Up at Mammoth last weekend I crashed, and this time it wasn't the bike that ended up broken; I broke my left collarbone in 2 places. 
Stupid crash (aren't they all) over a couple table top style jumps. My buddy Bobby took them fast and crashed really hard. After a minute he was able to get up, claiming that the wind was just knocked out of him. So Wheelieholz and I climbed back up to where -BB- was waiting his turn.
-BB- made it fine (going much slower), and then Wheelieholz went without an issue. So I decided to go for it. I went a bit too fast over the first one, tried to brake check as I landed... slid out and went over the second one (did I mention they were really close together...). I ended up landing the front tire on the flat between the landing of the 2nd and take off of the 3rd... flipping me over the bars and into the take off of the third jump.
As soon as I hit I knew I broke something. I couldn't breath and the pain was excruciating!!! After a couple minutes I managed to crawl out and get my gear off... only then did I notice that Bobby was still on the ground. Apparently he was worse off than he had thought.
The "ski" patrol was there very quickly to asses us maybe the fact that all this happened directly under the lift helped. My collarbone was obviously broken, so he told me to hang out while he assessed Bobby. Bobby had rib/back pain so they called for a backboard and fixed me up in a sling while they waited for it to arrive. Once it arrived Bobby was loaded into the truck and off we went. After a truly unpleasant trip down the mountain (I could feel even the slightest bump ), we were off to the hospital in BB-s truck.
In the ER - as soon as I took off my shirt the nurse said yup, its broken. The X-ray was only to confirm the obvious
Bobby ended up with a broken wrist and possible hairline fractures of the collarbone and one rib.
When we got back to the mountain to pick up the rest of the group (We told them to stay and ride... so they did), upon loading the bikes into the truck Wheelieholz spotted that his frame was cracked in 2 places.
The next day the swelling had gone down and I was able to go shower only then did I realize that the top of my head was bruised. When I got out of the shower I looked at my helmet its destroyed. Thank you Giro, your helmets work very well!
So a rather un-pleasant trip for most of the group (3 of 5 out of commission). Now I am off the bike for the at least the next 3 months, and even then it will probably be road and xc stuff. Really pisses me off b/c I had been riding a lot lately and hitting the gym... I had already dropped almost 10 lbs and was starting to show better, well some muscle tone.
Oh well... it could have been worse. Besides - made it 33 years without breaking a bone, and the last 12 of those mountain biking. And those who bike with me know that is pretty remarkable.
I sent this text as an email to my friends/family and the responses have been fairly funny, here are a couple good ones:
Well I've gotta say I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.
Is the bike OK?
Not exactly a motivational speech for those of us aspiring towards catching a little air.
You never broke a bone before...WOW!
Sorry to hear about the mishap but glad to hear you're not eating through a straw...
I hope you have good pain meds.
May booze be your comfort in a time of need...
I'm not sure what hurts more, actually breaking the bone or not being able to ride for several months.
It is remarkable that you have never broken a bone before -- actually, you are the first among us three. Congratulations! (From my Sister)
Nice freakin' goin'!
And my favorite:
With one guy going off after another, some not getting up and others continuing to proceed.......I couldn't help but think of that advertisement where they show the video clip then "people do stupid things.... who-whooo, who, who, who....."
Thanks to BB- for playing ambulance driver and taking me around to go get my Rx (and some beer).
Thanks to Orven and friend (sorry didnt think to introduce myself ) who spotted us and swung by to see how we were doing then helped load Bobby into the truck.
And of course thanks to the Mammoth crew (first responder Pete and friends) who got to us quick, were as gentle as they could be, and overall were just good guys with great attitudes. At the end of the day as we were loading up the truck, some of them recognized us and stopped by to see how we were doing!
Stupid crash (aren't they all) over a couple table top style jumps. My buddy Bobby took them fast and crashed really hard. After a minute he was able to get up, claiming that the wind was just knocked out of him. So Wheelieholz and I climbed back up to where -BB- was waiting his turn.
-BB- made it fine (going much slower), and then Wheelieholz went without an issue. So I decided to go for it. I went a bit too fast over the first one, tried to brake check as I landed... slid out and went over the second one (did I mention they were really close together...). I ended up landing the front tire on the flat between the landing of the 2nd and take off of the 3rd... flipping me over the bars and into the take off of the third jump.
As soon as I hit I knew I broke something. I couldn't breath and the pain was excruciating!!! After a couple minutes I managed to crawl out and get my gear off... only then did I notice that Bobby was still on the ground. Apparently he was worse off than he had thought.
The "ski" patrol was there very quickly to asses us maybe the fact that all this happened directly under the lift helped. My collarbone was obviously broken, so he told me to hang out while he assessed Bobby. Bobby had rib/back pain so they called for a backboard and fixed me up in a sling while they waited for it to arrive. Once it arrived Bobby was loaded into the truck and off we went. After a truly unpleasant trip down the mountain (I could feel even the slightest bump ), we were off to the hospital in BB-s truck.
In the ER - as soon as I took off my shirt the nurse said yup, its broken. The X-ray was only to confirm the obvious
Bobby ended up with a broken wrist and possible hairline fractures of the collarbone and one rib.
When we got back to the mountain to pick up the rest of the group (We told them to stay and ride... so they did), upon loading the bikes into the truck Wheelieholz spotted that his frame was cracked in 2 places.
The next day the swelling had gone down and I was able to go shower only then did I realize that the top of my head was bruised. When I got out of the shower I looked at my helmet its destroyed. Thank you Giro, your helmets work very well!
So a rather un-pleasant trip for most of the group (3 of 5 out of commission). Now I am off the bike for the at least the next 3 months, and even then it will probably be road and xc stuff. Really pisses me off b/c I had been riding a lot lately and hitting the gym... I had already dropped almost 10 lbs and was starting to show better, well some muscle tone.
Oh well... it could have been worse. Besides - made it 33 years without breaking a bone, and the last 12 of those mountain biking. And those who bike with me know that is pretty remarkable.
I sent this text as an email to my friends/family and the responses have been fairly funny, here are a couple good ones:
Well I've gotta say I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner.
Is the bike OK?
Not exactly a motivational speech for those of us aspiring towards catching a little air.
You never broke a bone before...WOW!
Sorry to hear about the mishap but glad to hear you're not eating through a straw...
I hope you have good pain meds.
May booze be your comfort in a time of need...
I'm not sure what hurts more, actually breaking the bone or not being able to ride for several months.
It is remarkable that you have never broken a bone before -- actually, you are the first among us three. Congratulations! (From my Sister)
Nice freakin' goin'!
And my favorite:
With one guy going off after another, some not getting up and others continuing to proceed.......I couldn't help but think of that advertisement where they show the video clip then "people do stupid things.... who-whooo, who, who, who....."
Thanks to BB- for playing ambulance driver and taking me around to go get my Rx (and some beer).
Thanks to Orven and friend (sorry didnt think to introduce myself ) who spotted us and swung by to see how we were doing then helped load Bobby into the truck.
And of course thanks to the Mammoth crew (first responder Pete and friends) who got to us quick, were as gentle as they could be, and overall were just good guys with great attitudes. At the end of the day as we were loading up the truck, some of them recognized us and stopped by to see how we were doing!
