Evolution of a Bruise

I will be conducting a case study (well, a pure pictographic--is that even the right word?--case study which will not contain a shred of scientific evidence, but just a shred of art class--the color wheel) on, as the title states, the Evolution of a bruise. And the patient is moi and so that makes the bruise mine. Unfortunately, I did not capture day 1 of the bruise, but I will recount the events that lead up to it. It was a hot and sunny afternoon and I was totally pumped to try out a full suspension mountain bike on the Desert Classic Trail at South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ. My friend and I were heading back after ~45 min of riding on that trail, when I broke away from him in order to create a cooling and refreshing breeze because it was 95 degrees in Phoenix and the air was stagnant. To achieve this breeze, I had to pedal at more than just a leisurely pace. I began to pump my legs as I approached a downhill in order to get up the other side, which has been my nemesis since I've begun biking. (I tried to get up one hill 5 times on this same trail). I don't know exactly how it happened as my main focus was on creating that cool breeze, but it happened very fast. What I do remember is that the back tire slid out from under me to the right and I landed on my left shoulder, hip, and thigh and my right palm (a much later discovery). My friend remembers it in a slightly different way because he did not have the privelege of having the ground level view. As you might recall, he was behind me ('cause I was trying to get that cool breeze), and as he came up over the crest of a small hill and saw a cloud of dirt up ahead. It was a few seconds before he saw my helmet through the dirt cloud and thought to himself "oh, that can't be good." Of course I was already off the ground and on the bike (no whining here as the biking was my idea) before he asked if "everything was working fine." It all worked fine enough to get me back to the car and home, where I scrutinized the war wounds. They really weren't impressive that first day, but by day 3 and 6, they have become rather impressive (at least to me). Although I was hoping for more deep purple and less yellow.

Day 3


Day 6


Day 9--blurry picture, making this case study obsolete
Day 12--Looks like it's nearly healed.