BentAero
Husqvarna
A Class
My sort-of ride report from Enoree, SC 01/03/09. I made it 5 miles:
Hey gang!
I'm alive. So far. The wife hasn't killed me yet, but when the reality of cancelling our Hawaii trip two weeks from now sinks in, that may change.
Since several will want to know, I'll just tell you. Nice wide trail at Enoree, but quite slick in places. I had gone around one of the loops and had so much fun I thought I'd take another lap and catch up to my pals from behind. I realized I was starting to tire a little so I had gone to a short-shifting 'easier to ride in the mud mode' and slowed up a tick.
I was setting up for a turn, on the brakes, and the front just wouldn't stick, the bike kept drifting in the mud to the left -right into an cut/eroded embankment. One of those things that didn't look like it was going to be a big issue, but since the dirt in the embankment was so soft, when I hit it with a glancing blow (Sort of like when a race car brushing the concrete wall and pancakes the right side) my knee stuck into the soft dirt. Body stopped, bike kept going.
After the initial pain subsided, I thought I was going to be OK. At that time I thought I had just smacked the knee pretty hard like we have all done so many times. A rider on a parallel trail saw me on the ground and stopped to see if I was OK. As the rider took off 'her' helmet, I recognized her as Mel Brooks from Hendersonville, NC.
I managed to stand up, and Mel helped me pick my bike up (she did most of the work!) and I still thought I could get on it and ride off. As soon as I put weight on my left knee and tried to move, it buckled out from under me like it was made of cooked pasta, and I did an instant face plant. I couldn't get on the ground fast enough. I'm convinced I did as much or more damage then as I did with the initial impact.
The crew Mel had been riding with started to show up and they flagged down a utility ATV rider and they lifted me onto it and that guy carried me out to the parking area. One of the riders with Mel's group brought my Husky out a few minutes later. BTW, the Husky doesn't have a (new) mark on it. That was my 1st "moving violation" in over 1000 off-road miles this fall. I know some think I crash all the time, but in reality it's pretty rare. It's just that when I do, everyone seems to know about it 'cause they have a tendency to be 'big'.
The guys I came with loaded up all the bikes and gear and we headed for Asheville. I called my wife at work (hey, somebody has to work...) and told her she needed to come home and take me to the hospital as I had a 'suspected boo-boo'. We got to the ER and though none of the admitting staff would verbalize it, we all knew what the damage was.
After the X-Rays and the MRI, the ER Doc sez I've got a ACL tear, along with two other tears that I don't remember the names of. The only thing I heard him say was "You've torn 3 of the 4 ligaments that hold your knee together. You're going to want to contact a surgeon right away."
I've got to say, my first visit to Mission/St.Joseph Hospital was pretty good. Everyone was super nice and attentive, and I was out the door in 4 hours 10 minutes! I was real pleased.
The ER Doc called me at home Sunday to check on me! Can you believe it? He said that just after I left, the Surgeon he recommended stopped by the ER, and he showed him my MRI results. He told me the surgeon said "we'll be doing this one right away". Great. Is that good or bad? Good news is that after the MRI specialist reviewed my case, only two, not three ligaments are torn. My appt. with the surgeon is Tuesday morning. BTW, as long as I don't do something stupid, it really doesn't hurt. I've taken nothing more than Ibuprofin for swelling. Go figure.
Above all, I want to thank everyone who stopped their riding and helped me and my bike out of the woods Saturday. Without you, a bad situation would have been far worse. I'm sorry, but Mel Brooks and Mike Drake were the only riders I recognized out of the large group, but again, I thank you all. Riders are a special group and we take care of our own. Unfortunately this was my turn to be taken care of.
__________________
Gary
Hey gang!
I'm alive. So far. The wife hasn't killed me yet, but when the reality of cancelling our Hawaii trip two weeks from now sinks in, that may change.
Since several will want to know, I'll just tell you. Nice wide trail at Enoree, but quite slick in places. I had gone around one of the loops and had so much fun I thought I'd take another lap and catch up to my pals from behind. I realized I was starting to tire a little so I had gone to a short-shifting 'easier to ride in the mud mode' and slowed up a tick.
I was setting up for a turn, on the brakes, and the front just wouldn't stick, the bike kept drifting in the mud to the left -right into an cut/eroded embankment. One of those things that didn't look like it was going to be a big issue, but since the dirt in the embankment was so soft, when I hit it with a glancing blow (Sort of like when a race car brushing the concrete wall and pancakes the right side) my knee stuck into the soft dirt. Body stopped, bike kept going.
After the initial pain subsided, I thought I was going to be OK. At that time I thought I had just smacked the knee pretty hard like we have all done so many times. A rider on a parallel trail saw me on the ground and stopped to see if I was OK. As the rider took off 'her' helmet, I recognized her as Mel Brooks from Hendersonville, NC.
I managed to stand up, and Mel helped me pick my bike up (she did most of the work!) and I still thought I could get on it and ride off. As soon as I put weight on my left knee and tried to move, it buckled out from under me like it was made of cooked pasta, and I did an instant face plant. I couldn't get on the ground fast enough. I'm convinced I did as much or more damage then as I did with the initial impact.
The crew Mel had been riding with started to show up and they flagged down a utility ATV rider and they lifted me onto it and that guy carried me out to the parking area. One of the riders with Mel's group brought my Husky out a few minutes later. BTW, the Husky doesn't have a (new) mark on it. That was my 1st "moving violation" in over 1000 off-road miles this fall. I know some think I crash all the time, but in reality it's pretty rare. It's just that when I do, everyone seems to know about it 'cause they have a tendency to be 'big'.
The guys I came with loaded up all the bikes and gear and we headed for Asheville. I called my wife at work (hey, somebody has to work...) and told her she needed to come home and take me to the hospital as I had a 'suspected boo-boo'. We got to the ER and though none of the admitting staff would verbalize it, we all knew what the damage was.
After the X-Rays and the MRI, the ER Doc sez I've got a ACL tear, along with two other tears that I don't remember the names of. The only thing I heard him say was "You've torn 3 of the 4 ligaments that hold your knee together. You're going to want to contact a surgeon right away."
I've got to say, my first visit to Mission/St.Joseph Hospital was pretty good. Everyone was super nice and attentive, and I was out the door in 4 hours 10 minutes! I was real pleased.
The ER Doc called me at home Sunday to check on me! Can you believe it? He said that just after I left, the Surgeon he recommended stopped by the ER, and he showed him my MRI results. He told me the surgeon said "we'll be doing this one right away". Great. Is that good or bad? Good news is that after the MRI specialist reviewed my case, only two, not three ligaments are torn. My appt. with the surgeon is Tuesday morning. BTW, as long as I don't do something stupid, it really doesn't hurt. I've taken nothing more than Ibuprofin for swelling. Go figure.
Above all, I want to thank everyone who stopped their riding and helped me and my bike out of the woods Saturday. Without you, a bad situation would have been far worse. I'm sorry, but Mel Brooks and Mike Drake were the only riders I recognized out of the large group, but again, I thank you all. Riders are a special group and we take care of our own. Unfortunately this was my turn to be taken care of.
__________________
Gary
Anyway, I did my left ACL right away and it seemed to heal up better and give me less problems afterwards.
) all you gotta do is ask
