first crash

One thing I didn't mention yesterday is that I had my first sled-flip of the season. We were clicking along fast in the first mile, I was messing with the still-unresolved snow-hook placement issue, the sled hit a rut and suddenly I was in the air with one hand on the handlebar and the rest of me strung out in what I'm sure was a graceful bundle behind the sled. The next instant, I was snow-plowing with my face and body on the frozen ground, screaming for the dogs to stop. The did, and quickly for a team fresh out of the gate.

I shook as much snow as I could out from under my shirt, and we were off again. I didn't think much of it until I woke up this morning just a touch sore. As the day has worn on, my right leg & hip, which took most of the fall and subsequent drag, have stiffened up alarmingly. I am now in bed with a heat pack and a max-dose of Vitamin-I. Hopefully that and some stretching will loosen things up. If not, there may be an emergency trip to the massage-witch on Gilmore Trail in my future. That woman is a miracle worker, and has fixed me after bad falls before. She works out of a spectacular space she's created in the back of her garage, with views of the vast wilderness to the west of town (and a lot of birdfeeders.) She is a retired nurse with a marked shuffle, a wandering eye and more than a knack for finding where your body's protective mechanisms are over-reacting. Last time, after a hip injury from a skijoring accident with Pico left me hardly able to stand up, she put a little pressure on a spot on my hip, which was in agony. There was a sudden release, a shot of heat, and that was it. No more pain, no more stiffness. As I left, she gave me a pair of tickets to see Ira Glass' live show the next weekend (she'd had to change her plans & couldn't attend.)

That show now ranks as the best live performance I've ever been to.