Another first for the Pedalfiles Bike Hash . . . a casualty!
The hares set a fine trail on Easter Sunday, but just before the mid-point beer & taco check Kiwi Herman hit a grate the wrong way, flipped over his handlebars, and landed on his helmetless head. Other riders were with him when it happened, and realizing he was unconscious, called 911. Master Meat Finder and Pick'n'Flick and I were several blocks behind, wondering what all the sirens were for. We followed trail around a corner and the whole sad scene was there before us: a mass of parked bicycles, a long-faced pack, a fire truck and ambulance, several paramedics - and of course Kiwi, strapped to a board with a full neck brace, surrounded by blood and pieces of scalp.
The paramedics took Kiwi to a nearby hospital and we rode on, a subdued pack. The beer check wasn't exactly glum, but it wasn't a laff riot either. On-afters were a little livelier, but of course everyone was thinking about Kiwi.
You're probably wondering who went in the ambulance with Kiwi. I'm ashamed to say none of us did. Pick'n'Flick wanted to go with him and I talked her out of it. Kiwi isn't a close friend of ours. But I've been thinking about it, and of course Pick'n'Flick was right. Once we realized no one else was going to give up the bike ride and go to the hospital with Kiwi, we should have, close friends or not. He's a hasher, and another hasher should have been with him, at least until it was clear he was okay. As it was, no one knew how seriously he'd been injured. Later that evening we heard through the cell phone grapevine he'd been released and was back in his home.
Well, at least someone did take his bike back to the start and throw it in the back of a truck.
Hare's fault? Absolutely not. Their trail was well-planned, well-marked, and safe. Kiwi's fault? Yeah, though it seems unnecessarily harsh to say so. He saw the grate up ahead and slowed down for it, but he crossed it in such a way that his front tire was in line with a gap between the steel plates.
Should he have been wearing a helmet? That last question was the talk of the beer check. Besides Kiwi, a couple of other riders weren't wearing helmets. One was at the accident scene, using water from his own Camelback to rinse the gore off Kiwi's backpack after the paramedics cut it off him. That particular rider said he won't ride without a helmet again.
When you hare, whether it's a regular hash or a bike hash, you think about the possibility of hashers getting hit by cars, and you try to set the course so as to minimize that risk. You do, don't you? I know I do. But grates? Damn.
Before I sign off, I apologize to all the Pedalfiles who've gone down on trail, sustaining multiple cuts and bruises. You were casualties too. Kiwi wasn't really the first, just the most spectacular. Let's hope he keeps the record forever!
Add Comment
