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Diablo accident 10/11/09

zdubyadubya

Turbo Monkey
Apr 13, 2008
1,273
96
Ellicott City, MD
I would like to take a moment of everbody's time to say something. Lately on these boards there has been alot of petty bickering and sometimes some downright nasty comments. I was loosing my faith in this community as a useful tool and even in the integrity of some of the riders, but that was changed on Sunday.

There was a very bad accident involving a close friend of mine on Covenant drop. He landed to flat :eek:, blew his feet off the pedals and proceeded to careen head first into the tree just to the left of the cannon jump and was knocked out cold. He was wearing a DOT approved helmet, but no neck brace and no body armor. His head left a dent in the tree and the helmet was cracked along three places and now has a softball sized dent in it. There were some other riders around, and if you guys are on these boards, I would like to say thank you very much for your concern, quick call to 911/basecamp, and blockading of the ramp. My first concern was my friend but before I even had a chance to think about taking care of any of the above things, they were already taken care of by complete strangers. It was a very nice thing to experience and I appreciate your help. Needless to say, it renewed my love of the sport and the people who ride it.

For those who were there and are interested, Corey was flown to the local trauma center and after being seen by a neuro surgeon, it was determined that he had a fractured C1 vertebre and was given a neck brace and we were allowed to take him home. I firmly believe that if his helmet had not been DOT approved, he would be paralyzed or worse. This was easily the most horrific accident I have seen in person. By the time we got home (around 11:30pm), he seemed to be himself again and was getting some of his cognitive skills back. His bell was definitely rung.

To the Diablo trail crewmember who drove the truck up to get him and then rode his bike down the mountain for him, thank you.

To the QRU med who coordinated getting him onto a backboard from his weird position against the tree, thank you.

And to all the riders who showed compassion and support, thank you.
 

SthFRider

Monkey
Apr 16, 2008
218
0
Atlanta,Ga
Its stories like these that makes me glad to be apart of the mountain biking community. Not the crash part of course. But the actions of other riders when a fellow rider goes down. Its great to have such a close knit community.

Im glad Corey is doing well. Heal up fast and get back out there.
 

Jettj45

Monkey
Oct 20, 2005
670
3
Butthole of NC
Good to know your friend isn't seriously injured. This is one of the reasons I get CPR/First Aid Certified every year, never know when something bad could happen.
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
It's in a completely different realm, but having been at a fall festival at my daughters school Saturday, I had a reaffirmation of the ability of us all to be very human. The amount of people who donated their time, effort and support to any and all things for kids was a big pick me up.

Mountain biking is the same way. Support, action, caring and integrity are all ingrained in us as human beings by God and when given the opportunity to show it, we generally do a masterful job of delivering!

Best Wishes to your friend Z!! :thumb:
 

Hesh To Steel

Monkey
Dec 12, 2007
661
1
Hell's Kitchen
I think no matter what happens on the message boards, in real life, this is a very small group of riders and we'll all look out for one another out there on the trails.

Hope your friend has no lasting effects from this injury and is able to get on the bike again for next season.
 

Huck Banzai

Turbo Monkey
May 8, 2005
2,523
23
Transitory
Ive always found that when things go wrong, people stand up put of their self absorption and do what is needed.

Unfortunately we're not always that way, but its awesome that it happens when it counts! I always make it a point to check any downed (or stopped riders) with a 'everything ok', or jump in and stop traffic, clear the lines, etc...

Healing vibes to your friend, and bravo people for being good people!
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,862
4,159
Copenhagen, Denmark
That Covenant drop is sneaky. I landed pretty far down when I tried it too but held on to the bike despite the classic head bob from the landing.
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
I would like to take a moment of everbody's time to say something. Lately on these boards there has been alot of petty bickering and sometimes some downright nasty comments. I was loosing my faith in this community as a useful tool and even in the integrity of some of the riders, but that was changed on Sunday.

There was a very bad accident involving a close friend of mine on Covenant drop. He landed to flat :eek:, blew his feet off the pedals and proceeded to careen head first into the tree just to the left of the cannon jump and was knocked out cold. He was wearing a DOT approved helmet, but no neck brace and no body armor. His head left a dent in the tree and the helmet was cracked along three places and now has a softball sized dent in it. There were some other riders around, and if you guys are on these boards, I would like to say thank you very much for your concern, quick call to 911/basecamp, and blockading of the ramp. My first concern was my friend but before I even had a chance to think about taking care of any of the above things, they were already taken care of by complete strangers. It was a very nice thing to experience and I appreciate your help. Needless to say, it renewed my love of the sport and the people who ride it.

For those who were there and are interested, Corey was flown to the local trauma center and after being seen by a neuro surgeon, it was determined that he had a fractured C1 vertebre and was given a neck brace and we were allowed to take him home. I firmly believe that if his helmet had not been DOT approved, he would be paralyzed or worse. This was easily the most horrific accident I have seen in person. By the time we got home (around 11:30pm), he seemed to be himself again and was getting some of his cognitive skills back. His bell was definitely rung.

To the Diablo trail crewmember who drove the truck up to get him and then rode his bike down the mountain for him, thank you.

To the QRU med who coordinated getting him onto a backboard from his weird position against the tree, thank you.

And to all the riders who showed compassion and support, thank you.

There has been a vein of sarcastic humor going around for a bit now - possibly a reflection of the type of humor bouncing off things in the current cultural landscape. It's dark, and tickles the funny bone in the kind of way that throwing a brick through a window does. I don't like it any more than you do although I am just as guilty as others for using it from time to time and need to stop. Some people take it to extremes and get so permeated with it that it saturates their communication skills to the point where being cynical and sarcastic is their only way of communicating with others. By that time you've wound up in a pretty dark place and I imagine it sucks.

Glad to hear your friend is OK. I've had experience with the kindness of strangers at Diablo helping out a downed rider - especially since I was one a few years ago. Riders at Diablo are some of the best when it comes to trail ettiquete (not perfect, but then who is?). When a fellow rider goes down, at Diablo - there are none better - everyone else pulls together to help. At Diablo it's always been that way - as far as I can remember anyway. I think it's a kind of "pay it forward / kharma" kind of mentality. Participating in the sport we love, it may be YOU lying in a heap on the ground someday so it's always good to help someone when you can.

I think that's what makes DH a kind of gentleman's sport. You can be cocky, you can be arrogant and still do well as a racer but in the end the mountain is the center piece of attention. It doesn't matter if you are a Men's Elite UCI World Cup DH racer or a newb on the mountain for the first time - we ALL crash sooner or later. The mountain is the great equalizer, and in the end - it wins every time. Show it respect by being smart and exercising caution. Show your fellow riders respect and the cycle of good kharma will continue.

This reminds me - I need to start saving for a Leatt for next season. Tell your friend to look into getting one too.

Cheers!
 
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