TR: Doctor’s Park (14 Sept 2009)
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My schedule seems to be shaping nicely this fall with tutoring, allowing my Monday mornings to be free for some fun! This time, instead of riding with the girls, I went with my friend Zach. The night before, a lot of rain fell. But the day was beautiful. So, the trails were in perfect shape. Here’s a few pics.
Crossing the Spring Creek.
The fall colors are emerging. The trees seemed to radiate in yellow when the sun hit them.
Zach making his way up the road.
The view from the top of Doctor’s is always lovely, with or without the clouds!
Zach on the descent.
Me.
The ride kept getting better and better. I was reminded how fun the Doctor’s descent is! It’s definitely one of the best trails in the CB area. But, the sweet ride turned sour near the very end when poor Zach took a crash that resulted in a tacoed wheel and a deep gash in his arm. The gash was deeper than anything I’d ever seen before and it was obvious he needed stitches. Zach went through an entire roll of paper towels and half a container of wet-wipes, all filled with blood, in the drive back to CB. We took Zach into the CB Medical Center, where Doctor Sherman took one look at him and basically said his gash was beyond what he could take care of. The doctor’s concern was that the gash was so deep, and right on the joint, which is apparently especially prone to strange infections. Evidently there is a kind of bacteria that can go in and eat all of your cartilage in a matter of a few hours. Doctor Sherman set up an emergency “surgery” at the Gunnison OR with Dr. Beim, the same doc that reconstructed my ACL. Zach’s surgery didn’t start until well into the evening. Dr. Beim confirmed that the wound was dangerously prone to infection. She said it went clear to the bone. She cleaned out his joint tissue and then sewed him up. I never knew getting stitches could be so complicated!
Despite the sour ending, the ride was fabulous! Zach is on the mend, though he’s not allowed to ride his bike for 2+ weeks. My best wishes go out to Zach for a quick heal. And thanks again for joining me on a great ride!
For more trail information please see Doctors on our Crested Butte Mountain Biking Guide.
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What? No Zach blood & gore shots?
I seem to remember a time you were all about that stuff. 😉
Heal up quick Z!
Oh believe me- I sure thought of grabbing a carnage pic! We were just so pressed for time! At that point I thought he was going to be able to make it to work at 2pm if we just got him into the clinic quickly. So not the case 🙂 By the time we knew he was going to have to travel to Gunny, his arm was all nicely wrapped up… although blood was seeping through. Next time, carnage pic!