The mountain bike training has been focused on speed and skill to build skills for cross racing and one week before the season started back in September I booked a training week with my coach in Rossland BC to dial in the last tweaks before race season.
It is amazing how a simple decision combined with simple mistakes can either lead to a crash you walk away from or a crash you don't. This time it was one I did not walk away from.
4 weeks ago Thursday I headed up to the Paydirt track on Red Mountain in the morning as my coach could not join me to get in a couple of hours work out and work on my form and skills. Don't ask me why as I still don't really know but I got a bug in my head to ride a wood 10' drop off, so on the last ride out I decided I would hit it. What could go wrong, I hit similar drops all the time at my local bike park.
I don't know for sure what happened but my guess is that I entered the drop too slowly and instead of focusing on the take off, I looked down at the wrong time resulting in the bike rolling off the drop and sending me 10' onto my head.
Alone on the mountain and unable to move I was close to panicking. I had to gain what control I could of my body and attempt to get out. In retrospect not the smartest thing to do but then again my mind and body was not functioning at anything near peak performance. After what felt like an age I was able to stand up but the pain in my shoulders and neck was uncontrollable. I tried to lean on my bike and walk, then I tried to sit on the bike with my weight on the handlebars and roll. The pain was blinding and I was forced to stop. It was about this time I remembered I had a cell phone. I called my coach and got an answer phone, I then called my wife and from there she was able to get search and rescue to me. Long story short I was immobilized and taken to the ICU in Rossland where I found out I had very nearly died.
I broke bones in my spine and neck, broke a rib and punctured a lung, tore all the ligaments in my neck and separated my shoulder. Had my neck ligaments torn a fraction more and I would have broken my neck.
Whilst the injuries are bad I am truly grateful for the fact that I am still here and that I was not paralyzed a fact my neurologist emphasized when he told me most people he sees with my injuries are paralyzed.
So four weeks have passed and the cross season has started without me. I was able to get out last weekend to see a bit of the racing but it is difficult as I am still dealing with the pain, pain meds and a TMJ flare up that is driving me mad. The lack of sleep and focus is a daily struggle at the moment. I just want to be back to normal but there is still a journey ahead. I will attempt to keep a daily log going forward.
There is still more to say but I can't type any more as I am losing focus and my arms are aching.
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