Brumby Bike accident update

To Brumbys, Warriors & Friends,

On Friday Dave had a 4 hour surgery to repair his broken jaw. The positive news is that because it was successful, he did not need to have his jaw wired shut again. Sat was a tough day though for Dave, he was very restless and uncomfortable. He is still dealing with a lot of pain and was quite agitated. I am sure going in and out of the anethesia from all his surgeries does not help either (I remember this very well from my back surgery, it caused restlessness).

Unfortunately the Drs discovered a fracture in Dave's T6 vertebrae which they initially didn't feel they needed to address, but yesterday they informed Ruth that they have decided they are going to do surgery tomorrow to insert rods and screws a few vertebrae above and below the T6. I concur with Mike Norberg on his text update today on this recovery setback as a "bummer".

Despite this setback, Ruth and their family continue upbeat and positive about Dave's progress. They want to express their gratitude and love for your kind gestures and thoughts and they especially appreciate your continued prayers.


God Bless and if you ride or race this week, ride safe!

Sterling Baer

Deseret News:
AMERICAN FORK CANYON

If there were a perfect storm for a car-bicycle catastrophe, this was it.

On an otherwise tranquil Saturday morning near the canyon's entrance, just past the "Share the Road" sign, a lone cyclist is pedaling up the winding, narrow road, negotiating a left curve …

… a Suburban pulling a trailer full of motorcycles, also traveling uphill, sees the cyclist and, to give it room, veers over the double yellow line …

… an Explorer coming down suddenly sees the Suburban on its half of the road as it rounds the curve and hits the brakes to avoid a head-on collision …

… not far behind the Explorer, five cyclists participating in a bike race round the curve at a high downhill rate of speed just as the SUV slams to a stop.

It's no wonder all five cyclists crashed, the first two into the Explorer.

The other wonder is that none of them died.

I went to the scene of the accident and measured the road. Each lane is 11 feet wide. Beyond the asphalt on the uphill side is a sheer drop-off to the creek. On the downhill side is a steep mountainside.
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Now consider that a Suburban and trailer measures 8 feet wide and a bike with rider measures 2 feet wide. Add in the 3 feet of clearance recommended (but not necessarily required) by state law, and you've already got a serious deficit on your hands.
Add in traffic on the other side of the road, and you've got an equation for disaster.

For sure, something had to give. There was nowhere to escape.

For finger-pointers, the accident scenario provides a field day. Bicycles are crazy to ride in such a narrow canyon. The Explorer shouldn't have stopped so abruptly. The downhill cyclists shouldn't have been following so close. The powers that granted the permits shouldn't have allowed a bike race in American Fork Canyon in the first place.

In hindsight, all these arguments have their merits. Already, the race organizer, Rick Bennett, has indicated he won't hold any future similar events in American Fork Canyon, because it's "too dangerous."

And it won't be a surprise if the crashed cyclists have insult added to their injuries with citations for following too close. (No citations have yet been issued pending review of the highway patrol investigation by the Utah County Attorney's Office.)

But one argument trumps them all: The lone uphill bicyclist shouldn't have been passed on a blind corner.

A vehicle certainly wouldn't have been passed there, no matter how small or how slow it was traveling.

Even though, as anyone with a driver's license knows, the urge is incredibly strong, a motorized vehicle does not HAVE to pass a bicycle.


"Share the Road" doesn't mean sharing it only once you've cleared the bike.

Without passing over that double yellow line, the calamitous chain reaction may never have begun.

Now, it's all over but the anguish.

"Both drivers were pretty traumatized by what happened," said trooper Nathan Powell, the investigating officer for UHP.

Powell pointed out that it could have been worse if the Explorer hadn't managed to avoid the Suburban.

"At least they (the cyclists) had a flat surface to hit instead of sharp edges going everywhere," he said, and then added, "but there's always going to be a lot of what-ifs."

As for the cyclists, they had good reason for going fast — they were in a sanctioned race.

To prepare for the competition, the lead biker, Dave Collins, formerly of Provo, had already ridden some 6,000-plus miles this summer, according to his brother, Rob — without hitting a single SUV.

"He was a good, fit, safe rider who was racing as fast as he could," said Rob. "Something went wrong, yes, but it wasn't because you had out-of-control cyclists."

Nope. What you had was a perfectly awful blend of circumstances on a bend of road that the devil himself couldn't have hand-picked better.
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"Things lined up just not good," said trooper Powell. "That's a real narrow canyon to have that many bicycles in it with the cars."

Lee Benson's column runs Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews .com

Park City/1000 Warriors Bike Race

Rick, Jon and I took a little road trip up to my favorite state - UTAH. We went up for the 1000 Warriors Bike Race which took place on last Saturday. We drove up on Wed. morn and was just
so happy to see all the old sights along the way. I usually have flown the last few years and missed out on all the little towns that never seem to change. Even the two sheriff vehicles with
the sheriff dummies in them and the grass growing under the cars don't seem to change. On Thurs. I went shopping at Gardners Village with my first BYU roommate on Thurs. morn. When we get together we become shopaholics and the sales and summer clearance items were at its peak.
This was a lunch stop at the "Dairy Keen" in Heber. Our favorite stop for hamburgers and a raspberry shake . This is Rick's pre-race energy lunch. We drove the course with Kevin and Cindy Kellis and checked it out the day before the race. It looked gruesome. I'm glad my job was just passing out water bottles.
That night we had a pre-race spaghetti dinner put on by Canyon Sports, Todd Taylor's family owned business. It was yummy, and so fun to see everyone. Rick belongs to a bike club called The Brumby's from Mesa, which 45 members came up to ride in the race.
This is the morning of the race, we got there at 5:30 a.m. can you tell it was a bit nippy. This is my son Jonin his little warm up outfit.
Rick and Kevin waiting in line for the race to start. Kevin was trying to hide all his reflector strips that kept flashing when I shot the camera.
This is Rick going up the hardest and last leg of the toughest stage race in America.
Jon not showing any signs of wear and tear.
Top of Snowbird Ski Resort....end of race and just glad it's over!!!!
My brother Mel came out to show his support. He is also an avid bike rider but the long distance kind. He just rode from Salt Lake to Yellowstone by himself. His next destination is to North Dakota to see where our anceastors came from.
Sad to say there was a tragic bike accident involving 5 of our Brumby Members. The race was shut down for 45 minutes to airvac Dave Collins and Steve Beck to a nearby hospital. Dave went through the back end of an SUV after it suddenly stopped to avoid another oncoming car. He had mutiple lacerations to his neck and chest area and completely fractured his jaw and facial area. It was a miracle he is still alive. Steve Beck punctured his lung after he hit the car and bounced off hitting a tree branch that went through to his lung. 3 other Brumbys were also injured but not critically. I do not think cars and bike mix well on these narrow mountain passes. I really think they need to rethink this particualr bike race and relocate it to a safer environment or just not have it. That's just my opinion.

The Incredible Edible Zebra Purse Cake

Madge, LouAnn, Me and Dolores all went out to McGrath's for a fun get together lunch.

Madge's daughter made this incredible zebra purse cake. It took her two days to make it.
It was so detailed, even down to the stitching of the seams on the handles.
Dolores couldn't believe that it was a cake.
The filling was cookies and cream, the best cake I've ever eaten!!!! Her daughter is starting up
a cake baking business. This cake would of cost about $150.00 but we got it for free. What a treat.

Book Review - Twilight

I just finished reading my daughters book Twilight. I wanted to see what all the" hoopla" was about. I'm probably the last person on earth to read it. I had started it about a year ago and got board with it. But Kenzie said the last part of the book was the best, and I'd have to agree it did get better. The book was better than the movie, but isn't that the way it always is. I give this book 1/2 thumbs up. Too much romantic mush for me.

Bio on the Author:

Stephenie Meyer was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Stephen and Candy Morgan. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, with five siblings: Seth, Emily, Jacob, Paul, and Heidi. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she then attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she received a B.A. in English in 1995.^[10] Meyer met her husband Christian, nicknamed "Pancho", when she was growing up in Arizona, and married him in 1994. Together they have three sons: Gabe, Seth, and Eli.

The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition, won multiple literary awards and sold over 70 million copies worldwide,^[1] with translations into 37 different languages around the globe.^[2][3] A film adaptation of Twilight was released in the United States on November 21, 2008. Meyer is also the author of the adult science-fiction novel The Host.

Meyer was named USA Today's "Author of the Year" in 2008.^[4] She was also the biggest selling author of the year, having sold over 29 million books in 2008 alone,^[5][6] with Twilight being the best selling book of the year.^[7] Meyer was ranked #49 on Time magazine's list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2008,^[8] and was also included in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities in 2009, entering at #26 with annual earnings exceeding $50 million.^[9]

Book Review - Standing in the Rainbow

Fannie Flagg (author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe) sticks with what she knows best and in Standing in the Rainbow, she brings us another small-town story with oddball and endearing characters. She tells the story of Elmwood Springs, Missouri with Bobby Smith, a mischevious 10-year old boy who considers himself lucky just to be born there, his mother who does a radio show from their living room, Hamm Sparks, a tractor salesman turned politician, and Poor Tot Whooten, the neighbor who endures almost-constant, comical bad luck. The Christian Science Monitor says of Standing in the Rainbow, "Beneath the sentimentality, there's a real celebration of life here, an affirmation that success and happiness are the results of simple kindness, gratitude, and courage."
I loved this book. It took a mid-western small town and delved into everyone's lives from childhood all the way up till old age. It brought back so many memories of my childhood. It was
just a delight to read. This book is our August book club pick. I really want to read more books
by Fannie Flagg. I give this book 2 thumbs up!!