Right around Easter, Errin was having a stellar weekend. On the Saturday he was doing a little motorrading around Angles Crest highway ride testing and getting some if his gear settled. Everything was going well. It was April and we still had a couple months ahead of us to plan for Thrukon. That afternoon he sent me a photo of himself with his motorcycle to use for some of our promo material.
The next day, Sunday, he headed up to the hills around Pasadena to shred some bicycles through the dirt. And that reminded me of that saying, the old adage, something specific about 'not getting too rad too close to your departure date for a major trip'. Do you remember it? I suppose it's possible that there isn't a saying about that particular situation, but there should be. And someone should tell it to Errin, because Errin gets rad. Maybe he gets a little too rad.
Either way his radery reached a pinnacle as he descended a steep dusty peak on two skinny bicycle road tires and lost the front end of his ride. I didn't witness the crash, and there aren't any photos of it, but I was told he ascended to the heavens, and with a sharp arc in his trajectory, fell back to earth with haste. The impact was hard. In an effort to break his fall, he punched the ground with his fist.
Earth-1, Fist-0
Errin quickly realized that his attempt to the fist fight the San Gabriel mountains wasn't working, so instead he switched up his tactics and used his right upper torso to arrest his descent from the clear blue sky. Unfortunately, this resulted in a fractured clavicle, which required surgery and some titanium hardware.
Anterior x-ray view of Errin's brand spanking new, bionic, ultra-lightweight upgrade
An injury of this type, while being an inconvenience, is typically not a major concern. It may or may not buy you a ticket to the operating room. If surgery is required, it's a rather routine procedure. Then 4-6 weeks to heal, and you're good for the most part. Once Errin got settled into his diagnosis and prognosis, he and I had a conversation on what this was going to mean for the expedition. Was he ok? Would he heal in time for departure? Was riding a motorcycle at speed over distance going to be a issue? These were a few of the concerns we had. I was a little worried this accident may potentially end Errin's participation before it even began.
Looking back though, I think one of the biggest concerns from this incident was his ink. A day or two before Errin's bone smasher, he had a huge chest piece finished up. A majestic, full color scene of Mount Whitney in the Sequoia National Park, with axes, clouds and a meadow. He feared the surgeon may have sliced through the freshly tattooed border of Kevlar dynamic kermantle rope.
Our hero takes a post-op bathroom selfie
Errin had his follow-up visit with the ortho surgeon today, and I am happy to report that he has made a full recovery. He's been back on two wheels for a couple months now, feels strong, and is in the process of packing his gear to depart from Los Angeles for a leisurely drive to meet me in Seattle, from where we will both leave for Alaska to meet up with Jeffry. Oh, and the surgeon was able to avoid slicing through the peak of Mt. Whitney.
I love it when a plan comes together.
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