I got off the phone with Chuck's Daughter. Chuck will be spending the night at Dartmouth after 4 broken ribs from his fall today. Best Wishes go out to Chuck for a speedy recovery. Hope to see him back in action soon.

PJ

I was wondering about the Ambulance in the transition area. A little too out of it before to ask. Thanks for the update PJ.

Speedy recovery Chuck. Someone getting hurt is the last thing we ever want to see.

Ryan

Get well soon Chuck.

Chuck, hope you heal quickly.

Dana

I stopped in to see Chuck this morning. He has four broken ribs on one side and one cracked on the other. Pain meds are helping and he is doing OK, other than the fact that it hurts when he laughs. He says he will probably be off the bike for about a month. He should be released from the hospital later this afternoon.

He said thanks for a great event for as much as he could complete.

I looked up his MTB split and it looked really good at 37:17 for a 50+ rider.

Just curious, anyone know how / where Chuck's mishap took place?

Ryan

Right after he crossed the first transition mats. He was trying to hand off his MTB to his daughter/teammate and it fell to ground. All in one motion he tripped and felll on it.

That explains the ambulance in the transition zone.

Get well Chuck.

Happened right in front of me. I was chasing him from the top of the stairs till that point. He handed off his bike, his daughter grabbed it, pulled it in front of him and dropped it. He fell on the bike, then bounced on the ground making lots of noises. Fall didn't look nearly back enough to break ribs. Strange how that happens sometimes.

-- Ken
 
"If you brake, you don't win." Racer Mario Cipollini

The body is amazingly resilent while at the same time very fragile. It doesn't take much when applied in the wrong way.

Hey folks,

I thought I'd give you the update, but before I do that, thanks again PJ and Co. for putting on a great event! The Piperonies will be back next year!

Thanks Dana, for stopping by on Monday. I appreciated it.

So, I checked out of the hospital at 4pm or so on Monday and went home. I was dealing with a lot of pain and managed to get through the evening. I loaded up on pain meds and went to bed. At midnight we got a call from a night owl doctor who basically said they had made a mistake by discharging me so soon. Along with the ribs, I also had a pnuemothorax that could get ugly if not treated aggressively, so my son drove me back to Dartmouth - Hitchcock at 1:30am. I spent the rest of the week dealing with the pnuemo. With that taken care of, I got discharged yesterday at 1pm.

It was definitely a fluke accident. I've survived many falls without major problems. Friends and family have asked if I'm going to stop mountain biking. My response has been, "hell no! I didn't have a mountain bike accident, it was a running accident" :lol:

Thanks for the update Chuck.

Glad to hear you are finally out of the hospital and hopefully on the mend.

Speedy recovery.

Ryan