# Tara Llanes injured at Jeep KOM Finale



## gregg (Sep 30, 2000)

(from J. Dylan Dean)

Hello Everyone,

As many of you may already know, Tara Llanes crashed racing at the Jeep King of the Mountain finale in Beaver Creek (Vail area), Colorado. Tara was airlifted to Denver Health Hospital where she underwent 7 hours of surgery to correct massive trauma in her lower back. In addition, Tara also has a C-7 fracture, but was deemed stable prior going into surgery.

Tara once again made it through another surgery and is now breathing on her own and able to communicate with friends and family. Unfortunately at this time she has no feeling below her waist, a symptom she suffered as a result of her crash.

Tara's immediate family & friends that are at her side will continue to learn more about her injuries in the upcoming weeks and will continue to keep everyone posted. Since coming out of surgery, Tara, drugged and very happy, has kept in good spirit and has promised not to let this beat her.

Tara's room is so full of gifts and flowers that there is barely enough room for the nurses and doctors. At this time, they ask you save your money for the "Road To Recovery Fund." They are currently setting up a website that will allow for you to send your contributions directly to Tara to cover all medical expenses. Although she is covered under insurance, there will be additional expenses. They are looking into the top rehab facilities to get Tara up and walking again. All donations will go directly toward her rehab such as personal care, various equipment, housing modifications, etc. They were told that their #1 choice of rehab facilities may run up to $2000+ per day!

For all you Southern CA friends, Missy will be organizing an event to raise funds that will cover non-medical expenses such as travel and day to day items for Team Llanes. There will also be opportunities to take photos and write messages to Tara that will be sent over all together. More details to come so stay posted!

Her family & friends ask that you have as much faith as Tara does throughout this difficult period. Please feel free leave a message on Tara's MySpace page www.myspace.com/mtbtara (you don't need an account to view her site & photos, but you will need one if you want to post a message. Otherwise you can shoot her an email. If you don't have it, feel free to drop me a line.

For those that have already left messages, Tara LOVES getting all your messages. Please keep sending them. Her eyes light up when she hears a success story similar to hers so if you have any, please let her know. Her spirits are still so high and her determination is remarkable.

Please keep Tara in your thoughts & prayers.

source: J. Dylan Dean
Dylan Dean Designs [Dylan Dean Designs, Dylan Dean Photography & D3AN]
[web] www.DylanDeanDesigns.com
[myspace] www.myspace.com/dylandeandesigns


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## dogonfr (Jan 6, 2005)

Could you please sticky this in the DH/FR forum.

Thank you,

David


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## downhill mike (Mar 12, 2005)

Get better Tara.
Next year you can get a much better seat on our bus.

Downhill Mike
www.downhillmike.com
Size does matter!


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## pvflyer (Dec 7, 2004)

Good lucky girl, we are pulling for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Best Regards


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## singlespeeder13 (Mar 31, 2006)

*Get Well:*

Tara:
I can Relate to your pain! I am a endurance racer. I was hit by a car traveling 65 mph Sept. 14 2006 during a training ride. This past weekend I rode my first endurence race and placed 5th over all on a single speed. I was told that I would never ride at a high level or maybe even never again, much less a singlespeed. I ride with three rods and sixteen pins and four plates in my left leg. I was missing 8 inchs of my femur and 2 inchs of tibia/fibula and had 12 tears in my femoral artery when I arrived at the hospital. I worked hard and did much of my own rehab because I wanted to race and ride again. I worked hard with a trainer this spring to get to here. I Know the pain that you feel, but realize that it will get better. I have faith that you will recaover. Remember anything can be done. Nothing is impossible.
Get well Soon: 
Jake


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

man another down....hate to hear it......healing vibes to Tara


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## Prettym1k3 (Oct 11, 2005)

Heal soon!

Well wishes from myself, and DS Cycling!


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## RED5 (Jan 4, 2004)

My thoughts and prayers go out to her, get better soon. Tara rocks.


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## pdirt (Jan 12, 2004)

All goodness and healing energy to you Tara...

believe.


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## kenbentit (Jan 2, 2003)

Damn, that's a rough way to end the season. Tara's tough for sure, always going for it even when the consequences are harsh. Much, much respect . Get better soon.


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## zachdank (Jun 15, 2005)

Stay strong Tara. I'm pulling for you.


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## carbuncle (Dec 9, 2005)

Healing vibes to Tara!


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## swaussie (Jul 23, 2007)

Keep off them donuts girl. Its gonna be hard to kick butt if your fat


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## GRAVELBIKE (Oct 7, 2006)

LaMars FTW!

Get well soon, Tara.


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## gregg (Sep 30, 2000)

Just received this follow-up news:

*******************
Friends, this is the most up to date news on Tara. Please keep your thoughts and prayers coming. Information on where to leave a MySpace message for Tara or make a contribution to her Road to Recovery Fund is provided in the body of the story. Over the next day or so, I will be providing an update with a logo/link to the Road to Recovery Fund website. For those of you that have websites, we'd greatly appreciate you placing the logo on your site with a hyperlink to www.tarallanesroadtorecovery.com. Please forward this message on to your friends and contacts in the cycling community who might be inclined to help.

Thank you all again for your ongoing support.

James Herrera, MS
Performance Driven
[email protected]
www.pushyourlimit.com
(719) 232-1561

Coaching for Sport, Health, & Executive Fitness
*******************


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## Zen_Turtle (Sep 22, 2005)

Tara stay strong! We are all pulling for you.
I can tell you're a really strong gal and you'll be alright.

... and stay away from those donuts!!!  
ZT


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## HotBird (May 9, 2007)

get well soon! :thumbsup:


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## puttsey (Oct 16, 2004)

Hopes and prayers go out, but one question. Ive ridden Beaver creak, and how in the world do you crash that bad there?


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## ChromedToast (Sep 19, 2006)

puttsey said:


> Hopes and prayers go out, but one question. Ive ridden Beaver creak, and how in the world do you crash that bad there?


End your life now please.


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## 'size (Oct 10, 2005)

Saturday September 8 @ 2:00-3:00pm ET NBC Sports will be showing segments from Whistler on their Jeep World Adventure show. All though they focus on BMX star Kenan Harkin they also feature Tara Llanes and Jeff Lenosky. Please note that at the end of the show they will make an appropriate mention of Tara's current injury and notify people that a website has been created to help generate funds for Tara and her family.

link


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## desmo13 (Jul 31, 2006)

get well and stay strong


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## puttsey (Oct 16, 2004)

ChromedToast said:


> End your life now please.


Thanks for the help pal. Im being completely serious. Because Ive ridden Beaver Creek and I want to know what she did, so I can avoid hurting myself that bad and letting other riders know what can happen


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## ChromedToast (Sep 19, 2006)

puttsey said:


> Thanks for the help pal. Im being completely serious. Because Ive ridden Beaver Creek and I want to know what she did, so I can avoid hurting myself that bad and letting other riders know what can happen


I know someone who is paralyzed from the neck down after falling of his bike in a parking lot before hitting the trail, **** just happens.


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## Demodude (Jan 27, 2007)

Tara, I can remember the ride that I couldent be on because of work. I get a call from my riding buddies. "You'll never guess who we just rode with!!!"---Tara Llanes!!!! No way,,,She's a Hottie! What a bummer that I couldent meet you that day. My bro's were all psyched to be riding with you (in laguna wilderness). They said you were very friendly and could ride better than them all.
Tara,,,,,you get better,,, then you ride again,,,, have a big smile on you face,,,end of story)


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## SDHucker858 (Jul 10, 2006)

hope you get better soon


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## kwest10 (Jun 7, 2006)

that sucks.
I was lucky to have a BikeSkills class canceled and got to have the rescheduled one taught by Llanes and Rando. What a treat.
I fell practicing log hops and they were really cool about it. Talk about your humble pro's.
Got her to autograph by bike and the damn hitch rack straps rubbed them off on the way home. :madman: 
Keep us posted on the fund raiser. Get well soon.


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## bulletbob (Apr 5, 2004)

*Instead of just posting here...*



gregg said:


> (from J. Dylan Dean)
> As many of you may already know, Tara Llanes crashed racing at the Jeep King of the Mountain finale in Beaver Creek (Vail area), Colorado. Tara was airlifted to Denver Health Hospital where she underwent 7 hours of surgery to correct massive trauma in her lower back. In addition, Tara also has a C-7 fracture, but was deemed stable prior going into surgery.


Send a good wishes note for Tara to me via a pm or email and I will hand deliver them later this week. Don't just write "get well soon", write her a nice note and I'll take them down to DH!!

C'mon step up here and take 5 minutes to do that!

I broke my neck last year in Moab and they flew me back to Denver Health where they took damn good care of me so I'm passing on some good karma.

Do it!! :thumbsup:


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## ussprinceton2004 (Apr 9, 2007)

I wonder if she'll continue riding after this crash


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## Huck Banzai (May 8, 2005)

Tara Rocks!

Competitive, Cool and 'Foxy'

We should do whatever we can to help and make sure WE get to KEEP this MTB Jewel!! (Selfish me!)

Im off to Myspace to see the latest.


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## SuperKat (Mar 27, 2005)

Any update on her condition?


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## Brian B... (Apr 21, 2007)

SuperKat said:


> Any update on her condition?


http://www.myspace.com/mtbtara


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## calma (Oct 16, 2006)

Best wishes.

Keep up the good fight.


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## SuperKat (Mar 27, 2005)

Yeah, I don't really like MySpace. I thought there would be more updates here. On a MTB forum. Ya know?


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## Bail_Monkey (May 8, 2007)

I'm not a DH'er, but read about this on MBA. Healing vibes for Tara...


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

fund raiser

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=3585608&posted=1#post3585608


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## DerrickYoung95 (Oct 1, 2007)

For all those pulling for Tara she will be live on a Women's Sports Radio show called Play Like a Girl sports Radio broadcast tonight at 8:00pm est on www.tpsradio.net

Please show your support for Tara and listen in. she is truly a remarkable spirit and showing it during her "Road to Recovery"


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## Bobby Peru (Sep 8, 2004)

Thoughts and prayers go out to you and your family for a quick recovery....


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## screampint (Dec 10, 2001)

*Fundraiser For Tara at the Hot Tomato...*

Cut and pasted from an email. Please help out however you are able!

Jen is a former DH racer and friend of Tara's:

We will be donating all proceeds from the Hot Tomato on October 12, 2007 to the Tara Llanes Road to Recovery Fund. As most of you know, Tara, a good friend of mine was injured at the Jeep King of the Mountain event in Vail, CO a few weeks ago. Currently, Tara is at the Craig Hospital in Denver beginning her intensive rehabilitation program.  
The Fundraiser will be all day on Friday, October 12th from 11-9. This is the Friday before the 24 hours of Moab, so if you find yourself on I-70, Please stop in and show your support! We will have live music throughout the day, New Belgium Brewing Company will be providing cold brews and we will have various items available for a silent auction. 

For those of you who want to donate to the auction please send items to the Hot Tomato, attn:jen. For those of you who want a list of items being auctioned, please email me. For those of you who want to make an online donation please go to www.tarallanesroadtorecovery.com 

Thanks so much for your support and positive energy. Please pass this on to all of our friends in and out of the industry.

Happy Trails



Jen Zeuner

Hot Tomato 
201 E Aspen Avenue
Fruita, CO 81521


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## balfabiker22 (Feb 26, 2006)

Sand hill ranch is doing a race for her. All money will go to her getting better.

http://prsports.com/bike/race.php?type=12&title=Races

Ummm yea thats it. get better soon

RACE FOR TARA:
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Gates open at 8 am

As you may know, Pro-women's mountain bike racer, Tara
Llanes, suffered a horrific crash at one of the Nationals
recently. She is still in the hospital and may have
life-long injuries. Sand Hill has been asked to host a
benefit race on Tara's behalf.

We have chosen November 17th because it is the next
available Saturday on the calendar. We will run rain or
shine. We hope to have a pre-reg link up and running by
next week, because, based on the outpouring of support from
the bicycling community this event will be huge.

Although many of you prefer the excitement of our dual
slalom course, we have chosen Mountain-X as the race format
because it doesn't take as long to run, and with the sun
setting earlier by the minute these days, we don't want to
be caught mid-race with no daylight! The dual slalom course
will be open for practice, and if we can find another
drop-gate to borrow for the day (a RAM system), we can offer
timed runs for fun. Don't forget: at Sand Hill we run the
Mountain Cross slightly differently. We allow two
qualifying runs (and average the scores) instead of one.

There will be a raffle (one free ticket to each racer plus
additional tickets for sale. The more we sell, the more
money goes to Tara.) There will be dozens of cool items. (A
list will soon be posted. So far we have Fox Shox, Fox
Racing, USA Cycling, Gravity Addix, AllOut Productions,
RideSFO...)

USA Cycling has waived all permit and insurance fees and
Sand Hill will not charge for parking that day.

We plan to have an Expo area with industry booths. Overflow
parking will be in the dirt oval area (directly behind the
bicycle park).

If any of you out there would like to donate raffle items,
please let us know. (Go to our Contact Us page)

A representative from Tara's account will be there to assure
all of you that the money is going directly to Tara.

This page updated 10/5/07


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## paintballeerXC (Jun 9, 2005)

balfabiker22 said:


> Sand hill ranch is doing a race for her. All money will go to her getting better.
> 
> http://prsports.com/bike/race.php?type=12&title=Races
> 
> ...


all you bay area fools should go. im going to go


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

I read she has made HUGE improvements and could raise her left (?) knee or something...


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## Mudd (Apr 22, 2002)

Tara, we are pulling for you! You ROCK!
Get well soon dammit!


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

get well tara and stephen


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## jennyfresh (Jul 31, 2004)

Hello and BIG Thanks!

I wanted to update everyone on the benefit that we had at the Hot Tomato for Tara Llanes. As most of you have probably heard by now, it was a Huge success and it could not have been pulled off without the amazing staff at the Hot Tomato, all of you who donated goods for the silent auction, the cycling community who got the word out, Paul Harshman for getting an incredible group of musicians together on such short notice and rocking the town of Fruita, the city of Fruita for letting us throw down and last but not least, the community of Fruita! I cannot express my thanks enough to each and every one of you for coming out and being a part of such a good cause.

The best part of the entire weekend was going to Denver on Sunday to visit Tara. To see her face while telling the stories of the benefit, to see her eyes fill with tears after telling her we raised close to $10,000 and finally to see her appetite come back after throwing hot pies in the "family room" at craig hospital, it was then that I realized how much good we all did by simply caring.

Tara is doing great! Her pain is finally easing up, she is going to 5-7 classes a day, she is swimming, lifting weights and of course doing wheelies! She is surrounded by amazing people, throw in good friends and all of you that took a minute out of your day to dig deep and I think we are all a part of what will get Tara back on the podium!

So now the benefit is over, things are slowly quieting down, we are heading into winter&#8230;I ask all of you to please continue to take a minute out of your day and send some good vibes, check out Taras updates http://www.myspace.com/mtbtara , send her an email, just do something that will continue to put a smile on her face.

Thanks again,
Jen Zeuner 
www.tarallanesroadtorecovery.com 
www.hottomatocafe.com


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