Crashed!
Crashed!
I was on my way to Orlando from Cleveland for a week of business meetings. I rode my bike, a Road King, and my COO rode with me on a Yamaha. We wanted to maximize the experience so we decided to pick up Hwy 129 along the way and ride the Dragon.
The first day of the trip was beautiful, day two we left out of Corbin, KY drove to Knoxville, and then picked up 129. Everything was going great, we were less than a mile from the Dragon when I took my eyes off the road for a second (very stupid), missed a curve, went off the side of the road, ran into sand, and quickly went down.
I landed hard on my left shoulder and hit my head. I was immediately surrounded by many helpful riders. Rescue came, an ambulance arrived and of course the police. I was pretty dazed but after about 20 minutes my head cleared and apart from a sore left side I felt okay. I declined a ride to the hospital and decided to ride on. The bike was in pretty good shape considering the fall - there was no mechanical damage.
My friend and I rode the Dragon and continued on for about 100 miles. At that point I was in a lot of pain and decided to stop at a local hospital and get my shoulder x-rayed to see if I broke it. Well, my shoulder was fine but I had 5 broken ribs and a collapsed left lung!
After 4 days in the hospital I'm finally on my way back home. My wife and 2 daughters came to be with me at the hospital and drive me home. I'm shipping the bike and will have it repaired at my local HD dealer.
Apart from the crash the ride was great! The major take away - don't take your eyes off the road and wear safety gear! My jacket and hemet saved me from major damage!
The first day of the trip was beautiful, day two we left out of Corbin, KY drove to Knoxville, and then picked up 129. Everything was going great, we were less than a mile from the Dragon when I took my eyes off the road for a second (very stupid), missed a curve, went off the side of the road, ran into sand, and quickly went down.
I landed hard on my left shoulder and hit my head. I was immediately surrounded by many helpful riders. Rescue came, an ambulance arrived and of course the police. I was pretty dazed but after about 20 minutes my head cleared and apart from a sore left side I felt okay. I declined a ride to the hospital and decided to ride on. The bike was in pretty good shape considering the fall - there was no mechanical damage.
My friend and I rode the Dragon and continued on for about 100 miles. At that point I was in a lot of pain and decided to stop at a local hospital and get my shoulder x-rayed to see if I broke it. Well, my shoulder was fine but I had 5 broken ribs and a collapsed left lung!
After 4 days in the hospital I'm finally on my way back home. My wife and 2 daughters came to be with me at the hospital and drive me home. I'm shipping the bike and will have it repaired at my local HD dealer.
Apart from the crash the ride was great! The major take away - don't take your eyes off the road and wear safety gear! My jacket and hemet saved me from major damage!
Glad you're ok. I'm sure it was a nice reunion when your wife and daughters came to the hospital to be with you.
What kind of helmet were you wearing? Full, 3/4, 1/2? And do you know what your head hit? Sand? Or tarmac?
Thanks for any info.
What kind of helmet were you wearing? Full, 3/4, 1/2? And do you know what your head hit? Sand? Or tarmac?
Thanks for any info.
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 5,308
Likes: 9
so, you called in sick and missed work? seems like a lot of trouble to miss a few meetings. j/k. best wishes for a speedy recovery.
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Elite HDF Member
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 3,832
Likes: 127
From: Coastal Carolina
Glad you're OK! ("OK" defined as being able to talk about it.) I was out riding this weekend on a winding road in the foothills and started enjoying the scenery for a second and almost ran off the road too. Fortunately, I recovered and kept control of the bike. It only takes a fraction of a second! A good reminder to us all.
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I was wearing an HD 3/4 helmet with a face shield. I hit the ground, not road. I didn't think I hit my head very hard until I looked at the helmet. The side I hit has deep scratches in it. Needless to say the HD helmet did a terrific job protecting my head. I very impressed with the job it did.