Who Pays? Not the Mountain Bikers!

By RANDI ROSSMAN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT: pressdemocrat rescued-from-Annadel

Published: Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 3:51 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, July 25, 2010 at 3:51 p.m.

Two mountain bike riders needed rescuing from Annadel State Park Sunday after crashing, emergency officials reported.

One man hurt his ankle Sunday morning and was carried out by the Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter. Another man hurt his collar bone Sunday afternoon.

In the morning rescue, the adult male rider was possibly about a mile up the Burma trail when he crashed.

The accident was reported at 11:45 a.m. to Santa Rosa firefighters. The Sonoma County sheriff's helicopter crew also was brought in to help because of its ability to quickly spot and retrieve people in the huge, dense park, Santa Rosa Battalion Chief Mark Basque reported.

The man, whose name wasn't initially available, had been riding with a group of friends when he crashed.

The helicopter crew found him within minutes of arriving. They used a 200-foot line to lower a paramedic and a sergeant with a litter.

He was packaged up and then lifted, at the end of the line, to an awaiting ambulance at the base of the park.

At about 1:45 p.m., Santa Rosa firefighters were called back to the park for another injured rider.

This man was about a half-mile up the Warren Richardson trail. Firefighters, state and county parks rangers helped with the effort, Basque said.

The man was treated for his injury and driven down the hill.

Both riders were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. Further details weren't available.

Annadel was busy with hikers and bikers on Sunday.

“It's not unusual to get called into that park multiple times...especially on weekends when a lot of folks are up there,” Basque said. “Especially when the weather is really good.”