So we left the trail head parking lot and proceeded out on the red loop. The red loop starts with some twisty single track through some trenches and then goes through a little rock garden. After about a mile or so it dumps out into an open field, About 200 yards into the open field there a couple of humps that we call the camel backs. There are two of them and they are lined with lannon stone to stop erosion and to preserve the humps.
This is where it get's interesting, it was riding behind Mark when he went down after the 2nd hump. It was surprising because Mark and I have been doing a lot of riding together getting ready for the Lumberjack and he rides Expert when he races, so he has skills. We were not going at a fast past, just a comfortable pre-ride pace.
When I crested the 2nd hump Mark was lying on the ground at the bottom of the hump. He had gone over the handlebars, I quickly got off my bike to see if he was alright and that is when I noticed it. It's the type of thing you hear about, but never actually think you are going to see it. You learned about it in boy scouts and what to do when it happens. It's in every first aid book you ever had with those cartoonish characters drawing of what it looks like... yes the compound fracture.
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| Yes, that is bone sticking out from below his elbow. |
There he was sitting on the ground with bones sticking out just below his elbow with blood flowing out of it like a faucet. I was thinking oh my god, we've got to get that bleeding to stop. Mark pulled on the exposed bone first thinking it was a rock that had embedded into his elbow from the crash. He soon realized that it was not a rock at all.
Neither of us had a phone with us (let that be a lesson learned) and we were fortunate enough that a couple of other riders came up on us and had a phone. They called 911 for us and arranged for an ambulance.
At this point Mark decided that he was not going to wait for help to come to him, I believe his exact words were "I am not going to bleed to death here". He had an experience before with his wife getting injured at Fort Custer and then taking forever to get help to her out on the trails. So Mark stood up while grabbing his arm just above his elbow and applying pressure to help stop the bleeding. I grabbed his bike and we proceeded to walk out to the trail head.
I couldn't believe he was doing this but he was very persistent that he didn't want to wait and just wanted to get back to the parking lot. He was amazing that he could do this. We talked as we walked to the trail head. Mark was totally pissed about what had just happened and the fact that he was probably going to miss the Lumberjack. I tried to come up with small talk to help keep his mind off what had just happened but I wasn't very good at it. We just kept walking, me with 2 bikes and him holding his arm just above his elbow. It's almost like I can remember every step of that walk.
In the end, we got Mark to the hospital with the help of EMT's, Park Rangers, and First Responders. He talked with his surgeon today and found out that his elbow was shattered into 10 pieces, he has surgery on it tomorrow and I only wish him the best and a speedy recovery.
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| Mark, 2 weeks earlier at Yankee Springs TT |
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