My Brother-In-Law Gives Us a Scare at This Weekend’s Hillclimb

This weekend, thousands bared the wind and dust at the 3rd annual N.A.H.A. Northwest Nitro Nationals Hillclimb just past milepost 25 on highway 24 at the interchange with highway 241.

Some of the top riders in the United States arrive to attack the 800-foot hill.  Some do, many don't.

My sister's husband, Justin ("J") Crawford, who is the proprietor of Crawford's Pro Tech (EVS distributor) has competed in this event each of the last three years.  This time around, he entered in a couple of different classifications including the "big bike" division which was the final category on Sunday.

'J-Boy' was atop a bike he had just finished building and his first run (of two) christened the machine.  His second run ended almost as quickly as it began when he laid his bike down after taking a vicious hit atop the first crest.  While it looked fairly innocuous, Justin was actually knocked unconscious for a good 10 to 20 seconds, lying flat on his back with one arm stiffly raised in the air without moving a muscle.

The crowd fell silent and my friends and family in attendance huddled together hoping for the best and bracing for the worst.  In a matter of literally three seconds, my emotions went from great happiness and hopefulness to sheer terror.

The emergency team booked up the hill and eventually J got to his feet and walked down to the applause of all!  He texted me today and said, "Feeling ok, gotta headache."

Here is the video I caught on my phone:

It was a very real and scary reminder to remember to tell those you care about that you love them every day as you never know when it can all come to an end.