| Author | Message | ||
     Clk92vette |
Well this definitely wasn’t per the plan. I was finishing a 100+ mile plus ride through Amish country in rural Ohio when I low sided into a guard rail support post. My front tire must have found a slick spot because everything felt just perfect right up to the instant I hit the guard rail. I was well off the bike, fixed radius, with no throttle, steering, or braking inputs. There was no noticeable transition from being on two wheels to being on the ground until I hit the guard rail and then it was an absolute flurry of violent motions. The impact of my front wheel on the post shattered the wheel and my frame at the fork seat. Guard rails do a great job with cars but definitely not designed with bikes in mind. If the rail was lower I would be dealing with very minor damage, speed doesn’t kill deceleration rate does. The bike is a mess, and will surely be totaled out by my insurance company. My first impact was through the grips when the wheel contacted the post, the second was my helmet against something else of which I am unsure of. I never ride without all of my gear on and it saved my hide and my life. My Shoei helmet was phenomenal as it is missing a chunk near the left temple area, yet I experienced much harder impacts racing BMX and playing middle linebacker in high school. Externally the only signs of injury are a bruise on my right hand and the outside of my right heel, and a half dollar sized road rash mark on the outside of my left knee from the slider puck. Internally I have a lot of mid to upper back pain. The cops showed up but I was not cited. I actually helped the guy with the tow truck drag my bike up into the trailer, this was more painful than the wreck! My wife came to get me and became a basket case after she saw my bike. I did not go to the hospital until Tuesday night, as I really hate those places. And the only reason I went is because my wife and I are running the Akron Half Marathon this coming Saturday and she ganged up with my family and friends to say no hospital-no run. The X-rays identified some spinal irregularities and possibly a broken back so I had an MRI, the MRI clarified significant muscle tears and swollen discs but no break, then a CT scan clarified a bruised lung. I am really bummed about my bike, she never let me down and was always an absolute joy to ride. I also know how this will affect my wife’s stance on my future riding. But I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord & Savior about five years ago and I know everything happens for a reason. I also know that when He calls me to glory, it won’t matter if I am on my bike, on a plane, or on my couch; I will depart. He definitely has other plans for me as this could very easily be a RIP post about me. And yes I am running 13.11 miles this Saturday…Emmanuel! | ||
| Jimustanguitar |
Glad that you're ok, but sorry about the bike. Good thing you're a stickler for safety gear. It makes for some hot summer days, but it's worth it. | ||
| Northernyankee |
Sorry to hear about the bike...but glad to hear that you are ok. | ||
| Dannybuell |
I am glad to read that you are OK, heal quickly! | ||
| Jimustanguitar |
I also hope the wife lets you ride again. I know mine wouldn't. Rest easy, heal up, and start drooling over what bike you'll get next  | ||
| Thefleshrocket |
Sucks, man. Get well soon! Buy another bike soon, before your wife gets used to you not riding and makes it difficult. | ||
| Hughlysses |
Sorry about your bike, Chris, but glad you're OK. You've definitely got the right attitude about it. Maybe an 1190RX is in your future?  | ||
| Rpm4x4 |
Wow. Glad your still with us and able to tell us the story. | ||
| Jflaig |
Glad to hear that you are alright. Sorry about the bike. Those back roads are bad at times. Glad to hear that you had your gear on but especially that you are prepared to see Jesus when it's your time. Again, glad to hear you are not hurt seriously. | ||
| Reepicheep |
Good job with the gear, and you picked a pretty area to crash. Sorry about the bike, no fun. Everybody has to make their own decision about if they ride, what they ride, and how they ride it, and that decision will change over time. You gotta balance not dying on the outside (by for example, sliding into a guardrail) against not dying on the inside (by loosing all sense of adventure and significance and overcoming fear). There is no single answer, and no easy answer, and there is significant danger in both paths. | ||
| Brumbear |
Glad you are OK bike will be replaced no worries | ||
| Torquehd |
Brother I'm glad you're ok. Stories like yours make me glad I always wear full gear too. And I'm glad there are still folks out there not afraid to talk about their faith in Christ. | ||
| Ridenusa4l |
Praise the Lord you are ok man, seriously God's grace is something to never be taken lightly nor for granted. Likewise with Torque, happy to see someone speak about their faith, unashamedly as we should all be able to. Proud to have you as a brother in Christ and keep following wherever the good Lord is leading you and your family. God Bless Jake | ||
| Jumpinjewels |
"But I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord & Savior about five years ago and I know everything happens for a reason." Amen and Praise God. He does have plans for us and He wasn't ready for you. I am a Messianic Jew that asked Jesus into my life in 1990 and believe me, He's taken me through some interesting times, all for the better. As I ride my 1125 it's always in the back of my mind that if I go on my bike, I'll have gone doing something I love and will be in a better place. Glad you're OK. | ||
| Clk92vette |
I appreciate all of the brotherly encouragement, and I am happy to share my faith with anyone. My journey to Christ is a pretty compelling story that I will separately post in the near future. My insurance company has stipulated a $1,050 scrap value for my bike so now I have to decide whether or not it makes sense to keep it or not knowing that it is my intention to replace it with another '08...thoughts? | ||
| Reepicheep |
I did the salvage buyback on my Uly. A net gain for me, but having been through it, I can see why it was so cheap to buy back... you are taking on both risk and trouble, and it eats up a lot of time at the cost of a lot of inconvenience to sort out. Would I do it again? Yes, but I would do a deeper teardown on the restore and take it a little more seriously. | ||
| Jgarner99 |
Glad you're OK! At the end of August, I lost the front wheel on my '08 and fractured a bunch of ribs. With the injuries you've described. I can't imagine how you're going to run a half-marathon.... I'd be resting and licking my wounds if I were you. I'm glad you're so full of spunk, but personally, I think you're nuts! | ||
| Websii |
God Bless and thank God you're ok. That's an amazing attitude, and I hope you did well on the run. I'm in NEO as well (Ashtabula county), post up or pm if there's anything you need help with. | ||
| Clk92vette |
I decided against buying the bike to part out as I just have too many other honey do projects to add another to the list. But they have yet to pick her up and maybe they will just forget?  I think my wife has finally accepted the fact that my riding days are not over, and I have started looking for my next '08 1125R! The race was quite a challenge for me. I ran into one of the youth pastors from the Chapel in Akron the night before and we decided to run together. I hung with him for the first eight miles at a sub 8:30 pace and then pain and fatigue set in. I had to slow down to finish the last five but still managed to finish under 1:55. It was the most difficult physical challenge I have encountered in a very long time, and I felt like I had been run over by a truck for the next two days. I prayed quite a bit while running, and certainly the Holy Spirit helped me to finish. Running, like riding, has proved to be a very good platform for alone time in my head with Jesus. |
