According to Katherine: Day 42 Recap

Alternate post title: Thursday's Trauma. 

Coming off yesterday's 92.6-mile ride and the fun WOCN dinner in Hammond, it seemed like a great day to SAG. I let Marge begin cycling in the cool of the morning.

I was just finishing doling out water and replenishing snacks to most of the cyclists at mile 20 when a utility van pulled over to say two of our cyclists were down "back aways" because a dog had come out after them. He told me they had been able to get up and ride but they would be slow coming in. All the cyclists hustled out of the way and I did a U-turn to go back and find them.

We met back at mile 17, not too far from where their falls occurred. Two other riders had come upon the scene, and were riding with them. Nancy had just a little road rash on her right elbow and a sore hip. She was ashen. Poor Lise was all banged up with partial and full thickness skin loss on her elbow, lateral knee area, upper leg and lateral malleolus. She said she had really banged her head. Thankfully, they both had good helmets. Lise was a bit dazed. She's our physician, and all she wanted was some Neosporin. No help from me!

We laid her out in a lovely driveway, put someone's jacket under her head, elevated her leg, iced her knee, and called our guides to report the incident. We were instructed to stay put until they came to assess the situation. Lise's head began to clear and she became more amenable to care for her wounds. I opened the bag Janet Davis had brought us in Navasota and found the perfect products. Of course, we carry a well-stocked First Aid kit in the SAG Wagon, too. It was surely by divine appointment that I was the SAG driver for the morning. WOC skills and dressings were crucial.

Lise receiving medical attention after the dog attack.

By the time the guides arrived, Lise was up and demonstrating that her mentation and balance were restored and she was ready to ride. Her helmet had been cracked so Carol, the guide, gave her hers to finish the day. I drove on about 12 miles and found Marge. We agreed we should wait there to be certain Lise and Nancy were alright. Victoria was riding with them.

Lise demonstrates that she has good balance and is ready to ride.

I got my bike down and rode into Bogalusa. Marge kept a watchful eye from the SAG Wagon as the three made their way to the motel. She even used loud horn intimidation on another four dogs who were intent on chasing the riders. In Louisiana and Mississippi folks don't like to keep their canines restrained by fences or chains!

I realized, as I was riding along, that all the while I had been conversing with the lovely Southern lady about my age, Mrs. Peggy Forest, who had come out to check on the commotion in her driveway, that I was wearing my Anti Monkey Butt Powder hat with the picture of the monkey with a very red butt. I felt like I should ride all the way back and explain in case she had been offended!

After we showered and redressed Lise's wounds, I drove Nancy and Lise to Walmart* to buy new helmets. We discovered at the end of the ride that Nancy's had taken a bigger lick than she realized. It had a hole in it and a big crack. We found snazzy-looking certified helmets for each in the colors they prefer.

We came back for spaghetti, Caesar salad, pesto bread and watermelon for dinner. There was a gloppy chocolate cake for dessert, which I eschewed. I was more than ready to go to sleep at the end of that day.

We have just realized the need to re-calculate our days ahead. We only have two more weeks to ride. We had been including the arriving and departing day like WomanTours does.

2,361 miles behind us. 739 to pedal. Only 14 days to raise $16,000 dollars and get to St. Augustine.

*As we've traveled across the country we've seen Wal-Mart, Wal Mart with their snappy logo between the two words, and Walmart as one word. As long as they have ibuprofen and they're within walking or cycling distance, we don't care how they spell their name!

Dr. Jeter Day 42 on Polyvore.com