Thanksgiving Day 1998?

Must’ve been like 1998, maybe 1999. I got a bunch of guys together for a ride on Thanksgiving Day. Riding T-day morning has always been a good thing for me, as I get to skip all the meal-prep tension and do something safer. We had a pretty wide range of personalities going, but one rider was really talking a lot of smack. I’ll just identify him as “Russ”. Russ was a little shallow on some types of MTB experience and some basic social skills, but could push your buttons anyway.
We were out in Chino Hills Park, riding Telegraph to Four Corners, going up Bovine Delight single track and down South Ridge to Telegraph and out. Total of 11 miles and maybe 1200 feet ascended. It’s a nice loop for a bunch of working dudes, some very fit some less. About a dozen of ‘em, including me. “We’ll be back in time to eat with noooo problem.” (Famous last words, as usual.)
We roll out Telegraph and after a break we climb Bovine. At the re-group on South ridge, Russ gets me thinking it’s time to school this sucker on how_to_go_down_hills.

“Class is in session, fool.”

If there’s no hikers, South Ridge can put 40+mph numbers on your bike computer. I’m getting a solid case of testosterone-poisoning. We push off, and Russ swears I can’t drop him. We go through the first roller-section, and break left for the next section. I’m big-ringing it and feeling some pain. As we roll the next crest, and start the next descent I'm pounding it through the tricky left at the bottom, and coast to the next peak. I’m alone, but not in a good way.
Russ is stacked up, in the middle of a dust cloud. Other riders catch up to him, and they’re yelling at me to come back.

Dang it.

I roll back, and they tell me he’s broken his left collarbone. Others have his basic med needs covered, he’s being shaded and is taking some water. He has a small sense of humor now, but had landed pretty hard. After a few minutes questions of how to get him out come up. “Should we try and get him life-flighted out of here? Can we get the Ranger to drive him out?” His pupils are equal with no dizziness, so we will walk. Two guys were sent to fetch their SUV to pick him up at the next road crossing. We work up a brace for his shoulder using a spare inner tube in a figure-8, with a pump and duct tape holding it tight. He was then walked out three miles, which is an hour in those conditions. I felt a little guilty over the whole thing, so I walked his bike and mine to the pick up. The drivers were a little anxious on the way to ER, and had to tell him to “play it up” when the Motorcycle cop stopped them for going a little too fast. Another truck load of riders shouted something as they drove by, so the cop broke off with Russ's group and ticketed the others.

Post-action Review:
Negatives. A. I should not have let him get under my skin. I went through that sand-over-hardpack corner too fast, but my experience let me “float” the slippery section better. B. He blamed it on me, so his wife was “Mad-dogging” me a little. If I haven't made someone's wife mad lately I feel like I'm not selling enough bikes. It's what I do, hey! C. Walking three miles in new cycling shoes is not good.
Positives. A. I remembered how to loop a tube over his shoulders, and carried the equipment to get a brace fixed up to help him get out. B. We all stayed calm, and did the right things. C. I got a lot of credit for good cornering, and got no further static from him. D. More people wanted to go riding next year. Someone else led the downhill portion. We all ate that meal with both hands.