The Road Trip of Labor Day, 2009, Or the last voyage of the Goldwing

For over twenty five years a motorcycle has been my means of escaping the troubles and downs of life.  The only thing that could give me relief or make me feel better than a good motorcycle ride was talking to God.  I have done a lot of both over the past, usually both at the same time.  When I was riding on my motorcycle I seemed to always "see"

God's Art Work as Seen From the Saddle

God's handiwork much more clearly and I was able to "hear" the things he had to say to me.  I could have a bad day at work and just before leaving I would call home and let Cindy know I was going to be late then I would hop on my motorcycle and just go.  Usually I had no real destination, I would just ride!  Sometimes I only needed to ride for a few miles, sometimes a few hours, and on occasion, a few days.  I purchased my 04 Goldwing on May 1, 2004 with zero miles on it.  On September 7, 2009, that motorcycle rolled over 100,000 miles, each one put on by me.  That is more miles on a motorcycle in sixty five months than most cars see in several years.  If you take into account that my normal work week was at least 55 hours, it is easy to determine where my relaxation and meditation time came in.  With that being said, let me tell you about the last days that motorcycle and I had together......


My Wife with her bike and me with my Wing

The year 2009 had not been a good year for us.  A very bad business partnership decision on my part had forced Cindy and I into a chapter 13 bankruptcy and to say that money was tight would be like saying the Pacific Ocean was just a drop of water.  I had not made very many trips on the motorcycle and I was getting real miserable.  We decided to scrape together some money and take the labor day weekend to go to Eureka Springs and just relax.  Cindy had become comfortable riding her bike for  rides of a few hours and I was definitely itching to do some riding in the Ozarks so we got our gear together and loaded the bikes.

The view from our room

We headed out to get some alone time and just relax.  Now you don't earn the nickname "Atlas" by taking the direct route anywhere so in order to ride at ease and really enjoy the beauty of nature we took the long way to Eureka, all back roads, no big roads.  We got to Eureka after several hours and found us a place to stay.  It was a nice little place with a small balcony out back that offered a view of nature.  God blessed us while we were sitting out there relaxing with the vision of a mother deer and her fawn at play.  

Mother Deer

We went out for Cindy's favorite dinner, Mexican then went back to our room for some rest.  When I go on a ride, especially in the Ozarks, that ride starts early and ends late.  Cindy elected to leave her motorcycle in Eureka and ride on the back seat of the wing.  She did this a lot on our rides because she got to relax more and it allowed her to photograph as we rode along. 

Sunday morning came and we were ready to go!  We had breakfast and headed out for the days ride.  We rode along at a very relaxed pace, not setting any land speed records, just cruising along admiring the scenery.  If we saw something that look like it needed more attention we would stop and take pictures and just enjoy.  I had planned out a very scenic and motorcycle friendly route for the day.  I got to cut my curves and we both got to see the splendor of the Ozarks.  One of the roads I had picked was Arkansas highway 103 out of Clarksville.  This highway had some great switch back curves and some of the most fantastic views of any road I have ever been on. 

My Wing on one of the hairpins on 103

We rode on and continued up the Pig Trail road where there is one of my all time favorite signs, "very crooked and steep ahead"  We had a blast, and for the time had no worries, no problems, just each other and the beauty around us. 

We got back to Eureka and settled in for the night, getting the rest we would need for the ride home Monday morning.

The combination of high humidity and heat made for a real muggy morning when we left out of Eureka.  We rode out of town and hit intermittent fog.  Eventually the fog got to be too much as we neared Eagle Rock, Missouri we decided, for safety's sake, to get off the road.  Cindy came over the radio and said she was going to turn off and she said, as she often did while we rode "I love you."  That is the last sound I heard for quite some time.  The next sounds were those of people asking me was I alright and did I know who I was and did I know where I was.  In the few milliseconds between the time she had unkeyed the mike and the impact, those were the words that echoed in my mind. 

We were on highway 86 heading home.  The highway had just been repaved and had no lines painted on it.  The fog had reduced visibility to just a few feet making travel very hazardous.  A young man in a hurry, in a black car with no headlights (according to the only witness) came up and over a crest in a left hand curve and hit me and my motorcycle head on.  I remember nothing of the impact.  I was told by the doctors that due to the magnitude of my injuries my body just shut down.  I firmly believe that the fact that I never ride without full safety gear and I never skimped on the quality of that gear is the reason that I did not die that day.  I have been told that God has a plan for me, that is why I am still here.  I believe that is why I had the sense to by and use good safety gear and God's plan, as always, worked.  I remember the people asking me questions and the silhouette of the state troopers hat.  Knowing that the trooper was there kind of eased my mind a bit, after all, they are the accident experts, right?  WRONG!!  I will elaborate on this in a later blog but I will interject that if you are ever in an accident in Missouri you had better hope someone takes some pictures because the Missouri Highway Patrol are only required to take pictures in the event of multiple fatalities or if there is a commercial vehicle involved.  I urge you to watch the investigative report done by Ryan Kath regarding the poor way the patrol handles serious injury accidents:   http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/despite-digital-technology%2c-photos-often-not-taken-at-crash-scenes-with-serious-injuries

I was transported by ambulance to Cassville, Missouri and then airlifted to Cox Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri.  I don't really remember much of the ride.  My next encounter with true consciousness wasn't until Wednesday evening when I woke up in the ICU.  I had broken my right arm in numerous places ( the least of my injuries) and pretty much broken every bone in my right leg at least once, many of them more than once, including completely separating my femur and splitting it nearly its' entire length.  Cindy told me later that the surgeon had asked her if I had a history of smoking.  He said that had I had a history of smoking they would have not even tried to save my leg because it would have never healed.  I spent a week in the hospital. 

The bike held up very well for the amount of impact



This is the right side of the engine.  You can see where my foot broke the engine casing

This is a 2000 Nissan Altima after hitting a Honda Goldwing head on

My best friend went to the accident site on Thursday and took some pictures.  The car was still where it had landed.  He also went to the tow lot and took some pictures of my Wing.  No one in the hospital could believe, after seeing the pictures that I still had two legs, much less that I was still alive.

Well, this is the basics of the accident.  I have three metal rods in my right leg, several metal plates in my right leg, metal plates in my right arm, and yes, I do set off metal detectors when entering airports and Federal buildings.  Did this change the way I feel about riding, NO.  I still ride, I still ride safely.  I guess the reason I blogged this is so that people would know why I walk with a limp and to bring more awareness that motorcycles are everywhere so please watch for them!