Day 2- An Inauspicious Start

Tuesday morning was a chilly 40 degrees, clear and spectacular. Walked to a nice little breakfast spot where the waitress hadn't shown up yet so the regulars were filling in. Great breakfast and more than even a Sloth could eat. We get on the bikes finally and head up towards Rabbit Creek Pass, good gravel surface and the climb is "manageable". When we reach the top, Jorge and Bubba show up in Jorge's car, not the support truck. They can't get it started. I send them back down to find the portable jumper battery in the truck bed.
Alan, Bill and I now head down the mountain, again what appears a manageable decent. So roughly 17 miles into the first day, I hit a small patch of loose gravel in a turn and slide out, going down hard on my left shoulder, hip and head. Let me stress yet again the importance of helmets, as I might not be writing this now without one, as it is seriously cracked. Thankfully, Hunter is behind me (usually nobody is behind me!) and gets me and my bike off the road. Its obvious that things are not good. Hunter is worried about a concussion, but I can remember things okay (which is also unusual). Also fortunate, a nice retired couple appears in a Jeep and agrees to take me back to Idaho City to meet up with Jorge and Bubba. We find them in the truck (at least one problem solved) and Jorge and I take his car to Boise for medical assistance and Bubba heads back up the trail to find Alan and Bill.
We find a great urgent care place and the end result is the X-ray Tech saying "That's one of the best clavicle breaks I've ever seen!". We get referred to an Orthopedic Surgeon for the next morning, some pain meds and a hotel for two nights.
Orthopedic guys give two options: non-arthroscopic surgery to put a plate on it or do nothing and let it heal on it's own. After much discussion, it seems you would only do the surgery if you were young and really active, or if you care that you will likely end up with a bump on your shoulder. Due to the fact that none of those apply to me and my fundamental aversion to surgery (not to mention my even more fundamental cheapness), I opt to do nothing. So we load up on more pain meds an decide to meet up with the boys in Ketchum on Thursday to follow them on the remainder of the course with two support vehicles, one for me and one for the boys. Speaking of support, I want to give a big shout out to my man Jorge for his above and beyond support the last two days. The picture below speaks volumes!