There were different trails we could ride on and some were more tricky than others. I had a great time but unfortunately, I went a bit too fast down one of the slopes and lost control of my bike as it took off over a mound (see below). I was thrown off my bike as it landed which was very, very painful - I had not experienced that much pain in a long time! Luckily, I was wearing my helmet because it actually cracked down the side from the impact of my fall but it stopped me from hurting my head.
top: the moment just as I was thrown off my bike
bottom: the moment after
I went to the hospital and had an ultrasound because I had a lot of pain in my stomach and the doctors were worried that I had damaged one of my internal organs. Ultrasounds show an image of your insides and are usually used to show babies inside their mother's stomach. I also had some X-rays on my left knee and left arm as they hurt so much I could barely move them!
The doctors found out that I had fractured my radius, which is one of the bones in your forearm and luckily, I only suffered from severe bruising on my knee and stomach. The fracture occurred when I put my arm down to try and break my fall when I fell off my bike.
My arm is now in a cast to allow the bone to heal, which should take about 6 weeks. It has been a painful experience but I am lucky because it could have been a lot worse! It seems injuries are quite common - I bumped into another guy who was staying at my hostel who had exactly the same injury from mountain biking as me:
It is very inconvenient having only one arm that I can use but at least it was my left arm- typing this blog post has taken ages with one hand! I am also annoyed because I am now on the South Island in a place called Queenstown and everywhere you go there are adverts for amazing activities like rafting, bungy jumping, sky diving, canyon swings etc. but I won't be able to do them until I have recovered :( Hopefully, as soon as I am better, I can book some cool things to do and show you some of videos!
