All in an afternoon…
August 7, 2007
Well, today has been one of those days. I dont even know where to begin…
I was leaving the Sturgis Bike Rally in South Dakota, en route to Colorado. I was trying to avoid going through Wyoming, so made way through Nebraska instead to work my way south. The majority of my entire trip has been completely off the Interstate, all on backroads, mainly to have more fun, avoid all the RV’s and traffic, and to lighten the LEO’s that I may run into.
Got through that and was another 25 miles down the road, turned off on another backroad to avoid the traffic, and was only 2 miles down this desolate road when it happened again - soft sand replacing the road - only this time, there was zero warning.
The speed limit sign said 50mph, right where the road turned to soft sand/gravel. I was going right around 55 when I saw the road change, but it was too late. The road crested there, so my warning was only maybe 15-20 feet in advance. I hit my brakes very hard, fished tailed the rear, but straightened it out as I hit the sand and gravel. I dont think I slowed down to anything under 40mph when I hit it - the bike dived to the left hitting on the right side and throwing me about 3 feet from the bike. It all happened so fast. Adrenaline and shock combined was making me go crazy.
I’ve been riding since 1996, never wrecked a motorcycle up to this point. Sure, I’ve dropped a bike at a standstill due to stupidity, but I have never wrecked a bike while in any kind of motion. Damn! It all happened so fast!
So here I am in the middle of nowhere, roaming on the ole cell phone, and not enough energy to even lift my bike. A couple fingers on my right hand were blatantly popped out of place, I popped them back into place, but one of them keeps staying popped out. Right foot and knee were sore, not sure of what. Adrenaline was pumping like crazy! I know I went into shock, it was hard to come to any calmness, my mind was going stir crazy!!
I was wearing full gear, and I really mean full gear. I had my Vanson Leathers for my pants and jacket, with armor, Sidi boots, gloves, and helmet of course. I know, without a doubt in my mind, that my injuries would be way worse had I not been wearing all my gear.
I finally got the bike up, pushed it two miles back to a nearby gas station from where I had turned off of. The bike was not starting, and my mind was going crazy trying to think about any troubleshooting things.
I made a few phone calls, asking for medical advice and bike advice. I knew I broke two of my fingers at this point, I dont think I have ever felt such pain in my life - amazing in a bad, bad way!! My right foot was, and is, in such pain that I dont know of what. I really dont think I broke it, but something is not right.
The bike appeared toast and I didnt know what to do stranded in the middle of no man’s land. I kicked all the sand and gravel out of the bike and starting working through it. I did a good visual inspection, looking for leaks or electrical issues that may have been grounded off. The extent of the damage was pretty bad, I’ll probably find out how bad tomorrow - granted, it could always be worse.
Armed with some advil in my stomach, guzzling 2 liters of water, and starting to get somewhat calm, I was determined to see what I could do about riding out of there. Duct tape is my friend - used it to duct tape my motorcycle up to keep it together if I could get it road-ready. I took a couple ball point ink pens, and used them to duct tape to my fingers to keep them straight. I didnt want to take my boot off, because I was afraid my foot would be so swollen up that I wouldnt be able to get it back on. I figured I could deal with that later.
I was able to make the bike rideable using a lot of creativity. I had a problem getting my bags secured back on the bike, so I strapped down what I could and backpacked the rest on my body. Off I went…
My original plan was to goto Cheyenne, Wyoming but then the rain came. This was probably some of the hardest rain I have ever seen and been in. I pulled off at a gas station to shelter myself, but after 30 minutes, it didnt let up so I knew I had to go. What sucked is I was unable to wear a glove on the right hand, so the rain just stung and pierced my hand.
So with my body duct taped up, my motorcycle duct taped up, 2 broken fingers, one very bad right foot, missing one glove, backpack on back, in the downpouring rain, I pushed onward for another 4 hours finally arriving at my final and original destination - Colorado Springs, Colorado. The bike is in the garage, and I finally got a shower, and I’ll be going to the hospital tomorrow morning to get checked out.
The last 4 hours of riding probably wouldnt have been too bad if it wasnt for the 2 fingers and the nonstop rain. It was just miserable and i would never wish this upon my worst enemy.
For now, rest is what I need. I just wanted to let everyone know what happened and we’ll see how things play out from here.
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came across your blog on zxforums…jus read (sp?) your accident. and DAMN, you are a hardcore mothafuka (dont mean to be rude, but you are) any other person might have dealt with it another way. Not sure how, but yea. Much respect to ya. Hope your all better now.
Will