Unavoidable Bicycle Badger Collision

[I893469365902345609348566]

There is some good news: I've dragged my bike upstairs to my workshoppy area, and will soon wire the new 20W light to the battery. Somehow, I managed to heav it up one flight one-handed, but it was very tricky. Will report on it's brightness, or lack thereof, soon.

 

[guerney]

There is some good news: I've dragged my bike upstairs to my workshoppy area, and will soon wire the new 20W light to the battery. Somehow, I managed to heav it up one flight one-handed, but it was very tricky. Will report on it's brightness, or lack thereof, soon.


View attachment 45263

Mine arrived today. Now I'm (literally) sorely tempted to risk unsettling my wrist by dragging my bike up stairs to install it. 20W should be pretty bright. 1800LM? We shall see. I'll restrain myself for a time.



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A couple of these might help run the battery down, when needed.

That one I ordered finally arrived on Friday, and I've just switched it on - it's much brighter than my 1.5W lights, and has an utterly terrifying flashing mode! It's 3 modes are: Full, dim, and mad flashing - it switches modes when you turn on and off rapidly. Like all the bike lights I've tried, the light is mostly concentrated in the middle. But it is bright, measuring about 4000 lux at 2m away using the luxmeter on my phone. I don' think it's 1800LM. The light's casing gets hot. I'll link a video of it in use sometime.

 

[guerney]

The winter sun (it's sunny) outside today is also about 4000 lux. I just wish the light spread was wider.

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

I've managed to connect it. It's certainly bright. For comparison, here it is next to a 1.5W light. Despite the way it looks, the 1.5W next to it is switched on. I'll go for a night ride when the wrist swelling and pain reduces in a week or three. The physio said yesterday I'd damage nerves and tendons cycling, he's unhappy with the poor range of movement which my wrist has at present. Said to soak in warm water first, do exercises as shown, then apply ice. Repeat a few times a day. Despite the pain, if I don't attempt to regain as much movement as possible now, he said it might not be as possible later.

The 20w light's fast flashing mode would cause accidents. It's running down my bike battery quite well. Had to charge it up again to run it down again.

The aluminium casing gets very hot, which will come in handy as a hand warmer. Too hot to the touch without gloves.

 

[Andy1865]

Broke my wrist in two places, plus dislocated it to such an extent that it was hanging on by a thread. In hospital since Thursday - plate fitted, but only after two very painful attempts to put the wrist back in place (under local anaesthetic) - but because the "Ball" joint had broken, it kept popping out. Then I had agonising abdominal post plate fitting surgery pain, due to blood clot. I can't avoid badgers which shoot straight out of undergrowth and directly in front of my bike wheel. Saved by helmet. BEWARE BADGERS! Ultrasonic device needed for bike!

I winced at your video. Hope your on the mend now

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

I winced at your video. Hope your on the mend now

I'm so tempted to go for a bike ride! The swelling has reduced considerably since I've started intensively doing the phyiotherapy exercises. I think the exercises must be accelerating healing. Much dead skin is peeling off, now that inflammation is finally reducing. Still not a lot of movement, but it isn't like block of wood anymore. "No Pain No Gain" seems to apply, when attempting to regain movement. In contrast, stretching the muscles and tendons now produces "Good" pain. I will ride again!

 

[matthewslack]

I'm so tempted to go for a bike ride! The swelling has reduced considerably since I've started intensively doing the phyiotherapy exercises. I think the exercises must be accelerating healing. Much dead skin is peeling off, now that inflammation is finally reducing. Still not a lot of movement, but it isn't like block of wood anymore. "No Pain No Gain" seems to apply, when attempting to regain movement. In contrast, stretching the muscles and tendons now produces "Good" pain. I will ride again!

I had 30 degrees backward movement in a wrist immediately after it mended, which gradually increased with use and exercise. It now manages 60 degrees just by it's own muscles, and gently pushed by the other hand can be bent to just over 90. The unbroken one goes to 120. And no lasting pain.

It will get better. Exercise and patience!

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

I had 30 degrees backward movement in a wrist immediately after it mended, which gradually increased with use and exercise. It now manages 60 degrees just by it's own muscles, and gently pushed by the other hand can be bent to just over 90. The unbroken one goes to 120. And no lasting pain.

It will get better. Exercise and patience!

Did you break your wrist cycling? How did it happen? Was it a badger? That's you, me, Jodel and nealh with broken or fractured wrists so far (I think). I can now manage about 30 degrees bent back, but the Consultant told me to avoid that stretch. I did wonder if it was because the screws might pull out of rawlplugs in bone or something, but I now think it might because they did a nerve release, similar to the sort of thing they do for carpal tunnel (one of the Surgeons said they might, pre-op). Bending it forwards, I can now manage about 20 degrees. I can manage about 20 degrees tilt to the left, and about 10 degrees to the right. Six tubes of ibuprofen gel have arrived - the advantage with ebay is that you can buy more than two tubes at a time. I'll be covering my wrist with ibuprofen gel and covering that with cling film for several hours of direct absorbtion for a few hours, later on after exercising. That really reduces inflammation a lot! Not sure if it'll overdose the area, but that method works better to reduce swelling than ibuprofen pills or cold packs (frozen peas). I haven't tried comfrey yet.

The physio said that it's far better to do much stretching now, becausein his experience, it's a lot harder to achieve greater flexibility later.

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[matthewslack]

Did you break your wrist cycling? Was it a badger?

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Twice, cycling, once other!

The bad one was very low speed, mountain biking up very steep narrow rocky gully with banks both sides, I was changing down to granny ring and it didn't shift before I lost all speed and gently fell sideways, reached arm out to support myself in a zero mph fall, hand landed on the bank, not flat ground, bent back too far...snap!

Now nearly 20 years later, the only remaining sign of it is the slight reduction in movement, and my refusal to do handstands!

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

Twice, cycling, once other!

The bad one was very low speed, mountain biking up very steep narrow rocky gully with banks both sides, I was changing down to granny ring and it didn't shift before I lost all speed and gently fell sideways, reached arm out to support myself in a zero mph fall, hand landed on the bank, not flat ground, bent back too far...snap!

Now nearly 20 years later, the only remaining sign of it is the slight reduction in movement, and my refusal to do handstands!

Ouch! Can you do pressups? Did you have a plate installed? One of the surgeons said that wrists are very weak, but it'll be much stronger when reinforced with a plate. I'd heard varying reports about plates, someone I know has one in his foot and can only walk about a mile before agonising pain. The ex-skateboarder X-ray technician with a plate in his foot only notices it in the cold, but it isn't painful. One guy on the ward had one in his wrist for over 40 years (broke catching a cricket ball at school), said he wasn't bothered by it at all, but then went on to say he'd had cancer - nickel was and still might be used in the steel alloys used in surgical steel implants, which is what I worry about. I won't know what metal plate was used, whether titanium or steel, until I obtain my medical records - the Consultant didn't know! I'll probably make all efforts to get it removed, whatever the metal. But that would mean more risk and having to go through all this again. Titanium implants can last about 20 years. I don't fancy a removal in 20 years, when it'll be far harder to heal...

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

On the bright side, if it is a steel implant, I can stick a neodymium magnet to it to hold screws when doing repairs

(if it doesn't pull screws out)

 

[Nealh]

My wrist has the same degree of movement as my good one, the only noticeable difference to feel it the lump where the offset bone break has fused/repaired.
After the cast came off (10 weeks) I had some hospital physio which was some hand and wrist manipulations and a once weekly soak in a hot wax vat.

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

My bike is nearly ready for the road - I think there is a slight buckle in the front wheel, which I'll have to sort out, I've replaced the smashed light and replaced it with a terrifying very bright one. The front mudguard was bent and rubbing on the front wheel, now straightened. No cracks to the aluminium frame, forks are straight I think. New Clark's tri-compound brake pads fitted (not sure how much Clark's wear out rims). Now all I've got to do is true the front wheel, adjust the front brakes again, heave the bike downstairs and go for a ride, in a week or three.

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

My wrist has the same degree of movement as my good one, the only noticeable difference to feel it the lump where the offset bone break has fused/repaired.
After the cast came off (10 weeks) I had some hospital physio which was some hand and wrist manipulations and a once weekly soak in a hot wax vat.

Sounds like your wrist has healed very well, apart from the lump - do you have to use a larger watch strap? I've never heard of a hot wax vat, was that done in hospital or do you use beeswax from your bees? I could try melting some candles... or an infrared light (physio said to avoid infrared lights, but I can't think why).

 

[Nealh]

Hot wax treatment was NHS in the Hosp, a vat of beeswax and the whole lower arm (elbow to finger tips) placed in said vat.
I did have another bit of damage I forgot about, the xray showed up a shard of bone was also chipped off the elbow at the time. Nothing was done so somewhere it is still there.

 

[matthewslack]

Ouch! Can you do pressups? Did you have a plate installed? One of the surgeons said that wrists are very weak, but it'll be much stronger when reinforced with a plate. I'd heard varying reports about plates, someone I know has one in his foot and can only walk about a mile before agonising pain. The ex-skateboarder X-ray technician with a plate in his foot only notices it in the cold, but it isn't painful. One guy on the ward had one in his wrist for over 40 years (broke catching a cricket ball at school), said he wasn't bothered by it at all, but then went on to say he'd had cancer - nickel was and still might be used in the steel alloys used in surgical steel implants, which is what I worry about. I won't know what metal plate was used, whether titanium or steel, until I obtain my medical records - the Consultant didn't know! I'll probably make all efforts to get it removed, whatever the metal. But that would mean more risk and having to go through all this again. Titanium implants can last about 20 years. I don't fancy a removal in 20 years, when it'll be far harder to heal...

I was never much interested in press ups! More of a mountain goat than a gym king!

No plate, it actually swung back into place as I got up, and so it was a conventional plaster and wait process. It was many months for the range of movement to come back. I was worried about not getting 90 degrees and being very vulnerable to a repeat.

My present issue is arthritic shoulders, which don't like too much load through them, so I have to ride quite upright. If - ha! - when that gets unbearable I'll be looking for a recumbent trike. But I really enjoy the normal riding position and the feel of a normal bike, so no rush for that.

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

A brighter light wouldn't have stopped the badger - they get startled and run when they see bright lights of vehicles... most wild creatures do. A lot of badgers get killed by cars, which have very bright headlights. I wanted a brighter headlight, to make myself more visible on the road.

It's been 11 weeks and a couple of days since the badger collision, and I was supposed to wait 12 weeks till I got on the bike... but three days ago I ended up with sciatica - all I did was stoop to plug in an electric toothbrush! Obviously, I haven't been getting enough exercise, with all of this sitting around. After applying icepacks, taking ibuprofen and doing physio exercises... I worked up the nerve to get back on the bike and test my new 20W @36v "1800LM" bike light, which is soldered to my ebike battery.... and I startled another wild animal! It was only a bird this time, which moved faster than the badger. I've repeated it's startled flight at the beginning of the video, which shows the brightness of this headlight. I really am going to have to install a 12V ultrasonic wildlife deterrent! The car to the right at about 48 seconds into the video, is proof that this light makes me more visible at night - he waited there for ages for me to approach and pass, must have mistaken me for a motorbike. My wrist hurt a lot during the ride, I still can't grip the handle with more than index finger and thumb, but I'm working on it. The video brightness is unmodified, the footage is pretty much as-is from the camera, minus quality due to Youtube's conversion process. It's bright enough for me, and as much load I'd want to add to the battery. Any brighter, or adding more of the same lights, might impact range too much. The current draw is listed as 0.5A, but I haven't measured it myself. The spread of the light is uneven - brighter in the middle. The two slightly bright spots within the wide beam, are two Junstar 1.5W headlights (one on the handlebar, one in the fork).

By the way, silk socks worn over wood socks, is keeping my feet much warmer than wool socks alone, the combination being more windproof.

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

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[cyclebuddy]

Is this a Badger?... It's definitely not a cow!

 

[I893469365902345609348566]

Is this a Badger?... It's definitely not a cow!

No serious injuries? They're young and rubber boned? Maybe I should hang up my pedals. I'm doing as the physio recommended but there's still not a lot of wrist movement, trying applying heat using hot water bottles, stretching, then applying ice. I didn't gain a single extra degree of movement from three weeks ago, according to the physio's protractor. BEWARE OF BADGERS!!