[caption id="attachment_7830" align="alignleft" width="225" caption="A vineyard along the Strada del Vino"]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9160032.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7830 " title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9160032-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

Remember when I cryptically mentioned that I was still here but <strong><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/2011/09/29/yes-im-still-here/" target="_blank">SOMETHING happened in Italia</a></strong> that prevented me from updating the blog in my usual, almost every day fashion?  I promised a legit excuse?

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On the morning of Day 356, I hit my stride.  It was my 4th day on the bike, and my cycling immersion training in Tuscany was paying off.  Instead of being the weakest link at the back of the pack, I led at the front!  I am not sure if my tour group was humoring me, or if I was genuinely racing like the wind, but whatever the case, I felt AMAZING!  Lance Armstrong, kiss my bike shorts!

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We were cycling along the Strada del Vino, a picturesque cypress-lined street famous for its numerous vineyards.  Many of the vineyards of the Super Tuscan wines are located along this street.  The ride was precisely as the itinerary described:  "relaxing".

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A group of racing cyclists whizzed by us.  Fabio 1 charged ahead to join them.  I <em>attempted</em> to join them as my tour group cheered me on from behind, but no way, no how.  The racers were probably clocking 35 mph, maybe more.

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I slowed down to my original pace and soaked in the perfection of this morning.

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Well...it was ALMOST perfection.  90 degrees is a bit warm, even on a tree-shaded street.  Feeling thirsty, I reached for my water bottle and...

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<span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: large;"><strong>Crash!</strong></span>

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<span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: large;"><strong>Boom!</strong></span>

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<span style="color: #ff0000; font-size: large;"><strong>Splat!</strong></span>

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I can't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure that I flew diagonally over the handle bars.  I am also unaware of what I hit first, my head or my shoulder.  I do remember the tremendous THUD as my head pounded the pavement.

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[caption id="attachment_7826" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Luckily, I cracked my helmet and not my head. Boys and Girls, ALWAYS wear your helmet. This has been a Public Service Announcement from Late Bloomer."]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170051.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7826" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170051-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>[/caption]

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I remained conscious as the tour group approached from behind shouting, "Don't move!  Don't move!"  I was too dazed to move.

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As fate would have it, one of the members of our group was a trauma nurse.  She quickly examined me and determined that I could get up and walk to the side of the road.  This was a quiet street, but yes, we did share the road with cars.

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Concerned tour group members threw questions at me.

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"Are you nauseous?"

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"Are you dizzy?"

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"Do you feel like you are going to pass out?"

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Mia cugina, the mother of a lacrosse player, checked my pupils.  She announced to the others, "They are same size -- not dilated!"

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I was coherent, so I knew exactly what they thinking.  "Does she have a concussion???"

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SuperChuck, one of the madmen uber-fit cyclists, rushed off to find Fabio 1 who was still in the midst of Testosterone Central.

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Fabio 1 arrived at the scene and asked, "Are you nauseous?  Dizzy?  Feel like you're going to pass out?"

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"No, I don't feel any of those things.  I just feel like my head is being squeezed on either side."

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Fabio 1 then enquired, "Do you want to go to the hospital?  I have to ask.  It's the American way."

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"HELL NO!!!!  I am not going to the hospital."

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"Sorry.  I had to ask.  It's the American way."

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I laughed.

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Until Fabio 2 showed up in the van with first aid supplies.  He sprayed the road rash on my shoulder with disinfectant and liquid bandage.  It burned like crazy.

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[caption id="attachment_7827" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Owie."]<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170049.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-7827" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170049-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>[/caption]

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The Fabios then announced that I couldn't ride that day since I hit my head.  I choked back tears at that point.  I was bummed and thoroughly disappointed with myself.  <em>Why</em> had I chosen to grab the water bottle with my dominant, right-hand this time?  I was experimenting to see if this move made balancing easier.  WHY????

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Oh, well.  I suppose there are worse fates in life than riding around in a van with the Italian version of Matthew McConaughey.

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There was also The Best Lunch of My Life which included The Best Soup of My Life at the Fonte di Foiano Olive Oil Mill.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170046.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7818" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170046-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170045.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7819" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170045-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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If this wasn't fabulous enough, there was wine, sunset, and spontaneous dancing to live music on the terrace overlooking the ocean at sunset.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170064.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7823" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170064-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a><a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170059.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7825" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170059-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

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And then that night our group helped cook and partake in one of The Most Memorable Meals of My life at a 500 year-old Tuscan farmhouse.

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<a href="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170086.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-7820" title="OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA" src="http://www.diaryofalatebloomer.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/P9170086-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /></a>

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I almost forgot that my head hurt.  Wine and rich life experiences have wonderful numbing powers.

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Speaking of forgetting . . .

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My tour group peeps unanimously agreed that day that I DID NOT have a concussion.  No one was worried.  <em>Whew!  </em>

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As the days passed, the headache "squeeze" did not disappear.  Colleagues at work were worried.

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I was officially worried when every time I sat down to write my blog posts  . . . nothing.  I tried not to panic.  I wondered when I would be able to write again.  I wondered if my readers would stick with me if I wasn't updating regularly.

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At work, I couldn't concentrate.  I became overwhelmed by the mounting emails and phone calls.  I felt "foggy".  And then one night I felt a slight numbness along my jawline.

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12 days after my accident, I hauled my cookies to the ER.

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<span style="font-size: medium; color: #ff0000;"><strong>Diagnosis:  Concussion.</strong></span>  Which apparently can drag on for weeks.

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Follow up:  Non-urgent MRI to check out a spot on my brain in the exact location where I hit my head.  Doc not concerned.  <em>Whew!  </em>

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As <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Harvey" target="_blank">Mr. Harvey</a></strong> used to say, now you know the <em>rest</em> of the story.

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I apologize for the extreme posting delays.

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I am happy to report that I am finally feeling "normal" and ready to rock with the remaining 9 posts for The Year of Living Curiously.

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Good day!

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