“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother; be never so vile. This day shall gentle his condition. And gentlemen in England now abed shall think themselves accursed they were not here, and hold their manhoods cheap....” William shakespeare; Henry V - Act IV, Scene 3

It was a bloody mess. I was at an International Day of Peace rally on Saturday morning in Madison, arriving just in time to make the 3 hour race, and after a long run to our bikes and stretches of grassy lanes we hit the first downhill single track, still in a bit of a group. I was happy hitting the rocks well. I had improved greatly this year on the rocks, but as people started floundering and the feet came down, stopping, pressure from behind, not having a flow and being heavy in the saddle clipping in and out, becoming self-conscious and flustered I was stood up on my front wheel. Came straight down on my forearm, jamming my shoulder into my chest. I believe I flipped against a tree and my bike came down on top of me.

"Are you alright." said the guy behind me.

"No." I said.

"You're bleeding bad." he said.

He lifted my bike off of me and I looked at the thick blood coming out of my arm. I told him to keep going. I got up and started back towards the start with my bike. Ten feet or yards later the blood started gushing. I Applied pressure, it stopped the bleeding, sat down and yelled. "I need help!"

If I knew my blood covered bike would have been such an attraction for everyone with a camera, I would have spattered some more on it..... or not. Ended up in the emergency room wondering if I could have gotten by without a trip to the hospital. I turned up my arm and looked at the cleaned wound and sort of laughed. Three internal stitches and seven on the outside. When I told my wife how it looked she said I should have taken the opportunity to pull all those fat globules out. When she got home later she shuddered at the sight of my bike. I had put it in the kitchen and put up the child fence to keep the dogs from cleaning it off.

Those are some sharp rocks and heard some tires were torn up too. It was the sharp edge of a large rock that caught my forearm. I knew rocks were the defining element of this course. Everyone speaks of it with a hideous chuckle, but it is always nice to get out with good people for a bit of competition. Lots of nice promotional items and of course I got excellent care. Greetings to all those who got bloodied up passing the accident site.

I took a picture of the wound but the camera had been smashed again and this time it wasn't working. Here is a picture of our Calatrava. No more last minute rushed arrivals at races. Make sure I always get in a pre-ride (had seen much of this course on you/tube but it's not the same) and get focused, mentally prepared. Told my wife; 'fewer races and more focus for next year.' Happily my back feels great, just some bruised ribs and scrapes with the wound.

Started riding my road bike more this last month, going around with the camera and now a sketch book. Taking pictures of our built environment to comment on and hitting our museums and gardens on the residents get in free days to develop my drawing skills. Drawing and writing as a basis for my design goals. Still can't get anyone to take me on as an independent contractor.