Thursday of last week I was in a bad motorcycle accident on my 1950 HD Panhead chopper. I'm very lucky to be alive. Fortunately, I was the only person involved.
Rookie mistake made on my part. I was the last bike of nine in a fundraising event. I was unfamiliar with the road we were on. I was trying to keep up with the bike in front of me. I was riding in the right side of my lane as we were riding in a staggard formation. I rode too hard into a left turn and instead of downshifting like I knew to do, I let off the throttle. The suspension immediately unloaded, my chop stood up straight, and we slammed into the guardrail.
I maintained consciousness throughout the entire event. I remember my pelvis hitting the guardrail and thinking that I just broke my pelvis. I remember the toe of my right boot snagging the top of the guardrail as I went over it; it ripped my boot off. I rotated once head over heals and landed on my back sliding down a steep embankment. I slid to a stop.
My cell phone was in my left front pants pocket. I knew my left arm was broken. I didn't know if anyone knew where I was and didn't want to wait for someone to find me. I could hear my chop still running above me, but I didn't know if it was in the road or on the side of the embankment with me where nobody would see us. I grabbed some weeds with my right hand and pulled my body off my left arm. I used my left hand to get the phone out of my pocket, then grabbed it with my right hand. I dialed 911.
The 911attendent asked for my name and location. I knew my name, but I could only give an approximate location. About that time I heard a woman's voice yell down from the road asking if I was alright. I told her I was messed up bad. She said she would call 911 and I told her that I was already on the phone with them.
About that time, the group I was riding with had doubled back. My friends that were part of the pack, along with a couple of very nice local gentlemen joined me on the side of the embankment. EMS showed up shortly after and went to work on me. I called my wife, that was out of town visiting my family, that i was in an accident, but was fine and didn't need her to rush home. Once they got me stabilized on a back board, everyone, including the local gentlemen, part of the guys I was riding with and had just met earlier in the day, my friends, and EMS carried me 15' up the steep grade. They got me back over the guardrail and put my on a stretcher that EMS loaded into an ambulance.
Rookie mistake made on my part. I was the last bike of nine in a fundraising event. I was unfamiliar with the road we were on. I was trying to keep up with the bike in front of me. I was riding in the right side of my lane as we were riding in a staggard formation. I rode too hard into a left turn and instead of downshifting like I knew to do, I let off the throttle. The suspension immediately unloaded, my chop stood up straight, and we slammed into the guardrail.
I maintained consciousness throughout the entire event. I remember my pelvis hitting the guardrail and thinking that I just broke my pelvis. I remember the toe of my right boot snagging the top of the guardrail as I went over it; it ripped my boot off. I rotated once head over heals and landed on my back sliding down a steep embankment. I slid to a stop.
My cell phone was in my left front pants pocket. I knew my left arm was broken. I didn't know if anyone knew where I was and didn't want to wait for someone to find me. I could hear my chop still running above me, but I didn't know if it was in the road or on the side of the embankment with me where nobody would see us. I grabbed some weeds with my right hand and pulled my body off my left arm. I used my left hand to get the phone out of my pocket, then grabbed it with my right hand. I dialed 911.
The 911attendent asked for my name and location. I knew my name, but I could only give an approximate location. About that time I heard a woman's voice yell down from the road asking if I was alright. I told her I was messed up bad. She said she would call 911 and I told her that I was already on the phone with them.
About that time, the group I was riding with had doubled back. My friends that were part of the pack, along with a couple of very nice local gentlemen joined me on the side of the embankment. EMS showed up shortly after and went to work on me. I called my wife, that was out of town visiting my family, that i was in an accident, but was fine and didn't need her to rush home. Once they got me stabilized on a back board, everyone, including the local gentlemen, part of the guys I was riding with and had just met earlier in the day, my friends, and EMS carried me 15' up the steep grade. They got me back over the guardrail and put my on a stretcher that EMS loaded into an ambulance.
