On January 29th 1999, I had a losing encounter with a 12-inch aspen tree while skiing a line of knee deep, untracked powder at The Canyons - a resort in Utah where the Outdoor Retailer ski demos were held. I hooked a ski on a sapling hiding beneath the surface and was spun into the big tree with extreme velocity. Things would have been a lot worse had I not been wearing hardshell kneepads.

On 2/8/99, Dr. Johnson (who rebuilt my shoulder 13 years earlier) operated to repair the damage. He essentially drilled two 3" (80mm) lag bolts through my knee and attacked me with a staple gun.

One uncomfortable week after the operation, the staples came out. And a week after that, I could drive again. Three weeks post-op, I was hobbling around on crutches but I could ride a stationary bike and go to the gym for upper body workouts. After a few weeks, I could fully weight the leg.

Five weeks post-op, I was down to one crutch and could push harder on the bike and was looking forward to riding outside. In March, I signed up for the 468-mile Bike Tour of Colorado in July as a goal to get in shape.

8/99 Update:
The ride was fantastic, though a bit soggy! We enjoyed 27,600 feet of climbing in seven days with occasional downpours to spice things up. On the second day, when this photo of me was taken in the rain near the top of Red Mountain Pass (11,000 feet, 3350m), only 300 of the 1,600 cyclists completed the ride because of weather conditions. That was a day when good gear really made a difference - those of us who were prepared had a good ride!

Although I was fit again, if you look at the x-ray with the screws, you'll notice that one pokes through my knee to the other side. When I banged the inside of my knee on the top tube of a bike, the pain was both exquisite and resonating.

Therefore, I wanted the suckers out ASAP. So I called the Doc and set up a time for my outpatient surgery. I'll just say that I didn't feel anything AFTER he injected my knee with several INCREDIBLY painful shots of xylocaine. I used a Yashica T4 Super, which has a right-angle finder for composition at arms reach.

First we scrub.

Then we sterilize.

Then he sticks a BIG needle in and injects what feels like burning hot acid into the knee!! It took a half dozen painful injections to get things sufficiently numb.

Making the cut over the screw head.

Your basic allen wrench does the job.

We had a small delay while they figured out which size wrench was needed.

Fortunately they found the right tool before the nurse came back with pliers.

So now the screws are out and they hang on my badge holder for the trade show, which is where I earned them. Workman's comp covered the whole thing (yes, skiing is part of my job), which came to about $20,000. A fairly pricey blink of the eye. Nonetheless, I am soooo lucky!

I'm back in the full swing of things now and don't even think about this injury. At the moment at least, there appear to be no residual effects.

Yeeha!