Southern Crescent Cycling Club Ride

Monday's Southern Crescent Cycling club ride lead to an event filled evening.  Thirty riders showed up at Epic Bikes for the 6:15pm ride.  We separated into 3 groups; A, B, and newbie.  Carlos, Junior, and Neil C. were groups leaders, respectively.

The pre-ride briefing

Sixteen of us rode with the A group.  At the 8 mile point 2 riders in our group got flat tires.  Fifteen minutes later we were back on the road.  At some point we went from 16 riders down to 10 riders.  Several of the missing were lost when one of our riders had a chain problem!  Our group eventually reconvened at the shop.  Some arriving via pickup.  That's when we learned that one of the B group riders had a fall and an apparent concussion.  With that comes 2 questions; what is a concussion and what is the treatment?

What is a concussion?  Basically, it's a trauma to the brain.  To find out more about the causes and symptoms follow this link.   

What is the treat for a concussion? 

Call 911 if: The person keeps vomiting, has unequal pupils or loss of vision, has weakness or numbness on one side of the body, is very confused or unable to wake up, has a seizure, or has persistent bleeding from a scalp injury after 5-10 minutes of firm pressure.

1. Prevent Swelling and Further Injury  - Stop activity and rest.  Apply ice.
2. Treat Symptoms - Take over-the-counter acetaminophen (Tylenol). Aspirin or ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin) taken right after an injury may make bruising worse.
3. Watch Symptoms -Monitor the person for 24 hours. Watch for symptoms.
4. When to Call a Doctor - Loss of consciousness, changes in vision, headache that lasts or gets worse, any vomiting after a head injury, increased drowsiness or dizziness, lasting memory loss, neck pain or stiffness after a fall.
5. Follow Up - Symptoms should get better in 7 to 10 days.  Take pain medication as directed.  Talk to your health care provider about when it is safe to return to sports and/or work.  Rest as much as possible as long as any symptoms of the head injury last.

To find out learn about how to treat a concussion follow this link.

This Garmin 310XT didn't fair so well in the fall 

This helmet is missing a chunk of foam 

After the ride, Junior, Carlos, Greg and I ran a few miles around the shop.  At that point the it was dark so the parking lot lights were put to good use.

Wishes for a speedy recovery to my injured fellow cyclist!