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04-09-12, 12:12 AM
My crash occurred on June 5, 2008 (a few months after buying my Stumpjumper).
I was riding downhill on a "wash boarded" local dirt road (Anderson Truck Trail).
I had adjusted my suspension to "soft" to absorb all the ruts.
As I rounded a corner, traveling about 13 mph, I spotted a very deep rut running across the road.
I panicked and squeezed both brakes as fast as I could.
My front wheel locked (disc brakes) and my front suspension collapsed down (it was set too soft).
I was launched over the handlebars and landed squarely on the top of my head (helmet).
I was riding alone (dumb, I know) and I knew my neck was hurt ... hurt bad.
I tried using my cell phone to call for help but had no reception.
I managed to stand my bike up while keeping my other hand under my chin ... and hiked about a quarter mile using my bike to stabilize myself, like an elderly person uses a walker.
I managed to make it to the gate of a ranch house.
That house sat a good 50 yards off the dirt road.
That distance, plus the large teeth of the two barking dogs behind the gate, kept me from entering the yard to get help.
I decided to try my phone again instead.
I finally got reception and called Cindy (my wife).
I told her I thought I might have broken something in my neck.
She asked if I had called 911.
I said I thought she could just come and pick me up and take me to the doctor (not thinking real clearly).
She called 911.
Just then 3 other mountain bikers came up the dirt road behind me.
I was kneeling on the ground with my elbows on a utility pedestal ... my back turned their direction ... with both hands under my jaw supporting my neck.
They kind of jokingly asked what I was doing.
I managed to explain the situation to them without moving my jaw.
One fella had a cell phone with GPS coordinates on it. He called 911 and gave them our position.
Twenty minutes or so later an EMT wagon managed to get down the dirt road to our location.
A helicopter was next to appear on the scene. The helicopter landed just inside the ranch house yard.
The paramedics opened the gate and carried me (strapped to the board) to the door (I don't know where the dogs went).
It was a 2-man sheriff's helicopter.
My feet hung out one side, my head out the other, and the second sheriff was sitting on top of my legs, trying not to hurt me.
Then the chopper took off ... I have never been so cooooooold as when those blades started blowing the air down on to my sweaty body.
What if you or a buddy get seriously hurt on a ride? If someone goes for help ... how will they tell rescuers where to go for the rescue?
I met a rider the other day who said someone needed to be life-flighted and one of the other bikers had to ride back and forth hoping the helicopter would see him ... so they would know where to land.
I am happy to say I am fully healed (neck's still a little stiff) and am able to do most anything I could before the accident. I hope I am never involved in (or with) another serious accident ... but if I am ... I will have a GPS. Having the coordinates on a fellow rider's GPS most likely saved my life or at least spared me from being paralyzed. I will never mountain bike without one again.
Sincerely,
Joe
http://www.mountain-bike-diaries.com/
I was riding downhill on a "wash boarded" local dirt road (Anderson Truck Trail).
I had adjusted my suspension to "soft" to absorb all the ruts.
As I rounded a corner, traveling about 13 mph, I spotted a very deep rut running across the road.
I panicked and squeezed both brakes as fast as I could.
My front wheel locked (disc brakes) and my front suspension collapsed down (it was set too soft).
I was launched over the handlebars and landed squarely on the top of my head (helmet).
I was riding alone (dumb, I know) and I knew my neck was hurt ... hurt bad.
I tried using my cell phone to call for help but had no reception.
I managed to stand my bike up while keeping my other hand under my chin ... and hiked about a quarter mile using my bike to stabilize myself, like an elderly person uses a walker.
I managed to make it to the gate of a ranch house.
That house sat a good 50 yards off the dirt road.
That distance, plus the large teeth of the two barking dogs behind the gate, kept me from entering the yard to get help.
I decided to try my phone again instead.
I finally got reception and called Cindy (my wife).
I told her I thought I might have broken something in my neck.
She asked if I had called 911.
I said I thought she could just come and pick me up and take me to the doctor (not thinking real clearly).
She called 911.
Just then 3 other mountain bikers came up the dirt road behind me.
I was kneeling on the ground with my elbows on a utility pedestal ... my back turned their direction ... with both hands under my jaw supporting my neck.
They kind of jokingly asked what I was doing.
I managed to explain the situation to them without moving my jaw.
One fella had a cell phone with GPS coordinates on it. He called 911 and gave them our position.
Twenty minutes or so later an EMT wagon managed to get down the dirt road to our location.
A helicopter was next to appear on the scene. The helicopter landed just inside the ranch house yard.
The paramedics opened the gate and carried me (strapped to the board) to the door (I don't know where the dogs went).
It was a 2-man sheriff's helicopter.
My feet hung out one side, my head out the other, and the second sheriff was sitting on top of my legs, trying not to hurt me.
Then the chopper took off ... I have never been so cooooooold as when those blades started blowing the air down on to my sweaty body.
What if you or a buddy get seriously hurt on a ride? If someone goes for help ... how will they tell rescuers where to go for the rescue?
I met a rider the other day who said someone needed to be life-flighted and one of the other bikers had to ride back and forth hoping the helicopter would see him ... so they would know where to land.
I am happy to say I am fully healed (neck's still a little stiff) and am able to do most anything I could before the accident. I hope I am never involved in (or with) another serious accident ... but if I am ... I will have a GPS. Having the coordinates on a fellow rider's GPS most likely saved my life or at least spared me from being paralyzed. I will never mountain bike without one again.
Sincerely,
Joe
http://www.mountain-bike-diaries.com/