Freak crash during Vineman when tree falls on cyclists

Howard Holderness has competed in more than a dozen races, and had spent four months training for Sunday’s Vineman triathlon in Sonoma County.

But he could not have prepared for the traumatic accident that occurred during the early hours of the race.

An oak tree fell across Westside Road during the cycle portion of the competition, severely injuring Holderness and two other athletes and nearly halting the grueling annual event.

Holderness, 43, suffered a severe back injury and broken arm and two other racers broke collarbones when the oak crashed onto them about 7 miles into their 55-mile bicycle ride, according to race officials.

“I heard this crack,” Holderness said from his hospital bed at Santa Rosa’s Memorial Hospital Sunday. “And then I was on the ground and in a lot of pain.”

Holderness, an attorney from San Francisco, and Jim Briner, 43, of Brentwood, were riding along the scenic tree-and-vineyard studded roadway just before 8 a.m. when the tree fell in between them, according to race physician Ty Affleck.

Holderness had just pedaled past Briner when the tree crashed down. His speed wasn’t known.

“I’m pretty sure it hit me square in the back,” he said. “They had to disentangle me from the tree.”

The tree crushed Holderness’s rear tire and destroyed the front end of Briner’s bicycle, Affleck said.

Holderness’s back was not broken as first reported. But he sustained extensive injuries, and spoke to The Press Democrat from the intensive care unit of Memorial Hospital.

A third rider Greg Griffin, 57, of Boulder, Colo., slid into the tree after it fell, also breaking his collarbone, Affleck said.

The men had just finished their 1.2 mile swim in the Russian River at Johnson’s Beach in Guerneville and were racing along a narrow stretch of Westside Road near Mt. Jackson Resort Road when the oak on the north side of the road fell across both lanes.

It is the fourth time in six months that trees have caused serious injury or in some cases death in Sonoma County when they have toppled on unsuspecting pedestrians, motorists or in this case, cyclists.

When emergency crews arrived, Holderness was still on the ground near the tree, while one of the other riders was walking but complaining of an injured shoulder, said Patrick Mills, an engineer with the Forestville Fire Department.

It was clear from the scene that at least two of the riders had little time to react.

“One bike was tangled up in the tree and smashed up, so I’m pretty sure both of them took a hit from the tree,” Mills said.

A half-dozen racers had stopped, including a medic and a physician’s assistant, and they administered first aid, Holderness said.

“I think I’m in a lot better shape because of them,” he said. “I just want to say thank you to them.”

While the road was completely blocked some riders were dismounting and climbing through the tangle of tree limbs to continue the race, Mills said.

Fire officials, who arrived at 8:02 a.m., noticed the tree was hung up on a telephone wire, and worried that more riders could be injured if the tree fell farther, Mills said.

So they ordered the riders to stop trying to find ways through and closed the road while they took out their chainsaws and sliced through the limbs. After about 5 minutes, firefighters opened up a passage allowing the riders to continue past the tree, Mills said.

Holderness and Briner were taken by ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

The third rider was treated by Affleck at the race’s medical tent and released, he said.

Race times weren’t going to be adjusted for the incident because it was impossible to do so, given that different riders were delayed for different lengths of time, Pugh said.

It remained unclear Sunday what caused the tree to fall. Sudden Oak Death has made oak trees more susceptible to beetles and the oaks rot from the inside out, making it difficult to tell if an oak is at risk of falling without careful examination, experts say.

Paula “Jamie” Kuhle, 49, was killed in February after being hit by a falling oak tree as she walked in Freestone.

On May 5, an oak tree along Bennett Valley Road fell on the pickup of the Kirby family of Glen Ellen, killing 5-year-old Nicholas, known as Bobby, and seriously injuring his father, Michael Kirby.

Days later, a Sebastopol couple suffered serious injuries when an oak tree crushed their SUV near Asti. Their two children, ages 7 and 3, were uninjured.

Holderness declined to speak about the extensiveness of his injuries, but as he lay in the intensive care unit it was clear he might have narrowly escaped death.

“I sure don’t want to see this happen to anyone else,” he said. “I hope people take this as an opportunity to inspect their trees.”

Race officials said they’ve had injuries during the 70.3-mile event before, but never one involving a falling tree injuring a competitor.

The incident occurred early in the race and slowed or briefly halted competition for at least 15 minutes.

“I spent an hour wondering if the race was over,” said Russ Pugh, director of the race that is half the length of a full Ironman.

“It was probably the most stressful hour of my life as a race director, and I’ve been doing this for 24 years.”

If it weren’t for the tree, this year’s race, the 19th, would probably have been remembered for the heat.

At 3 p.m., when many of the racers were struggling to finish the 13-mile run, the mercury soared to 95 degrees.

That’s far short of the 108-degree record set back in 1993, and of the temperatures racers sometimes face in other Ironman locations, like Arizona or Hawaii. But many racers said the heat almost did them in.

“It was hottest of any time I’ve ever done it,” said Matt Fletcher, 35, of San Diego. “The run just cooked you.”

After their 1.2 mile swim, a 56-mile ride took competitors up Dry Creek Valley, under Highway 101 at Geyserville, down Alexander Valley, over Chalk Hill and into Windsor High School.

CHP officer Blair Hardcastle cheered riders with “keep up the good work” as he stopped traffic and directed riders south on Highway 128 in Geyserville.

“They’re out here in the middle of nowhere, they need someone to cheer for them,” he said.

Down in Windsor, outside the World Mark condominiums on Shiloh Road, Kennedy and Emma Birley, 10 and 6, cheered on their father with signs that included “Go, Go, Go: Swim Bike Run! Keep it up!” Nine members of 47-year-old Robert Birley’s family traveled from Oregon to support him.

When they previewed the course the day before, Birley fretted about the hills in the Chalk Hill section of the race, his wife Stacy said.

“He said that if we didn’t see him, we’d meet him at the Chalk Hill Winery,” she said.

The bike ride was followed by a scorching 13-mile run out to Laughlin Road and La Crema Winery.

Many participants raved about the event’s stunning scenery, which they said is unrivaled among similar triathlons.

As Santa Rosa resident Cheri Yokoi munched on a donut and drank water after finishing in 5 hours and 32 minutes, the 32-year-old sales associate said the delay at the oak tree and a flat tire couldn’t take away from the experience.

The morning swim in the Russian River was particularly memorable, she said.

“The morning sun was coming through the redwood trees, and the fog was rising off the water. That was just breathtaking,” she said.