Graphic: mountain bike ride
Flying Doctor Podcast #60:
An avid cyclist, Paul Fiddes relished the chance to take part in the four-day Cape to Cape mountain bike race in the South West.
It was October 24, 2013, and Mr. Fiddes was cycling on a remote track north of Augusta.
He was doing well, in about 200th place in a 1400-strong field.
But Mr. Fiddes’ race was quickly over. “I was descending quickly down the hill,” he said.
“I hit a bump and became airborne at probably 55km/h. I just crashed into the dirt.”
Mr. Fiddes was left lying on the track with his wrist and two bones poking out of the skin.
His collarbone was smashed and he broke six ribs, which punctured and collapsed his left lung. “My first thought was how are we going to get out of here,” he said.
A friend and fellow rider Skip Lissiman stopped to nurse him and shield him from further danger.
A four-wheel-drive picked him up and he was taken, struggling to breathe and in severe pain, to Bunbury Hospital.
In this episode of The Flying Doctor podcast, Paul Fiddes of Western Australia is interviewed and tells his survival story of this event that went terribly wrong.
