Cyclist taken to hospital after fall in Ladora

Thu July 27 2006
Posted Jul 27, 2006
5,875

LAUREN BURKE Register staff writer July 27, 2006 Ladora, Ia. — Seconds before Lance Armstrong rode through Ladora this afternoon, a young woman fell off her bike after getting tangled in a large group of RAGBRAI riders. Eighteen-year-old Liz Cooney and her riding partner, Michael Hickman, were passing by Ladora on Highway 6 around 1:50 p.m when the surrounding crowd of riders condensed. “There were a lot of people coming through. We figured he (Armstrong) was right behind us,” Hickman said. After falling from her bike, Cooney laid on the street while people gathered around to help her and halt the incoming RAGBRAI traffic. Diann Gowen, a volunteer at the nearby First Aid tent, assessed and comforted Cooney and called for an ambulance, which later took Cooney to a hospital in Marengo. Gowen said Cooney was scared and thought that the young woman had been left with minor injuries of a sore left shoulder, a skinned forearm and headache. Tim Hollopeter, Ladora’s RAGBRAI coordinator and the town's fire chief, said Armstrong's appearance in Ladora was a surprise to him. “We didn't even know Armstrong was coming through," he said. Seriously?