Vanderkitten pro Liz Hatch is very lucky. Let her story serve as a lesson for all of us.

During a ride on Saturday from Santa Rosa to Calistoga, CA, Hatch crashed...hard...on the steep, twisty descent down Spring Mountain Road into the Napa County town of St. Helena.

The details of crash are a bit sketchy. What is known is that Hatch hit the deck at a speed between 25 and 30 mph. The fork on her bike was sheared off, the back of her helmet was crushed, and at first glance, it looked like she was in big trouble.

I know. I was one of the first people on the scene.

To make a long story, and a long day, very short...Liz will be OK. The doctors at Napa's Queen of the Valley Medical Center ER say she has no broken bones, no concussion and the cuts and scrapes on her face and body are not deep and should heal without scarring.

Quick work by the Napa County fire department and the crew from Piner Ambulance helped get her stabilized, secured and transported to the hospital.

Anyone who knows Hatch knows that she is not shy when it comes to talking about crashing. I knew she'd want to see the pictures from her crash. In the emergency room, she even asked me to take additional photos so she'd have something to look back on, once everything had healed.
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