Eyestrain

This past Saturday, August 9, 2008, my wife and I rode to the summit of Mt. Evans from Echo Lake. We started our descent from the summit at about 11:30. About 6 miles down and at about 11:45 or so, she hit a massive pothole and went down really, really hard. Although I was in front of her at the time and did not see the actual fall, she recalled being thrown over the handlebars. She landed right on her face and her two upper front teeth were knocked back (not out) and were angled toward her throat. Her upper lip was badly cut up, and her nose and chin were also scraped, and there was about a 1/2 inch deep gash under her chin.

Coincidentally, there were two cyclists almost directly across the street that witnessed the crash.

A nice couple in a grey SUV with a bike rack and first-aid kit gave us a ride to our car. I then drove my wife to Swedish, where she underwent surgery at about midnight to fix her broken jaw and put approximately 50 stitch her face.

Because my efforts were concentrated on first aid and getting my wife to the hospital, I never got the names of any of the people in the SUV or the cyclists who witnessed the crash. Although finding the people in the SUV is a longshot, I wonder if either of the two cyclists who witnessed the crash are on this board or if anybody on this board knows who they are. If so, please send me a message as I’d like to speak with either of them.

Thanks in advance.

celticfrost

Wow. Sorry that I can't be of much help but I hope that your wife recovers quickly. I guess the bright side is that it probably could've been much worse. The combo of steep descents and skinny tires can create a somewhat precarious situation --- just today I hit an unseen stone while descending Golden Gate that threw my front wheel off enough to send me into the wrong side of the double line @ 35mph, luckily no traffic was coming from the other way. My only crash at speed was on a downhill and my mouth/teeth hit some aspalt. Since then I sometimes picture myself wearing a mouthpiece while I'm bombing down a mountain .

Do you know about how far down from the summit the pothole was/is? Might be a good thing for others to know. Again, good luck & hope your wife is doing OK.

markf

Glad your wife is OK, and it was very kind of the couple in the SUV to help out. But after going over the bars and faceplanting like that, wouldn't a C-collar and backboard be called for? Depending on weather conditions and the type of clothing your wife had on, it might have been a better idea to call an ambulance instead of driving her to the hospital yourself.