it's been 4 years since my disastrous crash at a castlewood short track race in 2004. it was a stupid wreck, just cruising along behind another rider, getting ready to attack again. i was in the best shape in years, and the short tracks were going very well. they tend to be a strength of mine, and i guess i quit paying attention. deanna, whom i had just started dating, was watching so i was going to try and make the race a runaway win. biff, i hit a root while my hands were only loosely on the grips. i flew superman style into a small tree and it hit me between my neck and shoulder. i was carted out of there on a stretcher. deanna followed me to the hospital and we found out i had a punctured lung, 8 broken ribs in my back, a broken scapula, a 2nd degree shoulder separation at the ac joint, and a broken acromian. and, only 5 weeks sleeping upright in a chair brought me back to not quite as good as new...
so, even though my racing, nor my life, has ever been the same, i still love the short track. tonight was no fairy tale story of my comeback win or anything like that, but it was a great race for me now and a great event altogether. tons of people come out to these things because they are fun, short, fun, there is food, and it's fun. chris ploch did what he does best and smashed us pretty early, but me and my long time racing compatriot john matthews had a battle royale for 2nd and 3rd. we went back and forth, matching each others accelerations and moves. it was just like old times, and even though we're both older, it was no less fun. i finally got the better of him in the last half of the last lap. wow, it was killer. to top it all off, tyson and hanna came out with me to cheer me on. they had signs and shouted at me every lap. they shouted at brian every lap, too, who came out, road shoes and all, to bust a move. he did pretty well, finishing 7th or 8th.
kudos to the gents who put this thing on, and to ralph and crew for the chicken sandwiches, fruit and chips and of course the drinks. and thanks very much to ryan h for more great photos, at least they're great for me. they actually make me look like i'm not hurting, which is quite a feat because a short track is always about mashing the whole time and never looking back....................................................
4 years later. it's time to put that old stuff to bed.
7 comments:
I can recall carting you to McDonalds in the Audi as you whinced the entire way. Seems the suspension and Delrin bushings didn't have enough give for your condition.
Glad that's over with.
yeah, i was thinking about that last night, too. you took me to see hanna at the majic house. ouch.
Good job. It's always strange to show up at a race that didn't have fond memories that last time you did it. I'm sure you pre-rode the course and made a mental note of that one particular root. Of couse if it wasn't for the $4/gallon gas, I'd have been out there hitting some more races. I've had to keep the schedule close the home this year.
thanks, mark.
nice job man! i got gapped and you guys crushed my sprits after 3 laps of chasing.
where'd you get the pics?
dave, with your recent string of beatdowns, i was soooo waiting for you to come around us old guys and solo off for the glory. lucky us.
ryan hermsmeyer and/or his wife took the photos and were gracious enough to mail them to me before i even got to my computer last night.
Cool to see some more big guns come out and ride their bikes real fast!
Killer race, man!
-C. Ryback
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