General News
3 December, 2024
The bike can be repaired, but the ego is beyond repair, says Horsham identity
Horsham Identity takes an unforgettable riding holiday.
A broken leg was not the outcome the herbalist and well-known Horsham identity Des Lardner imagined when he set off on two wheels to join the great Victorian Bike Ride just over a week ago.
After several days of riding through the beautiful Victorian countryside, disaster struck about 7 am on the fifth day.
"I was just three minutes from the Wangaratta Showground. As I crossed the railway track, the bike went from under me without warning, and down I went," he said.
"As Einstein said, the body is the most accurate instrument in the world, and I knew something was wrong!"
Mr Lardner praised the organisers, who he said took him to hospital by ambulance where they confirmed there was indeed something wrong; he had broken the neck of the femur bone in one leg.
"It happened on Wednesday, and I had surgery to pin the bone on Thursday.
"Plus, I might make up one of my 'mixtures' to help heal the bone.
"You know, the neck of the femur is the most often broken bone in the US; because of the diet, their bones break easily," he said, imparting some medical trivia."
Joining the great Victorian Bike this year was always part of the 75-year-old's plan.
"My sister Marilyn has participated for many years, and I promised to join her when I wasn't busy.
"As it was, I was extremely busy, but we had just lost our younger brother, Stephen, who had ridden with her previously, and I thought it was a special thing to do this year under the circumstances," he said.
The Great Victorian Bike Ride is not a race, and you can ride any style of bike, but there are hills and gullies, rain and sun to contend with.
"I admired those riding the penny farthing bikes. They have no gears, yet they took those hills like the riders on Titanium 16-gear machines did.
"However, it was no shame to walk your bike up a hill, and if you were lagging, the SAG Bus would collect you and take you to the next checkpoint, or if it was later in the day, the next camping spot," he said.
Just weeks before the bike ride, he had been trekking the Atlas Mountains in Morocco and glamping in the Sahara Desert with his wife, Robyn.
He said he believed the training he did in preparation for the trek put him in good form to recover from his injury.
His wife, Robyn, was in Japan with their niece when she received the news about her husband's misfortune.
"Luckily, it was our last day in Japan, and we headed home," she said.
Mr Lardner said the incident was a disappointing end to the ride, but it was a wonderful experience designed to help you adapt to challenges and he would encourage anyone to do it.
He reflected on his injuries, "The bike can be repaired, the bone will heal, but the pride is totally beyond repair."
"I'll probably take a week off work, but as soon as I am on crutches, I'll be back at work," he said.
Mr Lardner has a Herbalist Clinic in Horsham.
To celebrate 40 years since the event began in 1984, 2,699 entrants took part in the Great Vic Bike Ride through Northeast Victoria, which ran from Saturday, November 23 to Sunday, December 1 2024.