing they were going to have to remove the crude bandage covering the hole. And I'd already heard the word "Tetanus" several times and knew I was in for a shot as well.

Once the doctor was finally able to remove the layers of athletic tape, she commented that the "puncture wound has stopped bleeding and is already sealing nicely." 

Huh? Not gushing blood? No bones? Wha?? I snuck a peek. 

Sure enough, where the gaping hole had been was now only a perfect red half moon. 

The doctor said: We'll just clean this up and apply a couple of steri-strips. After your tetanus shot you can be on your way!

Wow, did I feel like a wimp. 

That doesn't look so bad . . .

My homemade energy pacs made for a great post-urgent care center snack—much better than any Gu packet would have been.

Fortunately, I can still hold on to the grip of my bike and I was able to get in 25 miles with a couple of friends last night. However, I am discovering an entire list of things I cannot do: fold laundry, hold a cup of coffee, brush my teeth, twist on the top of a water bottle, empty the dishwasher . . .