Thanks for the detailed information! The knee is starting to look better thankfully, but itās going to be a while before it is fully healed.
Iām dressed in Tegaderm now on the larger wound (2nd day) and feeling much better. I also placed an order on Amazon for Duoderm for my shoulder and back.
Subscribing because I went down during the Cat 5 race in Central Park a few weeks back. Just got back on the bike this week and am similarly realizing itāll be a struggle to regain confidence in groups again.
Now I just need to do 8 weeks of PT to get the physical stuff back to normalā¦
First - the mental part.
I guess my advice here differs from most of what Iāve read in the thread. For me it has always been important to get back on the horse. This means Iām often back on the bike the same day or next if my āonlyā problems are road rash and similar scrapes and bruises. For me it helps me to avoid developing a significant mental block to be back in a race as soon as possible.
That said - if you have a more serious joint, bone, or head injury - take 1.5 or 2x as much time as you think you need off the bike. Fitness be dammed - you need to be healed, particularly from a head injury, before you start exercising again.
Wound care
I have used tegaderm extensively, but actually find that simple non-adhesive bandages tend to work better for me in most situations. They require more active bandaging, but let you consistently apply antibiotics and regular refreshing of bandages
For me - the longer term solutions like duoderm and tegaderm donāt work as well because I find that when Iām sweating and working out they donāt last too long anyway - so Iām better off with some gentle tape and non-stick bandages with large amounts of antibiotics underneath. You can buy relatively small non-adhesive bandages and tape them together to cover any size wound
The above three (brand and quantity may vary) should cover you for any amount of road rash and works very well
Iām still debating whether or not to sign up to race this weekend after my spill last weekend. Flat 20 mile road race with high average speeds.
Iāve definitely been watching too many crash videos on youtube. It doesnāt help that the finish in this race is known as āthe funnel of deathā.
Sorry to hearā¦ was this in the intro to racing event or one of the other days?
As other have said, there are many roads to physical and psychological recovery. For my last significant injury I think it was more psychological - it had been so long since Iād had any kind of physical damage done to me, I was kind of traumatised for what others might have dismissed as ājust a bit road rashā.
I took a few months no bike at all, decided never to road bike again, then when the injuries had healed just short mountain bike on local park/flat trailsā¦and a month later back on the open road 
So take time and maybe a little off road experience to gain the confidence in your bike handling again 
It was the intro to racing clinic, though more like my 8-9th race. Got unlucky when someone else went down and their bike swung out in front of me at the bottom of a descent.
i wanted to come back to this thread now that iām a few days post the crash:
- the first day after the crash is hard because the road rash really burns and everything is sensitive. my advice is to get as much sleep as possible and do not be alarmed by the āoozeā coming out of your road rash. expect to clean your bed sheets after the first night.
- keep your cuts moist and i highly recommend Duoderm (you want the larger sheets, i.e. 4x4 inches so you can cut w. a scissor to adjust to your scars). this has been great to keep on for 1-2 nights (depending on how much āoozeā the Duoderm can hold). i am now on my 3rd day of Duoderm the my movement is MATERIALLY better on my shoulder and elbow.
- continue eating as you would during your normal exercise. i have not changed my diet since the crash and i am trying to eat more vitamin C (either apples, apple sauce or dried mangos).
- i am feeling ready to get back on the bike (on the trainer) to do light riding. iām thinking iāll do this come one full week after the crash.
re. Duoderm: this has been very hard to find in NYC (shockingly) so i have ordered from Amazon. the price isnāt as bad as what youād find from your local pharmacy but if you do have a crash, i recommend getting a pack of 10 so you can use when necessary (just to be safe).
oy. sorry to hear that. i crashed last sunday in the Prospect Park race.
itās hard not to be on the bike because the weather is amazing now! 
Did you see the video? Prospect Park Castelli NY Cycling Series Cat 5 4.28.2019 Ending in a Crash - YouTube
yeah, this is the crash I was in where you can then see the entire pile-up.
this is the other view (at minute 38:08) where you see me falling prospect park castelli cup #3 cat 5 abril 28 2019 - YouTube
How to recover confidence after a crash while descending? (front wheel slipped in a curve)
Now Iām so slow descending, I lose all my mates
That sucks. Those montecchi guys are pretty bad. If it makes you feel any better, I saw the pics and that guy celebrated too early and got sniped for the win.
Iād be willing to bet you are so tensed up descending youāre making it even worse than just going slowly. Thatās not a dig at you but being over tense, gripping the bars, sitting up will all affect your bike handling.
I find the main thing is to stay light on the bike, by that I mean only hold onto the bars a tight as necessary, use your legs to come out of the saddle if its bumpy and most importantly look where you want to go, not where you want to crash.
Just slowly build up to where you are comfortable, none of us are trying to win a Grand Tour mountain stage on the descents
I did my first ride after the crash today (Volunteer) and the road rash is healing quickly. Iām also wearing a splint on my right wrist now given a broken scaphoid so I made the cockpit as soft as I could get (put a pillow on the hoods). Iām going to do indoor riding for the next 6 weeks as the doctor doesnāt want me outside.
Do you have any recommendations for TR plans to use? I was in the midst of the general build mid volume and about to do a new ramp test but I am thinking I should go back to SSBII just to keep the fitness for the next 6 weeks v. pushing myself. Iād love @stevemz or @Jonathan to chime in here as to what to do.
Thatās a major bone for grip even if it is tiny, just ask the likes of Kevin Schwartz (500 GP motorcycle racer for the uninitiated).
I had a subluxation (partial dislocation) of a bone in my wrist, next to the scaphoid, and that kept me off the bike for months whilst the tendons healed.
Bottom line - listen to the doc and look after that wrist. Ironically bone heals quicker than tendon.
Iād recommend pushing the second half of general build out 4 weeks and take a different approach than going back to SSB2. I think this is a good time for one of the HIIT maintenance plans (probably a low volume plan supplemented with some aerobic riding).
The short intervals will make it easier on your hand and give you plenty of breaks.
If I remember correctly from Nateās collarbone break, Sweet Spot work tends to be pretty tough with broken wrist/hands/collarbones since itās more sustained.