At A Loose End

I find myself in an unusual situation this week. On Saturday, Paul and I set off at 11am in the bright sunshine. We had visions of a 40 mile cycle ride with several stops for a refreshing beer in sunny beer gardens. Just as that first stop was seeming likely, after about 17 miles, we came upon a ford over the road, near Eastnor. Now, I usually assess the risk of falling in that ford as too high and walk over the footbridge alongside it, pushing my bike and ignoring the unspoken words "What a wuss!" from my beloved. On Saturday, however, approaching the ford from the opposite direction to usual, I assessed it differently. "No problem," I thought.

As I exited said ford at 10.6mph the wheels of my bike disappeared from under me, depositing me neatly on my head. It seems I lay there for a while (hubby had plenty of time to snap a quick photo!) in the water and slippery green weed. I spent a long while curled up in a gateway clutching my head, but the onslaught of flies trying to investigate the green weed covering me roused me. There was a memorable few minutes rampaging around the road, shouting at my husband that he should have called an ambulance. I do remember that, but little else. Oh, at some point I had the presence of mind to stop my Garmin and save my ride to Strava - I think only death would prevent a cyclist from doing that!

I was taken to hospital, thanks Craig, and a scan thankfully revealed no damage to my skull or brain. Just concussion.

So, unable to go to work and with strict instructions to rest, avoid screen time (that's going well, clearly, as I'm writing this on my phone...) and excessive movement, I find myself with the usual mountain of stuff to do and I'm not allowed to do it! The sun is shining, the weather perfect for cycling, but won't be able to do that for a while. Probably be raining by then... My helmet is broken (I shall be forever grateful to that helmet for the good job it did), and I cannot touch my head even to wash my hair properly as its too sore so couldn't put one on anyway. And believe me, I shan't ride without one again, even it its only to the shop... I've tried playing guitar and will persevere daily, but my concentration is impaired and my right arm sore and stiff, so it is pretty unsatisfactory. 

I'm at a loss. It seems that the art of just sitting has been lost to me, and I expect to be constantly occupied and entertained, even on a sunny June day. I have reports to write, something I usually find any excuse not to do, but I really wish I could do them right now! The computer screen hurts my eyes, however, and makes my headache worse. Probably won't even be able to go to yoga this week.

Right, can't look at this screen any more, I'm going to see if any tayberries are ready to pick in the garden. Wonder how long I can make that activity last for....