And the winner is Gravel. OMG! I just met Simon and he took us a a great half day ride to some Indian ruins and all was perfect till the last minute. We just came off a long straight road doing wide open flying through the desert, I was flat out with the daughter on the back at 114mph on the 103 Road King. Simon was in the lead but I went in front then back to him. He slowed down to about 13mph signaling a right turn onto the interstate and hit some deep gravel on the road. He went down in an instant with the front end sliding and knifing in under him. It was awful! We gathered around and called the 911 and waited for about 25 minutes for the ambulance to get there.
I called later and he was in good spirits but had three cracked ribs, a pneumothorax and several scrapes. I was very happy to meet him but the end was bad. Get well my new friend and hope to ride with you another day.
If any of you all are thinking about going out to ride his area give him a shout and he can show you the good stuff.
Watch out for that desert gravel it is not nice.
Dr D, thanks for getting the word out to everyone.
To all, really appreciate your well wishes and prayers.
I just got back from a follow up Doctor visit. From his read on the x-rays I apparently cracked at least 4 ribs and perhaps a small fracture on a 5th. Breathing is easier and pain comes and goes with pressure and movement. The hardest part is getting a good nights sleep. I found myself a comfortable chair and some pillows and it has helped to sleep upright in the lounger. Since I am a manager and just have to help other people at work (no lifting required) I will be back at the office this coming Monday. My doctor tells me that I can look forward to about another 4 weeks of pain. Apparently he had just gone through this 6 months ago so it's fresh in his head.
Regarding the bike, as mentioned by Greg (I think) it can be fixed.. it's only money and my insurance company will cover the vast majority of it. The damage is minimal but as you all know with Harley's that just means it's under $5k.
As far as the gravel, yup it's gonna be a winner every time, at least at slow speed. I was completely surprised as I never really saw the gravel and when I hit it I just got SLAMMED to the asphalt. There was absolutely no reaction time available nor evasive moves available once I started down. I never blacked out just lost my breath and had to gasp for air at least 5-6 times before I got air back into my lungs.
I want to thank Dr D and his riding companions for taking good care of me while I lay on the asphalt. They handled the 911 calls and got my bike out of the road. The State Trooper showed up in about 12 minutes after the call was place. The ambulance was 30 miles out and took a while longer. I was also fortunate that a beautiful Trauma Doctor happened to be driving by and stopped by to assist. She is serving her residency at the hospital in Lubbock, TX and happened to be home to visit relatives for the weekend. I told her she looked like an angel .. she laughed and said that was funny as her name was Angel. I felt a lot better when she told me that I was stable and would get through this event in my life.
Again, Dr D.. thanks to you, Gene and the rest of your crew for being there when I needed you.
God Bless and thanks for the support everyone.
Simon aka DH
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Topic: Simon(DesertHOG) vs Gravel (Read 8162 times)