Whoa... did I miss something? Geoffery you said... waiting for bones to heal!!! What? When Where?
I'm currently on the injured reserve and hating every minute! My back is getting better every day and my goal is the North Georgia Classic!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Brick...I'm pleased to hear you are getting better.
Friday, March 31st, I was on my way to Pigeon Forge to help load out a concert I'd helped set up earlier in the week. I was supposed to be at the LeConte Center at 9:30 p.m., so I started plenty early and went up Chapman Highway (US441) from Knoxville.
The section of the road between Seymour and Sevierville transitions a few miles from Sevierville from 3-lanes (one lane in each direction and a turn lane) to a divided 4-lane road with a grass median. Being after dark and riding a Suzuki DR650 with no aux lights (8:30-8:45 p.m.), I rode onto the edge of the median. I can't say what happened...I may have glanced in my mirror or to the road side or something else, but just got too close to the edge of the pavement. Realizing I was bouncing around at near the speed limit, I tried to move to my right to get back to the pavement. It is my best guess that there was a bit of an edge trap there causing the front wheel to deflect back to the left, but I can't say for sure.
After being briefly aware of unpleasantness happening (best guess is a high-side), I woke up laying on my back on asphalt with people standing around me. I couldn't tell if I was in a traffic lane or what, and I had no idea how long I'd been "out". I'd guess at least a couple of minutes. One guy said he'd seen sparks from the other side of the road, did a u-turn, and came back to help as needed...he did all of that before I regained consciousness.
Both the bike and I were in the parking lot of the convenience market located on the outside of the road there. I called Cindy while lying there on the ground with a promise to call back with an update asap. EMTs showed up quickly and did their examination. Nothing seemed life threatening, so after the THP trooper got his info for an accident report, I finally stood up to check out the bike. I determined it could be ridden, so once the EMTs got my ok to not take me to the hospital, I fired up the bike and left. I actually went on to Pigeon Forge to confirm the guys knew I needed to be replaced on the work call (I'd also called them while laying on the ground). I checked in, found they'd gotten the word to replace me, and I got back on the bike and rode home. By this time I guess the adrenaline was wearing off, and I was starting to get a lot more stiff and feel more pain. My banged up left hand was keeping me from squeezing the clutch, so I was hooking as many fingers as possible over the clutch lever and pulling my whole arm back to shift gears.
I had some nasty abrasions on the back of my left hand, but I could wiggle all my fingers...I wasn't worried. My knees were real sore as was my right shoulder. I'm guessing again, but I think I landed first on the back of my right shoulder (jacket is torn there), continued to tumble, and landed, hard, on my knees. I had ugly abrasions on my knees. But with no tears in my pants, they must have been more like burns from my pants rubbing against my skin. Scrapes on my helmet make me think I slid face down for some distance. I don't know how I ended up on my back.
Saturday I awoke to a left hand and both knees badly swollen and sore along with limited movement possible in my right shoulder. I laid around all day hoping for the best. It became pretty obvious that I wouldn't be able to play with our church handbell group on Sunday. I play the biggest bells we have, and with a bum left hand and a bum right shoulder there was no way I could "swing" (pun intended) that.
Sunday didn't offer much change, so I got Cindy to take me to an emergency room that afternoon. As much as anything, I wanted to make sure I was ok after blacking out. They discovered the 5th metacarpal in my left hand was broken, and put a splint on my hand/forearm. Everything else needed R.I.C.E....rest, ice, compression, and elevation. Amazingly enough, no broken ribs. And no, I'm no more of a whack job than before.
Wednesday I went to an orthopedic doctor for my hand. After asking Cindy to leave the room, he attached my pinkie to a finger trap mounted to a bracket on the side of the bed. Then he suspended weights to my arm. After that, to make sure it was pulled straight, he used a ratchet strap to put more tension on my arm. To top it off, he then positioned the bone by manipulating it manually. That was the part that he didn't want Cindy in the room to hear...apparently some patients are very vocal during that part of the procedure. I took a big breath and managed to remain silent, but I probably was quite wide-eyed.
Two weeks now after the crash, my knees are almost back to normal size and are much less sore. I still can't lift my right arm normally, but it's improving. Abrasions on my knees are healing. With a cast on my clutch hand, I'm not riding at all. Bummer. This cast comes off the middle of next week, and I get another one for 2-4 more weeks.
By the first to middle part of May I hope to be back riding. I still plan on 2-wheeling it to Colorado in June for STAR.
The DR650 had some scuffing on the front fender and headlight cowl...black spray paint will cover that. The left hand guard is structurally sound, but had a couple of holes ground through the plastic. Replacement <$75 and may not do that. Left saddlebag mount scuffed...again with the black spray paint. Left rear turn signal busted,,,<$50 for OEM parts. For a ~50 mph crash, I've got to say these are tough bikes.
My Arai helmet and Aerostich riding gear are trashed. If my Darien jacket weren't the most versatile piece of gear I've ever owned, I might not replace it. But it is. We'll see. Maybe it's time to wash the yellow Roadcrafter and get more miles out of it.
To relate this to the thread, I consider the DR650 I was riding to be one of my smaller and lighter bikes. Had I been riding the Honda ST1100, Honda GL1200, or BMW R100, I have no doubts that the bike would have been totaled. That would have been a shame.
