Francois is doing well

[bustamove]

Both Raymond and I met up at Regional Medical Center in San Jose to check up on Francis. The word got out to family members about the accidend and Francis had a nice support group in the waiting room of the ER late Saturday afternoon while we waited for some news.

When we left, Francis was scheduled for plastic surgery on his upper lip and had a splint on his left hand -- which was broken. If I remember correctly, a cast will be put on the broken hand later in the week and oral surgery might be required as well. Don't ask me what they did with his teeth. Overall, Francis was in good spirits happy that his family was nearby.

Raymond shot some photos of Francis being loaded into the heli-vac and a video of the takeoff. Hopefully, Raymond will find this thread and post up the visuals later.

Many thanks to everyone that helped out either riding out to call for help or standing by Francis and taking care of him after the accident. A special thank you to Thom Sutfin and the CDF and EMT emergency crews that took good care of Francis. I'm sure all the positive vibes being put out are going to help Francis heal a little quicker.

D-

[J]

Get well soon, Francis. It was really tough seeing you hurt like that today.

Jay

[george_da_trog]

I heard about his crash off the log.

Best wishes.

george

[baycat]

get well francois. my shoulder is killing me from my endo on ridge but my wishes are with you and i will self medicate with beer in you honor!

[Rumpfy]

Whew...good to hear he's doin' ok.

All positive thoughts your way Francis!

That was some scary sh!t.

[Shwaa]

Ouch. sounds like scary stuff!

Heal up bro

[Rex_Skidmore]

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

[Fiona]

Get well soon Francios. I was with you guys in spirit today.

Fiona

[rensho]

Get well soon ultralord. We missed your good spirits on the ride out and the bbq. That was a scary moment when we rolled up to Tractor and you were standing there dazed with your bike and your mouth was taped up. I thought you had broken your jaw, but didn't want to ask any questions.

Let me know what the oral surgeons say about the teeth making it back in and can be salvaged. If not, i'm putting in a Boone order for a 17t cog, and could set you up with some Ti insissors or bicuspids. LMK by tomorrow around 4pm. I know how you like the Bling. I'll pick up the tab and shipping if it is not too much. Nothing's too good for you bro!

[Jack B. Nimble]

They will probably revoke my lurker union card for this but I had to post. I hope you heal up and are back on the trails real soon.

John

[smw]

Good News. Get well soon Ultra lord. Healing vibes are heading your way.
You were missed at the que. When your ready we will have to have a que and pool party.
Hey, Kmax, hows the pool doing?

Sean

[Rumpfy]

Originally Posted by Jack B. Nimble

They will probably revoke my lurker union card for this but I had to post. I hope you heal up and are back on the trails real soon.

John

You're a gonner now John!

[mtb-chop]

Francis,
I'm glad you're getting patched up, and was sorry to see you in that state. I feel bad this happened on a ride I asked for. I hope your recovery is a speedy one, and thank you for introducing me 'The Demo' last week. I won't be around for your comeback, but wish you happy trails after you're back in the saddle.

Greg

[fred-da-trog]

Francios, here's wishing you a speedy covery. Glad your ok., Fred

[Ebo]

Positive healing vibes coming your way Francis. Have a happy, healing Fathers Day too.

[Ebo]

About $3k per tooth/implant with the titanium posts. Don't ask me how I know.

[dan51]

Hope you heal quick. We all have better riding experiences because of you and the site you built.

-Dan

[Finch Platte]

Does not sound pleasant.

Oh, man. Get better quick! The Downieville rides are next weekend!!

Owwwww....

fp

[derelict]

Francis,

My wife and I wish you a speedy recovery. Get well soon.

Ed and Kace
aka Derelict and bikerwidow

[BigLarry]

I was shocked to see the emergency crews as our C group rode up Hihn's Mill, only to find out it was Francois. Couldn't Be!!

I'm happy you didn't fare any worse, are healing now, and your family is near by you.

Get well quick, we need you to help lead, motivate, and inspire our MTBR gang!


Oh, and my dentist said "his" implants were $6K, until I found another better dentist, and found I didn't even need them. More than anything, second opinions are VERY important in dentistry. Unchecked, that dental bill can sometimes be the worst pain of all.

[BigLarry]

Originally Posted by Finch Platte

WTF happened???

I posted a simple summary here on the Demo Thread.

[jeffh]

Francis,

Get well soon our fearless leader, and do what the doctors says that's why they went to school so long.

Jeff

[slide mon]

Hey Francois,

We met at Annadel (story about CC night riding...) I'm carrying around a few titanium parts myself, my advice is don't be in too big a rush to pick up where you left off. Take your time, you'll be back. Get well.

-slide

[Mountain Medic]

wow, sorry to hear that, get well francis. Sorry I couldn't be there to help you out.

[jimyoo]

Francois,
get well soon. Best wishes.

/ Jae

[Joseph-da-trog]

Still in utters shock. I cannot believe this even happen to you bro. As you rolled on the log and crashed right before my feet off the log, time some how stood still for a split second and we all could not believe what we were seeing. The Ultra Lord on the ground WTF!!

I am so happy that you are going to be ok. We can rebuild him and he will come back even stronger then before. Heal up soon.

We should all have a home coming of this magnitude for you to come back to the trails.

My best wishes

[zorg]

Glad to know that he's doing better. Watching him lying down all taped up at the bottom of Tractor was a bit scary.

[Aussie Bob]

Get better soon Francois Aussie Bob

[Stalk]

Get well Fc, I'm shocked to hear about this crash.

[singlespeed.org]

Francis - Bummer deal. I am glad that it all sounds like you will be able to come back as strong as ever.

[LJ0913]

Francis - Get well!!!

[JFR]

Ouch. Get well soon Francois.

[Bikinfoolferlife]

Dang, sorry to hear about the injury. I'm just coming off a wrist bone fracture myself and hated the off time as I've no doubt you will as well. Fortunately Downieville the last few days has been a good reminder I'm not dead yet...and only today I was wondering if Francis was merely enjoying himself on another part of the mountain as I hadn't seen him.

Wishes for a speedy recovery,
Chris

[velocipus]

Goodness gracious goodgolly Francis!

Man, that's some digger. I hope you get better real quick. I look forward to seein gyou on the trails/

How's your bike?

[BigLarry]

Here's a sweet picture of Francois' start, delighted to have such a huge gang of MTBR friends come show up at his party. This has got to be the biggest MTBR gathering ever, at least for NorCal.

[francois]

Hello, this is Francis' wife, Cherubin. We just wanted to let you know that he's home now and is quietly recovering. After reading some of the messages posted, there was quite a few people whom I have never had the chance to meet yet, that took great care of him. Thank you, Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Our family (especially our 2 little ones) thanks you very much for making sure he got the proper help he needed. It was hard seeing Francis in the ER badly injured. Even in the ER, Francis couldn't believe how his friends helped him and had everything under control.

Francis won't be riding anytime soon (even though he thinks he'll be riding by next week). He's still making lots of jokes, walking a little and is on quite few heavy dosages of meds. He'll need more surgery later on the inside his mouth where he lost his teeth, as well as checking for any other loose teeth. He chipped quite a few of them. For now the laceration across his face will need to heal, as well as all the other cuts, bruises, and swelling on his face. The doctor said it was a pretty bad laceration, but should heal fine in time. His hands will take some time to heal, with the left one broken and the right with very tender muscles. Even though this was a major accident, we're thankful it wasn't more serious and feel blessed he wasn't alone.

Thank you all for thinking of him and wishing him a very fast recovery.

Sincerely,
Cherubin Cebedo

[jrm]

Francis, glad to hear your doing well. Heal up ultralord...

PS: didnt you yardsale on tracker before? that trails got something for ya.. man

[jorgemonkey]

Dang man! I'm gone on a camping trip for one night and this is what I come back to! Heal up quick cause Demo rides just won't be the same without you.

It must have beensome wreck!

[Sabine]

Originally Posted by francois

Hello, this is Francis' wife, Cherubin. We just wanted to let you know that he's home now and is quietly recovering. After reading some of the messages posted, there was quite a few people whom I have never had the chance to meet yet, that took great care of him. Thank you, Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Our family (especially our 2 little ones) thanks you very much for making sure he got the proper help he needed. It was hard seeing Francis in the ER badly injured. Even in the ER, Francis couldn't believe how his friends helped him and had everything under control...........

Sincerely,
Cherubin Cebedo

Thank you Cherubin. Francis is always considerate and quick to care for others, so I imagine the outpouring of support returned to him will be more than is even displayed here.

Please send along my healing wishes.

And ask him if he needs someone to keep his retrotec company while he, ummmm...heals and stuff.

Sabine

[scheckler]

my friend... I'd like to add my name to the "anything you need you just let me know" list. You are one very cool person, Francois and I am very sorry this happened to you.

I think you should forget about replacing the broken/ missing teeth. You can start a new look for MTBR and we can design a new jersey

[MiniMae]

andy told me all about it when i got home from work. YIKES!

hope you heal fast and get back on the bike soon!

-reggie

[Rumpfy]

Originally Posted by francois

Hello, this is Francis' wife, Cherubin. We just wanted to let you know that he's home now and is quietly recovering. After reading some of the messages posted, there was quite a few people whom I have never had the chance to meet yet, that took great care of him.................. broken and the right with very tender muscles. Even though this was a major accident, we're thankful it wasn't more serious and feel blessed he wasn't alone.

Thank you all for thinking of him and wishing him a very fast recovery.

Sincerely,
Cherubin Cebedo

Thank you Cherubin for taking the time to post an update.
It means the world to us to know Francis is home and doing ok.

[smw]

Originally Posted by MiniMae

andy told me all about it when i got home from work. YIKES!

hope you heal fast and get back on the bike soon!

-reggie

Yeah, I think Andy was a bit shaken himself, he's a good man and did everything he could to comfort francois. The MTBR gang is a hella great group of people.

Sean

[The Law]

Francois-

My best to you. The bright side: Being laid up and forced to take it easy, you can catch ALL the World Cup games! Lucky!

But really, take it easy and let folks take care of you to make sure you heal completely before getting back on the bike.

And, no one's said it yet since they are all probably being too polite but I'm gonna go ahead and write it. Does this mean that we all might have a fighting chance of keeping up with Francois once he returns? He just might get out of shape while recovering...! No more humble pie served up by the ultralord. (Fat chance!)

Most importantly, we're all glad you are okay.

Shiloh

[elsaltamontes]

I wanted to send thanks on behalf of Francis. (For those who don't know, I'm his younger cousin Raymond, aka elsaltamontes.)

Francis and I have been riding these trails for years. Once a week at least... we both have gone down numerous times, but always back on our feet. But this time, it was bad. But the timing couldn't have been better in regards to the company that surrounded us. If it had been our regular group, we wouldn't have had sh!t in terms of first aid. So, this was a huge lesson learned.

Big thanks to
Cassidy aka hairylegs - had a medicine cabinet with him complete with gauze, scissors, etc.
Fred da Trog - rode down immediately to find help and was first to send the news to the bottom
Eric (aka Rumpfy) - volunteered to ride out and get Francis' car in case we had to drive him ourselves.
Andy (edit: aka Crashmaster), Kyle (aka Kmax), Joseph Da Trog - thanks for comforting and talking to Francis. The company was really helpful in calming the nerves (mostly mine!).
There was another Trog up there... (do you guys do this often or what?!) that helped Francis with more first aid. Sorry, I didn't get your name. (edit: This was Alex, the Trog)

And everyone that was there who consoled, advised, patted his back, made us laugh, etc. big thanks!

And of course The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. These guys were awesome, and totally dedicated to helping Francis. Ed, and Thom, (the Forest Managers), the EMT guys and Darrell. For the names I missed, I apologize. Amidst the blur of the event, I'm surprised I even remember what I remember.

Here's some pics and a video of Francis' ride to the Emergency Room. He was smiling at this point as we joked about the beers we were going to consume on his behalf. The guy is a TROOPER! Get well soon cuz.














Video of the chopper flying...
http://www.galang.com/francois/francois.MOV

Originally Posted by bustamove

Both Raymond and I met up at Regional Medical Center in San Jose to check up on Francis. The word got out to family members about the accidend and Francis had a nice support group in the waiting room of the ER late Saturday afternoon while we waited for some news.

When we left, Francis was scheduled for plastic surgery on his upper lip and had a splint on his left hand -- which was broken. If I remember correctly, a cast will be put on the broken hand later in the week and oral surgery might be required as well. Don't ask me what they did with his teeth. Overall, Francis was in good spirits happy that his family was nearby.

Raymond shot some photos of Francis being loaded into the heli-vac and a video of the takeoff. Hopefully, Raymond will find this thread and post up the visuals later.

Many thanks to everyone that helped out either riding out to call for help or standing by Francis and taking care of him after the accident. A special thank you to Thom Sutfin and the CDF and EMT emergency crews that took good care of Francis. I'm sure all the positive vibes being put out are going to help Francis heal a little quicker.

D-

[CruzSS]

Francois - hope you heal quickly. All the best from me and Crazy Cat Lady (Winona)

Alex

[ridindog]

that sucks! i hope you heal fast, best wishes

[Skyline35]

Originally Posted by BigLarry

Francois was trying a log ramp on Ridge around Tractor. He must not have been accustomed to his loaner FS shock damping and it messed up his timing.

Was that the BMC he had for a Pro Review? That'll be some interesting reading!

But seriously - Francis, I hate reading that you had a bad crash, and I wish you a speedy and complete recovery!!!

///Charlie

[K-max]

Originally Posted by smw

When your ready we will have to have a que and pool party.

That's a great idea. We'll gladly host a post-ride recovery party when the time is right. The launch pad needs to be broken in....

[CHUM]

get better quick fc....hill climb wednesdays won't be the same 'til ya get back.

[K-max]

I second the thanks to Thom and his crew. It was a huge blessing in disguise that they were there. And it just affirmed one key truth: we're a tight community and we need each other. They were extremely professional and thorough and I know we all breathed a huge sigh of relief when they rolled down the fireroad. And having been the recipient of emergency care before, I'm sure I can speak for Francis that it was a relief for him, too.

Francis, we all really care about you. That's why we flew into action, scrambling to do our hackjob triage work. The gravity of the injury weighed heavy on us all. So many of us wished we could do more to help. The docs will take good care of you. Plastic surgery these days is amazing. Just look at Chum. You'd never know he had an arm growing out of his forehead.

Oh, and the other Trog was all-around good guy Alex.

[smw]

A little update as Francis said to give ya'all a report. My wife and I just paid a short visit to our Ultra Lord and Mrs Ultra Lord. Francis is doing fine, he's a bit sore as you would expect. Some bumps and bruises as well as the split lip will all heal just fine. He's home resting in bed and watching World Cup soccer under the watchful eye of his wife Cherubin. He still was trying to smile as always, but its a bit awkward for him at this point. Good news, no neck or back injury. His left wrist is broken, and the right hand is very sore. He will be fine with a bit of rest and relaxation.

I think his wife may be more shaken then he is, and understandable so. Francis was concerned that the ride and bar-b-que were still a sucess. He was happy to hear that the festivities at the new location drew so many of you. He missed being there for the food and beer. So tip one back for Francis today and send your healing vibes. As already mentioned he was extremly comforted by all the care he recieved from you on the trail, and support.

Nor-Cal forum is the new Passion,
Ride-On
Sean

ps-maybe the hockey player mt biker look will catch on

[Plim]

Dang. That's scary. Hope you're feeling better soon, Francis.

[Cannonhead]

Hope you feel well soon...you put together a great ride yesterday, and we all appreciate that. Thanks Raymond and Cherubin for keeping us updated, we're all concerned.

Get back on that bike Francis, we need you out there to help push the pace...maybe you'll stick to 29" wheels?? kidding.

[CrankyMonkey]

I was going to join the group yesterday for my first ride with my new bike but the schedule of buying didn't work out and I was out picking it up yesterday. I just moved to Nor-Cal from AZ and started reading the Nor-Cal riding forums. My best wishes go out to Francis and his family, he seems very enthusiastic about riding and the next couple of months will be tourtue. Simply for the fact that he won't be able to ride. That alone would kill me right now.

Get well soon...

[MikeG]

Get well soon man. Find the best chiropractor around. You'll have the best seat in the country for watching Le Tour this year.

And if you need someone to help you write up a pro-review on that BMC ... let me know ...

[benja55]

Wow. Francois, you have given so much to everyone.

Sorry to hear about this fall. We all are pulling for you and know you'll be back in the game soon.

Good luck and Godspeed!

-B

[derek]

Heal quick Francis! Glad to hear that the crew was able to help you out so quickly and get you outbound to the hospital. Never fun, but awesome to know that there are those around that care and have the ability to provide emergency medical care. (makes me want to take one of those weekend first provider course.)

-Derek

[VTT]

Get well soon....

[Quasi]

Originally Posted by elsaltamontes

And of course The Department of Forestry nad Fire Protection. These guys were awesome, and totally dedicated to helping Francis.

I didn't know there was a Department of Forestry nad Fire Protection. I have been on some long rides and they haven't caught fire yet. But it is good to know there is a department to take care of them if they do catch on fire.

Sorry to hear about Francis' accident. Hope he gets better soon. Hope he has good insurance. If he has AAA club membership, is beyond a certain distance from his home (might be like 100 miles, so this might not work), and the emergency medical evac is not covered by another insurance, AAA will cover something like $100,000 of the medical evacuation cost.

[Sk1nnyGuy]

Heal up quick, Francois!
We need our OverLord back!

[Acadian]

holy crap....get well soon Francis!

[Jefe74]

Good to hear he is doing well. It was quite a shock coming onto the scene and realizing it was our fearless leader. Best to you Francois.

Also, if anybody has any connections at Giro/Bell, or another helmet company, PLEASE let them know we really need an XCish helmet with face protection. There has been discussion on it on the All Mountain board:
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=186293

But I am sure if anybody started marketing a good one, it would get 5 flaming chilis REAL quick.

- Jeff

[Dan'ger]

My dear brother-in-bike, I was sorry to hear of your fall. You could not have had a better group of friends to aid in picking you up.


I am relieved to hear that none of your injuries are life threatening.


I wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you on the trails again soon.


Dan

P.S. after telling your story to my wife, I have the go-ahead to purchase a full-face.

[bustamove]

It was Andy (aka Crashmaster) who was at Francis' side tending to his wounds. Having a doctor/girlfriend has its benefits when observing emergency medical procedures. And Andy has had lots of opportunities to observe first aid procedures after all the times Reggie patched Andy back together

Amen to that!

[GuruAtma]

We'll all send out healing thoughts so that you can get well soon. Try to enjoy the time off. Your only job now is to get better.

[justme]

Francois, hope you heal fast. I'm one of the Pinoys you meet on Thanksgiving Day at the top of Kennedy last year. One of the guys phone me about your crash and I can't believe it when he mention your name but sometimes accident happens. Get well soon, kabayan.

[Bike Nazi]

Your site provides us with tons of inspiration when we can't ride for one reason or another.

I will try to do my little part and post some ride photos while your healing.

[cRasHmAstER]

I'm glad to know that your doing better, I hope to see you back out there soon, and no more squishy bikes, and thanks for everyones support you couldn't ask for a better group of people to be riding with accident or not.


CrAzY AnNdY

[Impy]

Not even this crash can keep the ultralord down!!

Speedy healing vibes are being sent from SoCal so get well soon

Kudos to all you guys who got the search and rescue guys out, or medic'd on francis. MTBR family is the best.

[aosty]

Yikes! Very sorry to hear about this... getting hurt sucks. Get well soon... you'll be back sooner than you think!!!

[Damron]

hey Francois,

I met you a while back at one of the Wednesday Kennedy hill climbs, Sorry about the crash on Saturday glad to hear your going to be o.k. By the way thanks for putting together the totally awesome demo group ride. Good healing.

Brett

[Damron]

Originally Posted by K-max

I
Plastic surgery these days is amazing. Just look at Chum. You'd never know he had an arm growing out of his forehead.

.

WOW! if thats true this explains a lot about Chum.

[obionespeedonly]

Healing vibes man, healing vibes. Let us know if you need anything.

Obi, and the Mrs.

p.s. Please, after reading the following, try not to laugh too hard, or smile much, I dont want you re-injuring anything.

Here goes...

What's the last thing an adrenaline junkie says??

"(Spitting) Hey, WATCH THIS!!"

[francois]

hey guys, my body is broke but my heart is full. thank you for your help on the trail and thank you for your support.

i wanted to bring everyone together at demo since that is my vision for mtbr
- bring riders together. and despite of the unfortunate incident, we've come to realize how close we are. heck even the rangers/foresters are our buds now. i could not have had a better set friends with me at the accident.

i've gone off that log a hundred times. there were too many folks though and my pace and line was off. my wheel fell off to the left and it was over. i've never been hurt before in a dozen years of riding. this is bad but it could have been worse. my neck and back are fine. my hands hurt like a mofo and it's a balancing act of painkillers and dizzines. oh mucho dental work is in my future.

friends and family all tell me i'm looking great. every time my 3-year old daughter sees me though she runs and cries. kids speak the truth and she says i look like an alien with hair!

anyway thank you again. peace and love to all.
francis aka francois

[wg]

Wow! Sorry to hear about this but glad you're back home and healing. All the best.
Now you're required to watch the World Cup. No excuses. Rest easy and heal up well.

Werner

[obionespeedonly]

Wanted to be sure you got this...(click the link, where it says "skip to e-card" and have fun.)

It's all for you, get well soon!

Hoops and YoYo rock!!

[K-max]

I need to say it ... we love you, man.

And your kids will think you're the tougher than burnt pork chops.

Kyle

[Aussie Bob]

Dear Francois I remmember the first time we met at the top of St Joseph's 6 years ago the friendly guy on the orange single speed you are one of the reasons I have my diabetes in check cause of this wonderfull thing called Mtbr you started cheers mate get well soon ,Love ya man your friend Aussie Bob

[arandal]

Francois,

Dude, rough deal! I am glad you are okay......I broke my leg 4 months ago mtbiking tamarancho and got off crutches one week ago...I have biked/skied/climbed for 20 years w/o a major injury until this one. The day after I broke my leg, my 14m/o son started walking. He likes to come and wack my cast/brace still to this day and looks at me funny walking w/o crutches. I think he mocks my limp.

I wish you well in recovery, and like everyone who loves mountain biking who gets injured, thank you for this site. MTBR has been my savior. And like everyone who loves biking and knowing that others do as well, thank you for this site again.

Cheers, Adrian

P.S. vicodin/painkilla tip...if you are expected to be in pain during the night, set your alarm as an estimate of when they will wear off so to not wake up to pain...i.e., have them b4 they completely wear off..

heal quick

[jdubsl2]

Francis! Man! I just came on to see how the ride was and heard about your crash. I'm really sorry this had to happen on what sounds like was an otherwise great day. However, I don't think your timing could have been any better -- rangers on hand and surrounded by the populus of the mountain biking mecca which you have created. Best wishes for a quick recovery.

Justin

[Stripes]

I just heard about this tonight from one of the other MTBR folks.

Heal well, Francois, and come back stronger than ever.

Glad to hear it's not life-threatening, hang in there dude!

[grrrah]

Hey Francis,

glad to see you are on you way to recovery! It was eerie seeing you down, and many of us felt helpless, but that was because the rest of the crew were already hard at work taking good care of you.. Get well soon, and we look forward to sharing the fruits of your labor with you soon! The job you have done to bring us all together is simply amazing.

Thanks to all of you guys that were instrumental in helping!

-Rafael

[MikeG]

Hey Francios!! How odd that I went through a lesser version of the same thing last year!!? Here's to your quick recovery and AWESOME publicity stunt. ... er ... did I say that outloud? I seriously think you are going to find and be-friend the best cyclo-chiropractor in Silicon Valley. Don't worry about mtbr while you get better. We're building up pleanty of passion this summer to shower your way.

- MikeG

PS - With your new grill and plastic surgery I'm anxiously awaiting your (soon to be) internationally acclaimed vlog coverage of Tous du l'Etapes du 2006 Tour!

[thrshr]

Get well soon Kuya Francois!!

I got the call from Ray and the rest of the fam that you took a spill. It's good to hear that you're at home and resting!!

Let Kasey and I know if you need anything we're only blocks away!!!

Thanks to all who were there to help.

[Dude]

Ultralord,

Sorry to hear about the crash that is a bummer..... The family is sending good vibes your way! Get well soon.....

[DMFT]

- I don't like hearing about anyone getting injured, get well SOON Franswahhhh!

[Zonic Man]

Damn dude! Stop doing that!

Get well brudda.

[bigboulder]

heal up quick dude!

we will hoist several beers in your honor in D'ville this week.

[OldSkoolMark]

Its been awhile since I've joined any of the MTBR rides, and at the last moment I bailed on this one. In large part because I was concerned that my competitive juices and somebody on my rear wheel would cause me to be one of the bruised and bloodied. (and I've got a race on Sunday). Sorry to hear that the high jinx turned sinister, but glad that the prognosis is good.

Ever since I heard about the accident, I've been contemplating the psychology of group rides, and how the pressure, and other primal hunting party forces, either consciously, or subconsciously pushes us to ride a little faster, jump a little farther, brake a little later, than perhaps we should.

Get well soon.

[OldSkoolMark]

Originally Posted by K-max

I second the thanks to Thom and his crew. It was a huge blessing in disguise that they were there. And it just affirmed one key truth: we're a tight community and we need each other. They were extremely professional and thorough and I know we all breathed a huge sigh of relief when they rolled down the fireroad. .

The best thing would have been for the accident not to have happened at all, but if it had to happen, I'm glad it was at the SDSF, as the incident's effect on trail access is likely to be minimal. On the other hand, if it happened on the other side of the hill, on Midpen land, you could be sure that this incident would be used at some point to justify trail closures. Thom and company are super cool and not bike-phobic like a lot of land managers. In fact, I believe you can thank them directly for some of the jumps.

[Slayer77]

healing... Try to be mellow about it, you will be back on your bike before you know it. I've had a few catastrophic crashes in my time and I know the first few weeks/months of recovery are painful. It will get better though man. Just hang in there and let any of us know if you need anything at all, we are there for you.


Thanks for everything bro.

Forrest

[Finch Platte]

Originally Posted by elsaltamontes

I wanted to send thanks on behalf of Francis. (For those who don't know, I'm his younger cousin Raymond, aka elsaltamontes.)

That looks exPENsive!

Thanks for the followup writeup & pics.

Which teeth got knocked out? Are they back in?

fp

[brado1]

Ultralord, Get Well Soon Brotha! Hope everything goes well, our thoughts and prayers will be with you, for a speedy recovery! hang in there bro.

[jilm]

Damn Francis!

Get well soon Buddy! Hope your lip and tooth owies don't keep you from imbibing bottled medicinal fluids. Best wishes

[8Trak]

Heal well and soon, man. Like everyone, I'm glad to hear the injuries were not life threatening. You've helped form a great community here in Norcal, so I'm glad so many were around to give you help when you needed it.

-Dave

[Blue Shorts]

Get well soon, Francois!!!! I was in SoCal all weekend. I got home late last night and now I see this.... Holy Carp. I can't believe it.

I think that this shows that anyone can get injured and it helps to have good friends around. IF this can happen to you.... it can happen to anyone.

Get well, Francois!!!! We're all pulling for you to be back on your bikes ASAP.

[madzane]

Francis,

Very sorry to hear about the crash, and hoping you recover quickly.

Cheers,
madzane

[zon]

Heal up quick man! Thanks for the reminder that even familiar trails can be hazardous.

Originally Posted by francois

oh mucho dental work is in my future.
francis aka francois

Hi Francis,
Hope you're feeling & looking better soon
Dont think of it as oral surgery...think of it as Upgrading your Grill.
Ti & 24K = Pimp'd out Ultralord
I think you could easily sport both the Playboy logo & the Mud Flap Girl