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Mike


http://www.rotoruadailypost.co.nz/ne...er-72/1895333/

72-year-old injured while mountain biking

Alison King
5th Jun 2013 7:59 AM

A man was taken to hospital after crashing his bike on the Creek track in Rotorua File

A Rotorua man smashed his chest against a log while mountain biking, and in hospital asked when he would be allowed to go windsurfing again.

Ian Horlor, 72, windsurfs every day and is also a member of the weekly Wise Riding group. The group is for mountain bikers aged over 60 and meets every Tuesday at the Waipa Car Park. Yesterday he was riding with his daughter, Lisa, who leads the group, and fellow mountain biker Bryan Eckersley when he crashed on the Creek track.

Miss Horlor has praised the actions of Mountain Bike Rotorua, who came to her father's aid after she dialled 111.

"I'm usually good in situations like that but I was a complete wombat because it was my dad," Miss Horlor said.

"I just panicked I guess. They did everything they could, if I didn't have them I would have felt very much on my own."

After she made her 111 call, a call was then put through to Mountain Bike Rotorua to get into the forest to stabilise Mr Horlor while the ambulance was on its way. Tuhua Mutu helped Mr Horlor while Brad O'Malley guided the ambulance in.

"I work in the forest, my job is to coach and guide and that crew is always first on the scene," Miss Horlor said.

"They're highly-trained. They were with dad for an hour. At the end of the day they have a business to run but they dropped everything."

Mr Horlor was taken to Rotorua Hospital and treated for hypothermia as well as chest injuries.

"He's super, super fit. The first thing he asked was when he can go windsurfing again. We know he'll get better really fast."

Mr Eckersley said they were only 20 minutes into their ride when his friend slipped and crashed.

"We were having a good ride," he said.

"We went down onto Creek track and there's a wooden bridge at the bottom. I don't know if his wheel slipped but he went off the side and landed with his chest against the log. He's got the skills but it's just one of those things. It was a bit slippery - you need to get that bit right."