So that was fun
Apologies for the unexplained absence last week. I went off-roading on the bike on the afternoon of the 22nd. You may remember that it is not a dual-purpose motorcycle. But it is now. Sort of.
Came round a blind corner and there was nice fresh asphalt patch. The way the Texas DOT patches potholes is roughly: 1) dig out hole further; 2) fill with gravel; 3) pour hot tar on gravel. Consequently, there's lots of free oil and loose gravel around the patches. Hit one in a lean and you're going for a ride, and not in a good way. I had about half a second to decide between going over it and probably laying the bike down on pavement then high-siding off the elevated curve (Not Good), or standing it up with the front brake and going off voluntarily. Lotsa grass, trees were way off of the road, no fence... Looks like it's Ivan Stewart time for JT.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your temporal viewpoint of the incident) the ground was soft(ish). Front wheel is still under braking load so it plants like a tree and me and the bike play a game of vertical ring-around-the-rosie. Still, like a good Marine (i.e., a less-than-bright person) I got up, dusted myself off, had a little help from some passing motorcyclists in straightening the slightly bent bits, and rode her thirty miles to the house covered in a fair quantity of blood. Woke the wife up from her Sunday nap and made her drive me to the emergency room. She was not best pleased but handled it like a trooper. I'm unworthy.
Here are some pics for the morbidly inclined. I shan't imbed them in order to save the sensibilities of the girly-men among ya. These were taken after the ER nurse had spent an hour scrubbing off the dirt and irrigating gravel out of the wound on my left elbow (five stitches for that one).
Road rash on the left... and on the right.
Nasty hematoma. This actually hurts more than the road rash. Something -- probably the crank case judging from the impact pattern -- hit me on the back of the arm, right on the triceps. Tore the crap outta the muscle. Lots of internal bleeding into the tissue. Made my hand swell up like a balloon for a few days. Still have a limited range of movement and some localized numbness around the impact point due to heavy swelling, but it's getting better by the day with frequent icepacks. Most of the road rash has healed up sufficiently so as not to limit movement unduly, but the stitches on the elbow are still a royal pain in the... elbow. Bad place for stitches, in case you were wondering.
Various other scrapes, cuts, abrasions, pulls and general physiological mayhem, which I shall spare you from viewing as they're in less publicly-acceptable locations.
Bike is in pretty good shape considering. She trails properly and rides straight. Rear fender is trashed, as are the headlight and taillight assemblies. Scratches on the tank and crankcase. Slightly bent the shifter and torqued the instrument cluster. Right riser clamp is bent back a coupe of degrees. Actually, it makes my job of modding it to a street fighter easier. I was already gonna bob the fender and replace the taillight. Only the riser clamp and headlight are unexpected purchases. As for the paint and chrome scratches, who the hell ever heard of a pristine CB, eh? They add character.
Not the first time I've gone off a bike, and not even the worst time. But it takes longer to heal up when you're 45 than it does when you're 22. When asked by a friend (who detests motorcycles, just to be clear) if I'd now sell it and stop riding, I responded, "Why the hell would I do that?!" Do you stop downhill skiing if you break a leg on the slopes? I suppose for some people the answer might be "yes," but not for me, thanks. Just as broken bones are a part of skiing, going off the road or laying it down is part of riding. If that bothers you, then by all means sell the bike or the skis or what-have-you and find another hobby. Maybe checkers in the park or something. Dangerous hobby is dangerous. Love it or leave it.
The worst part of the whole affair: daytime television. I usually only turn on a TV for football, but had little other choice of activities the past week, as I didn't have use of my left arm for several days and was stiff as if I'd been leveled by a linebacker. (Also, Vicodin.) So television it was... We pay a hundred bucks a month in satellite fees for this? Seriously, what the fuck? People actually watch this drivel? Voluntarily?! Ugh. Think I'll go back to sleep...
P.S. - For those who will inevitably ask, yes I was wearing a helmet. I always do on sportbikes. I can understand riding cruisers and tourers without a helmet and have done so myself, but sportbikes? You have be an idiot. Well, a bigger idiot than me.
Came round a blind corner and there was nice fresh asphalt patch. The way the Texas DOT patches potholes is roughly: 1) dig out hole further; 2) fill with gravel; 3) pour hot tar on gravel. Consequently, there's lots of free oil and loose gravel around the patches. Hit one in a lean and you're going for a ride, and not in a good way. I had about half a second to decide between going over it and probably laying the bike down on pavement then high-siding off the elevated curve (Not Good), or standing it up with the front brake and going off voluntarily. Lotsa grass, trees were way off of the road, no fence... Looks like it's Ivan Stewart time for JT.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your temporal viewpoint of the incident) the ground was soft(ish). Front wheel is still under braking load so it plants like a tree and me and the bike play a game of vertical ring-around-the-rosie. Still, like a good Marine (i.e., a less-than-bright person) I got up, dusted myself off, had a little help from some passing motorcyclists in straightening the slightly bent bits, and rode her thirty miles to the house covered in a fair quantity of blood. Woke the wife up from her Sunday nap and made her drive me to the emergency room. She was not best pleased but handled it like a trooper. I'm unworthy.
Here are some pics for the morbidly inclined. I shan't imbed them in order to save the sensibilities of the girly-men among ya. These were taken after the ER nurse had spent an hour scrubbing off the dirt and irrigating gravel out of the wound on my left elbow (five stitches for that one).
Road rash on the left... and on the right.
Nasty hematoma. This actually hurts more than the road rash. Something -- probably the crank case judging from the impact pattern -- hit me on the back of the arm, right on the triceps. Tore the crap outta the muscle. Lots of internal bleeding into the tissue. Made my hand swell up like a balloon for a few days. Still have a limited range of movement and some localized numbness around the impact point due to heavy swelling, but it's getting better by the day with frequent icepacks. Most of the road rash has healed up sufficiently so as not to limit movement unduly, but the stitches on the elbow are still a royal pain in the... elbow. Bad place for stitches, in case you were wondering.
Various other scrapes, cuts, abrasions, pulls and general physiological mayhem, which I shall spare you from viewing as they're in less publicly-acceptable locations.
Bike is in pretty good shape considering. She trails properly and rides straight. Rear fender is trashed, as are the headlight and taillight assemblies. Scratches on the tank and crankcase. Slightly bent the shifter and torqued the instrument cluster. Right riser clamp is bent back a coupe of degrees. Actually, it makes my job of modding it to a street fighter easier. I was already gonna bob the fender and replace the taillight. Only the riser clamp and headlight are unexpected purchases. As for the paint and chrome scratches, who the hell ever heard of a pristine CB, eh? They add character.
Not the first time I've gone off a bike, and not even the worst time. But it takes longer to heal up when you're 45 than it does when you're 22. When asked by a friend (who detests motorcycles, just to be clear) if I'd now sell it and stop riding, I responded, "Why the hell would I do that?!" Do you stop downhill skiing if you break a leg on the slopes? I suppose for some people the answer might be "yes," but not for me, thanks. Just as broken bones are a part of skiing, going off the road or laying it down is part of riding. If that bothers you, then by all means sell the bike or the skis or what-have-you and find another hobby. Maybe checkers in the park or something. Dangerous hobby is dangerous. Love it or leave it.
The worst part of the whole affair: daytime television. I usually only turn on a TV for football, but had little other choice of activities the past week, as I didn't have use of my left arm for several days and was stiff as if I'd been leveled by a linebacker. (Also, Vicodin.) So television it was... We pay a hundred bucks a month in satellite fees for this? Seriously, what the fuck? People actually watch this drivel? Voluntarily?! Ugh. Think I'll go back to sleep...
P.S. - For those who will inevitably ask, yes I was wearing a helmet. I always do on sportbikes. I can understand riding cruisers and tourers without a helmet and have done so myself, but sportbikes? You have be an idiot. Well, a bigger idiot than me.
posted by Jar(egg)head at 16:36
3 Comments:
Glad to hear you made it through the experience relatively ok...other than the mental scaring of a weeks worth of concentrated daytime TV. I'm afraid you'll be carrying around the psychic damage of that much longer than the physical.
Another friend and co-worker from some years back went off-road in the tumbling-end-over-end fashion back in 2000. He ended up with an erector set worth of metal and screws in his arm at the end of it all and had to give up his bike due to range of motion loss. Man, Physics is a bitch, isn't she?
Best of luck on your recovery! At least now we know conclusively that 45 year old Marines still bounce when thrown at the ground at a hight rate of speed. :)
Sorry to hear about an accident but glad to see you are keeping it in perspective. Definitely an opportunity to do some bike mods.
Liz and I are taking a few days to hit the hill country next weekend. Be thinking of you.
I have seen enough deformities, contusions, abrasions, punctures, burns, tenderness, lacerations, and swelling to last a lifetime. I'd rather see pics of the bike. Tissue injuries heal. Bike parts cost money and that hurts more.
That which does not kill us makes us stronger, except when you are in your late 40's. I T-boned Bambi's mom in May. Broke my tibia, hyperflexed the knee. Now I have yet another ache when it rains. As far as self-inflicted daytime television goes, they don't call you a Jarhead for nothing. You should have known better. You did know better and watched anyway, which is worse.
Glad you are back. We don't quit. We get back on the bike, sometimes a different bike, and keep riding.
It's a biker thing. You wouldn't understand.
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