BikeBlog: Bill Dozer injured...6+6+06 races in other cities.

So no 666 race in NYC. Josh Whitesnake and Bill Dozer of messnyc, were set to organize the race but they had schedule conflicts. Both of them were out in Portland Oregon for the Westside Invitational.

Bill suffered a broken rib while playing bike polo...Bill has been a real asset to the Messenger community both organizing races, polo and events in Portland and now doing the same hard work in NYC.

Josh describes the scene on what went down:

"On Monday, (5-31-06) during the West Side Polo tourney, Bill Dozer was involved in a t-bone collision with another cyclist that resulted in Bill flying off his bike, and landing square onto the end of the other guy's handlebars.

He was able to stand up, walk to the bench, and then passed out. He got to ride in an ambulance, and then was rushed in to emergency surgery. Bill broke a rib at his sternum, puncturing his lung, and I believe lacerating one of the arteries that runs through his lung. His blood pressure was dropping, as his lung filled with blood.

The doctors did an electro- or echo-cardiogram (which i think is a kraftwerk song from the Tour de France lp) that showed that they had stopped the bleeding.

Bill is still in the hospital, no longer on breathing machine, no longer in ICU, but still under observation. He still has a chest tube, and some pumping machines and all sorts of wires and the like protruding from his body, which is held together by staples... (I'm putting someone from PDX on assignment to get photos of this -- do you have a camera? get some flattering pictures of my boy. )

I spoke to him yesterday, he sounded like himself. A sedated sort of normal. Bill being quiet is pretty disturbing though, despite the morphine.

I don't really know anything else. I am sure he will be fine, because I can't really deal with any other possible future. I don't have much religion, so I won't ask for your prayers. I do believe in the power of positive thinking though, so maybe you want to give some loving thoughts to your friend.

Remember to be safe. I love my family, and hate it when you're hurt."

JSW

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Portland's Bike Messenger Association has set up a way to help donate to Bill and his medical costs...

Donations
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Since then there has been an update on his condition written by Joel-

"from stopping by to visit bill this afternoon, youve basically got
the story right. one of his lungs was collapsed, but im pretty sure
he didnt actually puncture the lung (which is a very, very good
thing), but the bit about the artery is right. that got fixed, and he
now has a nice 3 inch scar-to-be just below his axles of evil tattoo,
a nice little complement to it.

hes resting better today - im told he was having trouble sleeping
after going off the morphine drip (still on oxycontin pills or some
such), but seemed to have no trouble dropping off of a bit while i
was there.

hes had a steady stream of visitors, and his mom is in town, so
theres no shortage of well-wishers and good thoughts - but more never
hurts.

he took a pretty solid hit - i saw it happen, and frankly it was
pretty scary. a damn good argument for handlebar end caps and such if
i ever saw one - i saw no real cuts on his chest other than the one
for surgery.

im just happy hes alive - his mom said the doctor told her that when
he arrived, he didnt have much left, which is pretty freaking scary.
bottom line is hes doing well, resting up, and will probably be in
the hospital for another week or so, and unable to travel for another
few after that. hell be fine in the end, im sure, but its just gonna
take a while to heal up - rib/sternum injuries are a "ok, hold still
for a couple months" type of thing. if youre in portland, stop by
legacy emmanuel hospital. bill dillon is the name. visiting hours are
11am - 10pm, if im remembering correctly.

hes definitely a very sedate bill, though he was able to flip me off,
which is a good sign in my book. good to see hes got his normal color
back, rather than the blue he turned after the wreck.

im told that the collection taken for him at the polo tourney got a
good chunk of money together to pay for his ambulance ride, and i
beleive that some of the westside monies are getting chipped in as
well.

another reminder that it can happen when you least expect it - no
reason to stop doing what you love, but be safe, everyone...

-joel
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Bill, speedy recovery.

Dolomite 1000 has pictures up from the polo invitational
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6+6+06 is a date and a great number for all those fans of Satanic fantasy like Hollywood's frieghtening lack of originality and has to keep remaking old stories like the Omen. But it is also a great day to terrorize your city with an alleycat during rushhour.

If not in NYC, you can go to alleycats in other towns like Ottawa:

The Legion of Rebel Angels will be storming the Kingdom of Heaven at 6:66 pm 06/06/06, revolting against creation and overthrowing the Lord our God.

Because it is better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven.

Visit the website

Or go to Boston-- Boston 666