June 5, 2008 - A race report from PT rider Hannah Trimble.
I finally found the energy to sit at my computer and write a race report of my experience this past weekend at the 2008 US Open at Diablo Freeride Park. I went into this summer like a little child with a big, outlandish dream that I wholeheartedly believed would happen. If it wasn’t for my recent encounter with the unexpected it would’ve happened. My initial plan was to live with some friends in Vernon, New Jersey where we would train at Diablo and then travel together to the races. Living in Houston most of my life I have never had the opportunity nor the resources to train consistently and focus on bike racing. This was my chance and I had the full confidence that I would be racing at pro speed by the end of summer.
At the beginning of the year I broke my wrist riding bikes and was out the entire season. Towards the end of my injury I made some [minor] adjustments to my bike and rode with my cast on. This was the same year that I discovered gravity racing and my focus shifted from cross country to downhill riding which I instantly fell in love with. The US open would be my first downhill and dual slalom race without a broken wrist. After I recovered I began riding the slalom course at my school and rode Diablo the week before and felt great. Perhaps I was too confident and should have taken my first race easy and with more patience.
Someone once told me that until something drastic happens to you, you will never change. This past week has been the toughest, most painful, and drastic event that I have experienced. I have learned a lot in just a few days about myself and my outlook on life. I believe everything happens for a reason and sometimes the best things in life happen when they aren’t planned. My perfectly planned and much anticipated summer has completely changed. However, I have a new summer awaiting me that I know will teach me something unexpected.
As with every race I compete in I write a race report. This is my report for the 2008 US Open of Mountain biking-my most extreme race report yet. I went home tired and happy.
Sunday Downhill Finals and my Helicopter Ride
I woke up feeling tired and sore but I was excited to race. I knew I had the ability to finish on the podium and I expected nothing less. When I got to Diablo I only warmed up with two runs because I was tired and didn’t want to burn myself out before the race.
I went up to the top of the mountain and sat with the rest of the women, talking and trying to stay relaxed. I looked up at the clock and it read 1:00. My race start was 1:08 so I put on my goggles and lined up. I kept repeating in my mind words of encouragement and attempts to keep my nerves calm. I love racing and no matter how hard I try to fool myself I get overly excited at the start line. My butterflies were fluttering and my adrenaline was pumping. My hands gripped loosely and ready as I listened for the beeps that sounded for seconds. Five seconds to go….2 seconds….I’m off!
I was in a state of extreme focus. I knew there were people everywhere cheering but I couldn’t see anyone. All I could think of was to ride smooth and fast. And I was…I felt faster than I had been on any run but at the same time I also felt tired, a feeling that I tried hard to ignore.
I rode into the rock section with confidence as it was where I gained most of the time on my competitors. I flew off a rock drop and into the next section where I suddenly, unexpectedly flew off my bike. I still don’t know what happened in that moment or what I did to cause myself to crash but I crashed and hit hard. My crash was acrobatic as I flipped over my handle bars and landed on the back of my neck. As I lay in the rocks I suddenly could see all the people around me, their faces with startled expression. I started counting the seconds that I was losing but I wasn’t able to move. I looked up and saw someone holding my bike and everyone began cheering. “I have to get up…I have to finish this race” I stumbled up on my feet and grabbed my bike-everyone cheered again. I jumped on my bike and rode through the rest of the rock garden as I could hear the cheering become even louder until finally I was back in my zone and it faded into silence.
I didn’t feel injured at that moment, perhaps it was my adrenaline mixed with my determination that was running so strongly through my body. I rode all my lines, the rock slab, the little jumps, and the fast burms that flowed me into the field for the finish. I’m not sure what I was thinking when I hit the pro jump. All I can remember is looking at it and thinking “I can do that”. Never have I done a jump even close to that size and I hadn’t practiced it in my practice runs. With foolish courage I pedaled off the jump.
I don’t remember being in the air or even landing the jump. My friends told me I landed the jump and then fell down with the bike. I woke up ten feet in front of the finish line with people all around me, some of them my friends and some I didn’t recognize. Once again I couldn’t move except this time I wasn’t able to get up. My helmet felt as if it was strangling me and I begin shouting for someone to take it off because I couldn’t move my arms. I felt strong pain running through my neck all the way down my body and into my legs. The EMT medics rolled me onto a stretcher and put me in the ambulance where it drove me to the helicopter (my first helicopter ride!) that airlifted me to Morristown hospital.
I somehow convinced the EMT to take off my armor and racing pants off without cutting them. In the hospital I was brought into a room with bright lights and doctors all around me. After the doctors checked every inch of my body I had full body CAT scans where they would find a broken C6 vertebra.
The first few hours in the hospital I was more disappointed at the fact that I knew I wouldn’t be riding for a long time than at the fact that I was injured. It has been a long time where I have really cried hard and in this moment I could not stop crying. I cried so hard I thought I was going to stop breathing. My pain of emotion and frustration was stronger than the pain I could feel in my neck. I remember the doctor asking me if I was crying because I was scared and I answered “No, I’m not scared. I am upset because I will never be able to ride my bike again.”
The next four days and three nights at the hospital were a test of perseverance. I was accidently placed in the children’s hospital and lost close contact with the neuro- surgeon that originally looked at me. It would take two days and a lot of effort with the hospital to get my (first day scheduled) MRI’s taken that would confirm if any damage was done to my spinal cord (thankfully there was no damage). I wasn’t allowed to eat or drink anything for two days and instead was hooked up to an IV that was pumping fluid into my body to keep me hydrated. To add to the already uncomfortable situation I had to have a catheter put in me since I was not allowed to move. The second day it stopped working and when I told the nurse she didn’t believe me. Finally after six hours I had a new nurse on duty and she took it out. These are just a couple of the struggles I encountered while in the hospital and it would have been unbearable if it wasn’t for the company I had during the whole experience.
My older brother Dave stayed with me the entire time. When I was able to eat he bought me good food so I wouldn’t have to eat hospital food and he was the source of my calmness. We lightened up the mood of the whole situation by taking funny pictures of me and my bed ridden state. His girlfriend even came up one day and gave me a private concert singing songs and playing her guitar. If it wasn’t for Dave I would not have been able to make it.
The EMT who carried me off the race course also came to visit me. He told me that when he was strapping me to the board all I was asking of him was to carry me across the finish line so I could finish the race and when he said it doesn’t count unless I had my bike with me, I demanded that he drag it next to me. I laughed when he told me that story because I don’t remember any of it. He was a very kind man and I am thankful for all his help.
When I left the hospital I was in my gown because I didn’t have any clothes to change into. To add to my already hilarious image I had Einstein hair and was carrying my motocross helmet and goggles. The security guard stopped me because he thought I was escaping the hospital!!
Link to the pics (funny and sad) taken in the hospital
http://www.flickr.com/photos/38654427@N00/sets/72157605323145316/
Editors Note: For more on Hannah - including recovery updates, check out her blog: Hannah Daze
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