|
room ,” Reese jokes – and gutted it out to tie tackle the next day and compete in the Sudden Death Round the day after . After three fitful nights ’ sleep – “ I ’ d lay in bed and could feel things moving around [ in my ribs ],” Ehrler says – he got up on the third day postcrash and drove his tournament rig 1,400 miles from Dallas to Redlands .
Unbeknownst to Ehrler , in addition to the broken ribs , he had also managed to partially collapse his right lung . After struggling through a neighborhood walk with his family the day after he made it home , Ehrler popped into a local urgent care facility for a quick exam and was quickly sent to the emergency room for a seven-hour stay , X-rays and a CT scan that finally revealed the scope of his injury .
The recovery kept Ehrler off his bike , out of a boat and unable to do any kind of physical preparation that winter for the start of the 2022 Bass Pro Tour in West Monroe , Louisiana , in early February . He felt it , too , finishing 49th at Stage One and 69th at Stage Two before pulling down a Top 10 at Stage Three on Smith Lake and climbing 54 places in the AOY race over the final five tournaments of the regular season .
|
“ It ’ s just so much fun being out there on new trails , and it keeps my mind fresh during the grind of the season .” |
PHOTO BY JOEL SHANGLE |
“ I ’ ve been injured a bunch in the past , and usually it ’ s six weeks and you ’ re good to go ,” Ehrler says . “ The ribs took months to heal ; they hurt forever . I had laid around all winter before the start of the season and was in poor physical shape when we started in February . It had to have been six months before my ribs finally felt 100 percent . It was a long road .”
Ehrler stayed off the Stumpjumper while on the road in 2022 , allowing his body to heal and slowly building back up with local rides while he was home in Southern California . There ’ s a strong chance that the Stumpjumper will be back on tour in 2023 , though , ready for the trails around Toho , Lake Norman , Douglas Lake , Lake Murray , Guntersville , Cayuga , Detroit and Saginaw Bay .
“ I ’ m pretty sure I ’ m going to go for it again ,” Ehrler says . “ It ’ s just so much fun being out there on new trails , and it keeps my mind fresh during the grind of the season . I ’ m in way better shape going into the season this year because I ’ ve been riding at home , and I ’ d like to maintain that . Yep . I think I ’ m going to go for it . Who out there wants to ride with me ?”
|
|||
Fully recovered after a serious accident in late 2021 , Ehrler will likely bring his bike on the 2023 tournament trail . Photo by Morgan Sandler |