7 broken ribs, a broken collar bone, and a bruised lung. I was lucky that the lung didn't collapse or get punctured. They had me in the ICU for almost 24 hours. The guy in the next room didn't make it this morning. I guess it could have been worse.
We were riding along route 98 getting ready to turn left to cross the bridge to Navarre beach. Traffic was stopped at the light.
Construction was under way, and the turn lane had had the blacktop ground down, ready to be resurfaced. There was a lip in the road top which I was watching.
What I didn't see were the craters under the old blacktop, and my front tire dropped into a valley that wouldn't let the wheel turn. The bike wrenched down, hard. On me.
It was nice that almost instantly there were a half dozen people around helping. One guy lifted the bike off my leg. A waitress from Waffle House put a towel under my head as a pillow.
I had only been going 10 MPH coming up to the light. I think that going either slower or faster would have let me keep control.
I didn't do an inspection of the bike but it looks like it's OK other than the windscreen which was busted up. Maybe there's more wrong but that will have to wait.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
56 comments:
You can't be replaced, Borepatch - the windscreen can. Prayers for a speedy recovery.
Damn son! Take your time recovering, we don't have a lot of bloggers like you.
Glad it wasn't worse. take care of yourself.
Well, as long as the bike is fine ... :)
Yerba mala no se muere as they say in the old country.
Glad to have you still among the Breathing
Mike Tyson didn't show up to direct traffic?
Glad you will be OK.
And I was just beginning to think it might be fun to get a bike.
Thanking God you're still with us, and praying for a swift and trouble-free recovery.
Miss D. and I dropped in to see Borepatch this morning. After-action report here:
http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2014/10/what-way-to-meet-borepatch.html
He'll be fine, although it'll be a long, slow, painful recovery.
I've had a partial collapsed lung. Required a chest tube. Worse part was removal of the chest tube. If you have a chest tube in be prepared. It will hurt like hell when it is removed. Felt like they were dragging re-bar out from between my ribs.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery
Glad yer ok. Generally, on bumps, more speed is better (up to a point).
Bikes are just steel and rubber and paint...easily replaced. You, on the other hand, will be much harder to replace.....
+1000 on everyone's well-wishes and hopes for a fast recovery. Toss mine in there as well.
I never broke my collarbone, but I've had my share of broken ribs, bones, bruises, road rash, and scrapes. Dumps happen. And each time, I said a silent prayer that it wasn't worse than it was.
The bike is just a hunk of steel. Ignore it.
YOU are more important than ANY bike. We need YOU to recover quickly, completely, and without any long-lasting problems.
Glad you are on the road -- the road to recovery that is.
Best wishes for a speedy one.
Yep, 5 broken ribs on xray is always 7 or 8 on CT. Surprised you did not get a small pneumothorax, one usually does.
And the bikes are almost always undamaged.
You're gonna be hurtin' a while but the list of Worse Things is a mile long.
Tacitus
OMG - the ribs will be a bitch for a while, no jokes allowed and our prayers for quick and thorough healing.
I'm glad it wasn't worse - get better quickly! Prayers have been headed your way.
It sounds like it may be a month or two before you are going to be 100% again. The bike can be fixed. Get well and avoid laughing - you will figure that out on your own.
Welcome to the club, brother. You're now the second type of biker.
Glad to hear it wasn't as serious as it could have been.
Dunno what your plans for the bike are, but I can recommend a good shipping company if that's an option you'd like.
Get better. And get back on.
Glad you're ok. Been praying for ya, guy.
Oh, yuck. Sounds like a horrible incident and I'm sorry you had to go through it. Still, I'm glad you're (mostly) all right and it sounds like you'll recover quickly.
So, I'm thinking we ought to get Borepatch a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.... :P
Glad you pulled though okay.
Or training wheels?
Just kidding. I'm doing my part to keep BP from laughing until his ribs heal up.
Hurry and get better Borepatch. The Internet's a scary place without you on guard.
Damn, boy. Get better. Get well. Get back on.
Dang! Try to avoid doing that. It's contra-indicated by your operating manual...
Crikey BP!
No shooty goodness for you for a while I guess.
Get well soon.
After Belle got WTF! out of her system, she sent her well wishes as well.
Just rub some dirt on the boo boo and ride the bike home.
Cripes!
Get well. Enjoy the time off.
I've broken a few ribs, but only one at a time. That was bad enough.
Glad you're still with us. Heal fast!
I've seen more than my fair share of M/C related crashes and injuries. As with yours sometimes the simplest road fault or bit of debris get the ball rolling. Get well and back on the bike soonest.
Oh, goodness! I'm glad you're surviving, though the recovery may be long and painful.
Please, do take care!
Aw crap!
Hope you heal well and get back in the saddle.
Yow. Knew someone who came around a turn and found a cinderblock brick right in front. What saved him was reving it and hanging on. He was airborn but it gave him enough control to come back down straight on.
Second-Type Club Member yeh. It made me go ride in the dirt for a while, but I hope and imagine your analytical skills are very busy processing and analyzing all the constituent components so it's not a net negative..
People will tell you not to laugh and they're right. But for Our Dear Lord's, don't sneeze. Get better soon. Rembember, shiny side up.
Glad you're still with us. I hope you have a speedy recovery and get back in the saddle quick-like.
Been there Bro.
Get well soon.
Man, all I can add is that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
I hope you're all put together again soon. Get well.
"So, I'm thinking we ought to get Borepatch a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas.."
Oh god no Erin, he'll shoot his eye out. :D
Thank you so much, Ratus. :D
This gentleman left a message in my blog so I pass it on to you:
--------------------------------
As a Patriot Guard Rider with a Harley Davidson Ultrea that I laid down on June 30 this year I hope that you are doing well and that you get back to riding asap
For me, I lost my front brake and came up on some cars that had stopped really quick at a light. So it was lay her down or eat the back end of a welding Ford Dually...
All I got was some road rash on my right arm and my knee.
I'm glad you are pretty much OK and I hope that you get right back on the bike and keep riding.
I actually did think about selling my bike and getting a cage...
That lasted about 45 seconds...
Seriously, PM me if you can from Facebook so we can connect.
I am glad you are generally OK, but I know you are awfully sore !!! I know I was.
Thanks and I will add say a prayer of gratitude for great Guardian Angels !!!
Steven Thompson
Get better soonest BP. That could have been much worse.
Prayers on the way.
Greetings and best wishes from the Welsh branch of the Type2 club..... +1 on all the good will expressed above, and a crumb of comfort - it happened at the end of the riding season, not the start; you have all winter to recuperate and fix the bike.
I am still amazed even after 30+ years riding at how low-speed incidents can cause injuries out of all proportion to the speed involved.
In my own case:
5mph on a diesel spill - hairline fracture right elbow.
10mph on gravel - 2 bones broken right hand.
50mph off-road - no injuries at all, other than the complete humiliation of landing in the farmers midden (old cattle bedding & mixed offerings from the cow shed for you city types.....). Took me a week to get the bike clean.....
Bryn, Isle of Anglesey.
Ouch! Glad to hear you are on the mend and that it wasn't worse.
Erin, How about a "SteamPunk Red Ryder, with copper windings and flux-capacitor - and wooden VFG?
You're not replaceable, the bike is... Get well soon my friend.
@NotClauswitz: For full humorous effect, we need the BB gun to match the motorcycle.
Guh, no such thing as a fender bender on a bike.
Hopes for a speedy recovery, glad you'll get through it.
Recommend lots of prune juice. Pain meds will stop you up and you don't want to strain anything for a while with that many busted ribs, not as bad as sneezing, but still SUCKS
@Erin Palette: So, scuffed up with a broken compass in the stock?
:p
Second the recommendation on the prune juice. Mom had surgery in her neck earlier this year and the opiates they put her on gave her a killer case of constipation.
@Ratus: ;)
Thanks be to G_d it wasn't worse, and that you're on the mend. Thank you for taking the time to let us know, BP.
Get well!
Soon!
Dropping the bike sucks.
Owie... Sounds very, very owie.
Get well soon, and while you recover, enjoy the strange things that the drugs will make you see.. Glad you're okay, buddy.
One of the factors that I suspect influenced the way that you crashed is the seating and footpeg relationship. When your feet are positioned as they are on your bike, you are severely limited in responses to impending crash dynamics. It is nearly the same as sitting in a Lazy-Boy recliner or chaise lounge chair. Getting out of one of those is not easy or quick, and you are riding in the equivalent position, pretty much.
When your feet are not under your CG, you cannot move quickly in response, so instead of you controlling the bike, the bike ends up controlling you, when you can least afford it. The test for this is whether you can stand up on the pegs/floorboards from the seated position. If not, you cannot claim to be capable of full control of the bike.
Damn, Dude. How did the asphalt taste? And I hope you weren't wearing your kilt, and if you were, I hope you had on skivvies. Free advertisement for the Waffle House lady wasn't appropriate at that time. Take it easy and heal correctly.
Ow!
Jeeze, dude, I go incommunicado for five minutes and you go and get attacked by the asphalt. :(
Get well soon!
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