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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | radioteacher - 2011-03-11 10:35 PM
Saw my brother tonight and he is doing as well as could be expected.
Lots road rash plus.....staples holding scalp together are not a pretty sights but he has a lot to be thankful for.
For the first time since the trauma he took a few steps tonight and was shaky but did fine.....one step at a time.
My natural reaction is to be a selfish bastard and tell him that "His wreck is a major issue for my riding!" with a "What were you thinking?" thrown in for extra measure. But due to your many thoughtful and kind posts I have tempered my self-centered position. I can not thank you guys enough for helping me see the error in my thoughts about this event before I did or said something stupid.
He should recover but it will take months not weeks as originally stated.
Thank you all for keeping him in your prayers.
Ride Safe!
I didn't want to add this comment to the orginal thread, and this is the basis of my comment.
A lot of thought goes into riding for most that ride and it becomes a concern that it is not so much so for others for those who know. I think one of the hardest things I had to come to grips with when I started riding again 5 years ago is what will my family think? But I finally came to the conclusion that I could die if I fell of the ladder cleaning the gutters. I avoided any and all discussion in the beginning when family or well-meaning friends read or heard that someone on a motorcycle crashed and was killed. I kept up with as many articles as I could so I knew a little about that particular crash. It also helped me understand riding beyond my ability has no place on a motorcycle. But I could also respond with, I pay a little bit more attention, or I don't ride that fast, as most of the ones I would read about usually mentioned speed or road conditions were to blame.
I say that to say this, your thoughts may not have been in as much error as you may believe. You know more well of what went on and how your brother rides. I think daily "why am I doing this?" but cannot pry myself away. But I have come to a conclusion that when I see I'm a danger to myself, I will hand my keys to my wife and never ride again. So be it if you speak the truth and your brother lives on.
I'm getting my thought prepared as my older brother has taken up riding and I concern myself as to whether he knows what he is doing. I've not rode with him yet as he lives in PA, but I feel he got the bike to "be like me" (God help him). But I also believe that he wanted to do it for the same reason I did, just to ride. But I won't hesitate to be brutially honest with him, as I hope he would be for me, to hurt a feeling so that we both won't go beyond the limit and not live to tell about it.
I hope my post comes across as it is intended to, sometimes hurting a feeling is what we need to get a reality check.
I got a feeling mine are about to be hurt...
Ride hard, ride often, ride safe..
Edited by Cap'n Nemo 2011-03-12 4:45 AM
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Cruiser
Posts: 101
Springfield, TN | Slow afternoon for a Monday and I'm reading old threads... this one caught my eye and reminded me of an event May 28, 2005. I hope you will take a minute and read on.
I was on a small country road in GA about 10:30 at night. I came upon a car turning around just by stopping, turning crossways and jacking it around... he was broadside blocking the road when I came upon him. I slowed to an almost stop and was preparing to move on as he cleared my lane when I was surrounded by a bright light and an unfamiliar noise...squalling tires trying to stop behind me. I didn't get out of the way in time and got rear-ended by a 19 year-old paying more attention to his girl friend than the road ahead. His Silverado launched me and my bike like a toy and a rag doll. My Turquoise and White '03 Classic Cruiser was about 30 feet from impact laying on its side still running in low gear, emerald green "Boogie Lights" still glittering off the chrome. I didn't know what happened. All I knew was I was on the ground, still breathing wondering what that noise was... it took a few seconds to collect my thoughts and realize that I was probably OK... Before anyone on the scene got to me I stood up, my left hip popped back into joint... that was an unfamiliar sensation but I didn't even feel it. I staggered to my bike and snatched it up like a Scwinn bicycle and shut it off. By this time a steady stream of words my Mom wouldn't be very proud of were flowing and I was looking for the sorry @#%$? that blocked the road so the other sorry#$%@? could run over me and my bike. Didn't think to thank God I was still alive at that point. Yeah I was OK. Ended up with a black/purple bruise from my hip up my left side to my armpit about a foot across, some really sore bones, a little road rash on my face and one hand(You don't get much rash when you go straight up and come down and bounce once instead of sliding down the road) a bulging disc in my neck that gives me fits sometimes (Whiplash wearing a helmet will do that!) and $6800 damage to my bike. (Got 100 c.i. and D&D drag pipes out of the deal)
All I heard from friends was, "I guess you're gonna stop ridin', huh?"... I never thought about that. Someone asked me if I thought God was trying to tell me something... yeah he was. I don't believe God was trying to tell me to quit riding... God wanted to make sure that I knew he was in control! That kid that hit me swerved just a foot to the right as he skidded and hit my right saddle bag with the left edge of his bumper... had he not swerved I would have been a hood ornament and a grease spot on that little road and having personal conversations with some of my departed ancestors about how things were in the good old days. (Depending on how you believe on the hereafter... but that's another story) Note the pic of my back fender... a direct hit would have had a different result. The glancing blow was bad enough! Helmet pic says alot too!
I believe I will ride until I can't walk and I acknowledge that God IS in control and thank him for that every day... I'd be in quite a mess if I had to manage my life on my own.
I called my Mom on May 29th and asked her if she was praying for me the night before. Mom said, "Son... I pray for you every day and every night!" All I could say was "Thanks Mom" it chokes me up to write about it...
Is riding a motorcycle dangerous? Anything can happen at any time that can end our life. You can get just as dead slipping in the bath tub but we don't stop bathing. There are levels of risk in everything we do but we calculate the risk vs. the reward and make our decisions based on that. For me the freedom and enjoyment we get from riding a motorcycle are worth the risks. I don't take chances, I don't drink and ride, I watch out for the other guy, and pay a lot more attention to my mirrors! The more prepared and practiced we are the lower the risk... it never goes away but we can affect it, oh yeah, remember God really is in control.
Edited by Mikeebiker 2011-04-11 4:15 PM
(03 CC wreck.jpg)
(Helmet.jpg)
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Cruiser
Posts: 164
Quad Cities, IL | AMEN! May God bless us all on our rides and in our lives. Godspeed. |
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Cruiser
Posts: 164
Quad Cities, IL | Even more...may we recognize God and his blessings in our lives! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 199
Salt Lake City | I have been on the asphalt three times: one high speed, one low speed, and once when I got rear-ended by another bike. I think its a good idea to reflect on our riding habits and experiences. Keeps it very real for me. |
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Tourer
Posts: 576
, IA | I would think God has better things to worry about |
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Tourer
Posts: 447
Cleveland, GA | sonicbluerider - 2011-04-12 8:26 AM I would think God has better things to worry about We'll just have to agree to disagree about that. Not a problem - you see it your way and I see it mine. Let's ride! |
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Cruiser
Posts: 154
Cabot Arkansas | So if GOD is responsible for all the good things and blessings in our lives ,who is responsible for all the short comings and bad things.
Just saying...................................... |
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Visionary
Posts: 3006
San Antonio, TX | To circle back around....I saw the brother this weekend. He is doing well and driving again....barely. The plan is to fix the CVO and sell it. He is getting away from motorcycles for a while.
We were out in the heat and he had to go and rest after two hours....ribs heal slooowly and painfully. |
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Iron Butt
Posts: 741
Central New York | Moderator, Moderator, where forth are't thou? I don't care who's a Christian, Jew, Muslim, or non-believer, but these boards do not need religious tit-for-tat.
Arguments about oil, filters, etc. are a part of what we do here. Religious beliefs are a very personal thing and no matter how they go someone will be hurt.
To acknowledge an accident or mishap with a religious cogitation is one thing, you can take it for what it's worth or ignore it. To go into a paragraph long spiel about your personal beliefs is altogether another, and should be left for the boards on religion, and banned from here.
Two things to avoid in a friendly 'get-together' religion and politics. Let's do so here. |
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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | Amen... |
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Cruiser
Posts: 101
Springfield, TN | I sure didn't intend to push any personal beliefs on anyone... In my short story about an incident in my life I shared how I feel about the whole deal... I mentioned an anecdotal use of belief in the hereafter more for just that, anecdotal reference. And sharing about my mother's daily prayers for me isn't me saying that I do or don't believe what she does. In fact the more I think about it the only reference to anyone's beliefs in my story are specifically my mothers... does that mean someone is saying something bad about someone else's mom? I'm a peacable fella but that would be crossing the line to almost all of us... at least those of us that have mothers... Luck or providence... depends on how one believes. I didn't even share what I really believe because it would be a complicated and detailed debate for which this is not the place. For anyone offended by any remarks I made please forgive me.
It has always been curious to me how people that don't believe in God sure use his name a lot when they get angry... just sayin'
At the end of the day the whole point is some people get hurt riding... for a lot of different reasons. Some events are avoidable, some aren't, we have to respect the road and those on it. I'm not letting one very close call stop me from riding or enjoying it. I know people in perfect physical and mental health that aren't attentive enough to what they're doing to be safe riding anything and I've seen guys drunk on their a$$ ride better drunk than when they're sober... go figure. It is all very personal and we have to be responsible for ourselves and decide when and if we should be out there on a bike. I think that's the real direction this thread was intended to go...
Ride safe!
Edited by Mikeebiker 2011-04-12 2:09 PM
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Visionary
Posts: 1359
New Bohemia, Va | Riding and sharing the belief of something higher that we ride by is not offensive, I find that your post was right on target. Even Sonny Barger says that riding is his religion, and he has no problem with anyone in what they believe. I know this first hand in a conversation with him.
The point more being is the discussion of religion or personal belief beyond the context of the post is what folks become concerned with. Why folks feel threaten by someone sharing what they believe on how they view the world is beyond me. It is all of part of who are, and to suppress that is wrong in itself, just as it is to convince others what they should believe.
Edited by Cap'n Nemo 2011-04-12 2:12 PM
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Cruiser
Posts: 101
Springfield, TN | Well said Cap. |
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A reminder
