Not Too Broken

The X-Rays on Tuesday didn't show any obvious fractures, and it appears that the main issue isn't a broken scaphoid but instead an old and jacked-up Carpometacarpal Joint at the base of my thumb. This was both good and bad news, I guess. On the plus side, no bones appear to have been broken so there is no hand surgery in my immediate future.  On the minus side, it still hurts and serves as a constant reminder that I'm just that much older and arthritic, and the only cure will be to get younger. I went home (well, actually back to the office) with a  one-size-fits-all brace that comes almost all the way up to my elbow, to maybe give the joint(s) a little rest so they can heal faster, and the usual "ice and analgesics" advice. Wednesday morning I went out early and alone, wearing the brace, basically to see if I could actually ride a bike while wearing it. It was tolerable, and certainly did help to minimize the discomfort when riding over bumps in the road, but it was by no means comfortable and made it pretty difficult to do any effective braking with my left hand. So this morning I put two riding gloves on that hand and went out to meet the group.  It had all felt a lot better by yesterday evening, but in the morning I was still having trouble finding a comfortable place to hold the handlebar.  I quickly decided that I'd be spending the morning ride at the very, very back just to be on the safe side.  Fortunately, the group was going pretty easy and there was practically no wind to deal with. I took a few photos of the sunrise when we turned around out at Williams Blvd., but the camera was apparently not able to focus in the dim light. Suffice it to say the sunrise was pretty nice this morning.

The other day Danielle go a new 2-year brake tag (aka Inspection Sticker for those from outside New Orleans) and I was surprised to find that the entire design had been changed.  I mean, the New Orleans brake tag design had not significantly changed since at least 1969. Even more surprising, on the back of the sticker, facing the driver, was a "Share the Road" reminder.  Amazing.

So anyway, I guess I'll just take naproxen and wear the brace when it's feasible for a week or to and hope the hand and wrist calm back down to normal, whatever that is. It shouldn't keep me off the bike, but it's pretty likely to keep me well away from the front and may very well get me dropped now and then when I don't want to stand up to close a gap or go barreling through a bumpy section of road. Since I don't have any racing any time soon, that won't really be an issue.