"Man Down ... "

This will be the post I hoped I did not have to post on my blog.  Yesterday (Wednesday, 12 October), one of us had a biking accident that will result in only two riders proceeding with the rest of the ride.  The morning started out well.  The three of us departed early from Fort Bragg, California.  We departed early because we planned on riding 93 miles, so we had a long day in front of us.  Sometimes I would stop for a photo/bio break and Bill and Jim would proceed on and I would catch up.  Or a few times Jim and I would stop at the same time (maybe our bladders are of similar size or we are drinking similar quantities), and Bill would say, “I am going to ride on because you guys will catch me.” So for a lot of Wednesday’s ride from Fort Bragg, California to Jenner, Jim and I found ourselves chasing Bill.  It is impossible to say the California coast is boring, but sometimes the movie Groundhog Day came to mind.  We would ride south for a few miles, up and down small rollers, sometimes not so small rollers.  Then there would be a 20 mph curve and a quick descent to the left and to the east, and then across a small bridge usually over a creek, and then another hairpin turn and climb up to the right and west back up to the top of the bluff.  At the top there would be a left turn and we would again proceed south for a few miles and then we would repeat it all again.  A few miles of rollers, 20 mph turn, drop down left, hairpin right, climb out, make a left and we would cycle again down the coast a few miles, repeat, repeat, and repeat.  Some of the drops down into these little canyons were into heavy forest with damp needles on a wet road, not a good combination.  And sometimes there was even moss on the road. 

Occasionally I would stop and take pictures, sometimes Jim would stop with me and usually Bill would ride on.  Jim and I were riding south, commenting, “Here we go again”, when we would drop left and climb right.  We were getting a lot of climbing for what we thought was going to be a rather flat ride down to Jenner.  Then as we made another left and dropped down into one dark and damp forested inlet, we could see that traffic was stopped both ways.  As we proceeded carefully forward, we saw Bill sitting on the side rail with his bike leaning up against the rail next to him.  He said he took the hairpin at the bottom a bit too fast, hit slick pavement and had to put the bike down.  He thought he wrenched his leg and had some road rash but there was no blood or open cuts/wounds.  There was an electrician that was doing a job at a local campground and he said he could put Bill in the cab of his truck and throw the bike in the back and take him to a medical center two miles up the road.  Bill, Jim and I talked and decided that would be the best course of action.  Bill was going to attempt to walk to the guys truck but as soon as he put weight on his right leg, he went down immediately.  So, we decided to bring the truck to Bill.  I stood out in the middle of the road and stopped traffic; and Jim and the electrician maneuvered and moved Bill into the cab of the truck. 

The truck and Bill disappeared south and Jim and I started pedaling south to find the medical center.  A lady at the scene of the accident said the medical center was about a mile south.  After pedaling for two miles, we still had not found the facility.  Jim talked to a local cutting brush and were told it was still another mile and a half south.  So much for women and their sense of distance.  We found the medical facility, RCMS and said we were looking for cyclist that had been dropped off.  The receptionist said, “Oh, Bill? Yes, we are examining him now.”  We were allowed to go talk to him so we went in and talked with him.  He was in some discomfort, but did not seem to be in major pain, and he kept apologizing.  We told him to stop apologizing and this would be the time for him to be self-centered and we would figure out what needed to be done, but at this time, he was the center of the universe.  After some time, X-rays were taken and it turned out to be worse than I expected.  Bill’s femur was broken about an inch and a half below the ball.  I think that is the correct description. Whatever, his condition clearly exceeded the capability of the Gualala medical center and they were arranging for an ambulance to transport him to the Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.  Sometime later, the ambulance arrived and Jim and I were requested to assist lifting him to a gurney and then he was rolled into the ambulance and they proceeded to the hospital in Santa Rosa.  Jim and I had contacted Dennie by this time and we waited for her at the Gualala medical center.  After what seemed like a very long time to me, but probably wasn’t, Dennie arrived and we put the bikes on top of the van and proceeded driving to Santa Rosa.  We had reservations that evening on the coast in Fort Ross, but as we were going to be in Santa Rosa, I called to cancel our reservations due to medical emergency.  They agreed to cancel our reservations but said they could not give us a refund.  I was probably not that polite when I told them what I thought about their cancellation policy.  After we thought about it for a while, we said if we cannot get a refund, then why cancel.  So I called them back up and said to not cancel and we hoped we would be there that night.

After what seemed like a very long time, we finally made to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.  We were able to visit Bill and found he was going to need surgery.  We left him clothes, charger, phone, iPad and all the other essentials he said he needed and then we headed back to Fort Ross to stay at the accommodations that we could cancel without refund.  The place was actually quite nice except there was NO internet and NO cell phone coverage, so I was not able to let people know what had happened.  Today we returned to Santa Rosa, called Bill, got Jim’s bike repaired (problem with is bottom bracket; do not ask Jim what he thinks about the BB30 bottom bracket), and visited Bill at the hospital.  We also found out that Bill will be getting a hip replacement, probably either Monday or Tuesday.  Jim, Bill and I talked tonight and here is our general plan and agreement.  Bill has relatives nearby in San Rafael.  We are going to spend another day in the Santa Rosa area.  And then Saturday, Jim and I are going to continue our ride south towards San Diego.  This is definitely not how we wanted this ride to go, but all three of the riders are in agreement that Jim and I will continue.  I will continue to keep you posted in this blog.