When Life Hands you Lemons

Make Lemonade!!!!

First off I'll start by saying I hate writing this article.  In fact I almost didn't write anything but I finally landed on that there is something to be learned from every story. 

 Day one group gathering and the morning ride map.

Last Thursday I set out on a 150 mile Mountain Bike Journey from Fruita, Colorado to Moab,Utah as part of the Bikerpelli ride.  This ride has been on my bucket list for years and was part of my "it's all about me" tour this year (I turn 50 in October).  Having completed the Vegas camp and NOLA I wasn't worried about the endurance.  I had done a lot of research on this ride, even meeting with a 4 time finisher to get the logistics of the camp and the trail.  I was told day one was technical in the morning and then nothing technical until Moab on the last half of day three.  I was so excited to do this trip that my bag was packed 5 days before I left. 

I had not done a lot of mountain biking prior to taking off but have ridden a lot in the past. My plan was to be conservative within reason.  When Mountain biking being conservative can be a detriment.  One of the things that my friend told was that I needed to listen intently to all pre ride instructions.  Knowing that I have a tendency to let my mind wander I made sure I hung on every word from the ride director before we took off. 

The group was split into 4 (self seeding) and I opted to go with group three which appeared to be a mixture of middle age guys like myself, women and some bigger riders.  The first three miles were down a dirt path and I found myself in the middle of the group until there were little climbs and then I noticed I caught up to everyone fairly easy.  I wasn't even working hard but this was a long journey and I was pacing myself.  I tried talking to a few people but groups of friends had formed and I didn't find the other riders interested in idle chit chat so I just took in the scenery.  I even stopped to take a few pictures. "It's not a race, stop and smell the roses".

 some of the incredible views and this was in the first two hours of the ride.

I had finished the first two loops of the morning and was just starting Troy's loop. The ride director said that the each loop gets a little more technical so I stopped at the trail head.  There were three guys there.  One guy who wasn't with the group asked where we were heading and I replied "Moab? you?"  He said "the parking lot" and we all chuckled.  Not wanting to be riding in a group at this point in time I asked the other two guys if they wanted to go ahead. If we encountered any techncial stuff I wanted the option to get off my bike and not worry about holding anyone up.  They declined to go even though I asked twice so I took off.  I was about 250 yards down the trail and my front tire washed for no apparent reason.  There wasn't a drop off and the few rocks that were on the trail didn't present any technical challenge.  Perhaps the ground was soft, I don't know. All I know is that I went down hard and landed directly on  rock with my hip.  "Shit" I bounced right up knowing the two guys were behind me but my hip was not happy.  My bike had slipped off trail under a small evergreen tree and I reached down and drug it back up.  I tried to get back on my bike but couldn't swing my leg over the top tube.  The first guy came buy and I did my best to get out of his way.  When the second guy came by I asked him to stop with me because I wasn't sure if I was o.k.  This guy was completely cool.  He stayed with me for a long time.  I hobbled down the trail to try and get out of peoples way but as the picture above shows it was not easy with the slant.  At one time I almost fell down the hill. 

More people stopped and one said she was a Dr.  She told me to lay down and did this test on my leg and told me my leg/hip were not broken.  I tired to mount the bike from the left side but couldn't get stable on the right leg.  The original guy who stopped gave me some Advil.  His buddies had all ridden back up the trail and now we had a good little group going and I felt bad I was holding up everyone's journey.  They took down my information and were going to notify the ride director of me.  Pre ride instructions said to always keep moving forward so that is what I did down a valley.  My cell phone didn't have coverage.  Another guy stopped on the trail and wanted to stay with me.  He was very kind and asked me all the right questions. "Do you have food, water etc?".   He didn't want to leave me and I didn't want to interrupt his trip.  I could tell he reluctantly moved forward. 

The Colorado River below


I even encountered a few people who weren't happy with me because I wasn't getting out of their way.  One elderly gentlemen even made the point of letting me know that I should have gotten out of his way even though he was going downhill and I was hobbling up hill at the time.

I finally got a hold of the ride director and was told to keep moving forward.  It was hot and I was getting low on water.  I had walked for about 1.5 hours down the trail when I was called and told rescue personnel could not get to me.  I could either have a helicopter come in to get me or go back up trail. I was just hoping my hip was bruised badly and surely didn't want to go out in a helicopter if that was the case so I declined.

I made my way back up the trail. Most of the ride had passed me by but I ran into a few of the back of the packers including the group of ladies I had driven out with.  I could tell they were very concerned but I made sure they continued on.  I was about half way back up the hill at that point.  I cut the conversation short and moved on. 

In short (I know this isn't short).  I ended up getting rescued within a 1/4 mile of where I fell.  I went to the hospital where it was confirmed I had fractured my greater trochanter bone in my hip. Most of you know that in 2008 I suffered compression fractures in my back from a cycling accident in which another cyclist entered the roadway without looking up hill and I struck him.  The last three years have been spent recovering.  Countless trips to medical providers, pilates, yoga, the gym etc. To be sidelined again is like a bad recurring dream.  Why me?

Initially I was told I needed surgery but now I'm being told the bone will heal by itself in 6-8 weeks.  That in 12 weeks I can resume running.  If that is the case I'll be in heaven. After three years trying to get my back in shape, 12 weeks is like nothing.

I feel sorry for my family who has to help me again.  My wife has been nothing but supportive.  The kids just keep themselves busy because they know if they get within shouting distance I'm going to ask them to do something.

I'm able to walk up and down stairs without my crutches.  I've even gone to the gym and lifted some upper body weights on the stationary machines.  My friends have sent me movies, books and someone is bringing us dinner tonight.  I'm blessed to be surrounded by people who love me and I consider myself to be very fortunate.  It could have been worse.  I'll be back as soon as I get clearance.  Obviously my summer slate is now wiped free.  The ride director extended an invitation to come back next year......hmmmmmmmm?????? Unfinished bucket list items..... As of now, I have plenty of time to think about that....