The 12 Hours of Mesa Verde ran so well. Matt had a solid placing in the solo singlespeed class and headed out on his last lap. I started packing up, and was planning to pour him a beer and have a nice hot plate of Lotsa Pasta spaghetti ready for him as soon as he’d rolled in and changed.
Things changed when Matt was 10 minutes past the time I expected him to roll in. I kept waiting at the gate where the riders check in, looking for him on the horizon, but nothing. Then the reports started coming in about an injured rider. I was worried that it might be Matt, but the descriptions of the injured person just didn’t fit him. I thought maybe he was out there helping someone. Then the report came in about a second rider injured in the Rib Cage portion of the trail. I became more concerned. A few minutes later, Stephen Barnes came over to me and told me that one of the injured people was Matt. My heart dropped into my stomach. The 2 separate injuries were confusing. One person was much worse off than the second. The 2 injured people turned out to be just one, Matt.
Frustration is probably an understatement. Perhaps it was fear, worry, frustration, and a touch of terror going through my mind. Stephen was describing where Matt was located on the trail to someone on the phone. He kept getting back on the phone and explaining. I couldn’t get any details which was difficult to deal with. Eventually Stephen took off on his own, and got to Matt. Thank goodness for that, because then I was able to hear how he was doing.
About 3 hours after I first heard that Matt was hurt, he was finally rolled into the ER on an ambulance. Jeff was kind enough to come with me, which definitely helped calm my nerves. It was great to finally see for myself that Matt looked okay. Not great, but he was safe and coherent.
Matt’s status report is here, so I won’t repeat. I’m just happy he’s not as seriously injured as he could have been. Thanks BWR team and others who have shared their concern for Matt. Mike, thanks for taking care of the bikes for me. That was huge. You all are great!! 
I am so sorry to hear about this, and I understand your torment a little bit from my experienc in Morocco. I can relate to knowing something is terribly wrong, but not getting any information. the difference is you couldn’t see or talk to him. It must have been so awful. I am relieved to hear he is cognitively fine, and I am sure it will be a huge relief once you see a neurologist. Please keep us posted.
Glad to hear Matt is OK. I don’t know you or him personally, but I know you both by reputation. One of our High Desert guys wrecked on the first lap and broke his leg pretty badly (spiral fracture). Luckily a few riders back was an awesome ER doctor who stayed with him until the medics showed up to get him out. Good vibes to the BWR folks and hope all continues well.
Hi, Jeni. What a horrible experience! What a relief that Matt is okay. No doubt his physical shape most definitely helped. Now, he has to make sure that the injuries do not linger and cause more problems down the road, especially the pinched nerve. From my personal experience of a horrible bike crash I had a few years ago (my bike split in half!), surrounding onesself with great doctors/people are most important. Fortunately, I had a great chiropractor/kinesiologist to help me recover. Perhaps Matt should consider that avenue. Chiropractors are not thought of as quacks as in the past. But most importantly, a positive attitude plus having you by his side will no doubt create an environment where a speedy recovery is guaranteed.
Glad you had friends there to help out and get your boy healed up quickly!
Hey Jeni,
All I have to say is Matt was a total stud out there. He really realized he was hurt seriously and took it seriously. He kept his sense of humor, although it was obvious attempts at “gallows humor” given the injury, but his spirits were always up none-the-less! Rock on for a speedy recovery and we’ll see you both back out in the dirt soon!
Keep smiling,
Stephen
Matt’s recovering, but still has lots of hurt. I guess it’s to be expected, but it is still difficult to watch. Thanks for all the kind thoughts to all who have emailed, called, and left messages on our blogs. He’ll be back on the trails before we know it!!
Warm fuzzies to all the other folks out there who got injured as well!
Jeni – Sorry J and I couldn’t make it to hospital with you – I’m glad a number of the team members stood by you in the long wait. I can’t imagine how scary it was for you, but I have to say you outwardly handled it amazingly well. Me I would have just gone up there after kicking everyone near me for not moving what I would have thought was fast enough. Glad to see there are some level headed people out there!