Photo: Jim Bahn, Flickr
Mountain biker Jim Watkins was riding his mountain bike last week at the Apache Wash trail in north Phoenix when he fell off his bike and landed on a rattlesnake.
Watkins, 75-years-old, told ABC news in an interview that he was trying to unclip when he stopped his bike, but couldn’t get out in time and fell into a bush, which was also home to a rattlesnake.
Watkins said that he saw the snake rattling afterward and felt a stinging sensation, but that it didn’t seem too bad. So, he pedaled back to the trailhead, 30 minutes away, and called poison control. He wasn’t convinced at first that he needed to go to an emergency room, but he did, and received emergency care, 14 bottles of antivenin, and was admitted for two days.
Aside from some swelling and pain, Watkins was relatively OK. Watkins is reportedly an avid mountain biker with 25 years experience and occasionally sees snakes.
Watkins is expected to make a full recovery. He told ABC that it wouldn’t stop him from recreating in the future.
