Passes & Canyons Blog

I was sitting right about where that black Nissan is when I was hit.

I got back on my last remaining bike today for the first time since my crash. I never had any hesitation but I had wondered if, when the time came to throw my leg over the seat and fire it up, would I then have any uncertainties?

Nope, not at all. It felt like the most natural thing in the world. It felt good.

So where did I ride? I went right back to the scene of the crash. I’ve gotten some information about how the crash unfolded from the police and the DA’s office but I still don’t really know exactly what happened. I have registered myself to receive notice when the police report is finally available but I’m told that can be months. So I try to piece things together.

One thing that has been mentioned repeatedly is that the driver went over a median before hitting me. That seemed odd because I did not recall there being a median there. Well, there is.

From what the lady at the DA’s office told me, the guy must have been coming off southbound Santa Fe, turning east onto Belleview, and in his drunken stupor he thought the lane I was in was a lane he could use. He may have seen me and tried to veer right but by than had straddled the median so his left front wheel hit the median and threw his car back to the left, with the right front wheel bouncing over the median before he hit me.

There apparently was a witness who stuck around and told the police everything he/she saw. I would very much like to talk to that person.

So anyway, that helps explain why my injuries were not a whole lot worse. Unlike a head-on where both parties are going 60 mph, for an impact speed of 120 mph, I was at a standstill and the other guy, coming off the highway and slowing to make a turn, was perhaps going 20 mph. And he may have already had his foot on the brake. However it all happened, despite my pain and financial loss, and the loss of the very first motorcycle I ever owned, I feel pretty darn lucky.

But I still really want to read that police report.

I have long been a critic of those in the non-motorcycle riding public who treat any crash involving a motorcycle as a “motorcycle crash.” OK, so the crash involved a motorcycle and a car. Why do you not call it a car/motorcycle crash? Calling it a motorcycle crash makes it sound like it was just the biker who did something stupid. When in fact, far too often, the stupid person is the person driving the car.

 EMTs are not the least bit sentimental about clothing. If  you’re wearing it, they’re going to just cut it off of you.

So I was looking through the medical reports related to my recent head-on encounter with a drunk driver and it irked me to see this listing:

Problems
Injury of abdominal wall
Hematoma of subdural space of neuraxis
Laceration of left thumb
Motorcycle accident

Just as an aside, I have no idea what they are referring to as “Injury of abdominal wall.” This was the first I had heard of that. Is that internal? External? Beats me. One place I have not had any pain is in my stomach area. Go figure.

But there it was, fourth item on the list: Motorcycle accident. I can see how a lacerated thumb, bleeding on the brain, and some nebulous injury of the abdominal wall qualifies as a “problem.” It seems a little odd to include motorcycle accident in that particular list. Who knows. Maybe experienced trauma doctors know of a standard set of symptoms that are almost always connected to motorcyclists’ injuries, and this is just shorthand to tip them off.

I mean, when I was taken in for my second or third CT scan I talked with the tech about my thumb, among other things, and she said oh yeah, motorcyclists always seem to end up with injured thumbs and they always say that’s what hurts the most.

Anyway, just as an update, I’m doing much better. That nasty looking thumb I showed the picture of is now almost completely healed, although sometimes when I make some movement I have not been able to identify I get a sharp jolt of real pain shooting up on the outside. And if I try to open a tight jar lid that can hurt, too.

My right knee is now largely pain free but sometimes I do get jolts of pain there, too. And my right side (bruised ribs, I presume) continue to ache.

The other thing that I’m not sure about yet is the subdural hematoma, the brain bleed. They did three CT scans on me while I was in the ER and then said I should have a follow-up done two weeks later. I did, and the following day they called to tell me they wanted another follow-up in another two weeks. And after that they want me to come in and they will show me the scan results and discuss what they’re seeing. I’m not getting all wrought up over it but I do wonder if this means there is some problem that may require further treatment. Worst case scenario: brain surgery. God, I hope not! I’ll know on Thursday.

Biker Quote for Today

Why just drive when you can ride?

The OFMC at the Grand Canyon, all in rain gear. You really do need to dress for the weather.

I could never be a lawyer in court because those guys need to hear something and immediately have the response. I’m the kind of guy who likes to hear an argument and then think about it a bit before responding. Sometimes I need to think a lot before I’m ready.

I think some of that comes into play when I’m getting ready to go on a motorcycle ride. Specifically, in the few days before the RMMRC headed out on this overnight Meeker/Craig ride it had been blazing hot. 100 degrees and more. Shall we say that bringing plenty of warm clothing was not high on my radar?

But it should have been, because the day we left was quite cool and the forecast was for several more cool days. Nope, I’m still focused on the blazing heat.

So I wore my mesh jacket, though I did bring the liner. I did not bring my electric vest, though I did bring a fleece vest. I did not bring my heated gloves. Why would I? It’s hot!

But it wasn’t. I was chilly when I got to the meeting spot, and thought about the fact that we were going to be going up, but I was determined to ignore reality. Apparently. By the time we were up to Idaho Springs I was wishing I had put more layers on back at the start.

Fortunately, one of the guys had some tire pressure issue–these bikes with all their gadgetry–so we stopped in front of the Guanella Ranch, just past Empire. I quickly put on everything else I had. We took off and it was definitely darn chilly going over Berthoud Pass but bearable. And for the rest of the ride to Craig I was cold. Fortunately it warmed up a bit as we dropped down to Meeker.

In the morning I started out with everything I had, and I was darn chilly again. Then we got down to Wolcott and I-70 and made a stop in Edwards for gas. Here I finally did the one thing I had not done, I put on my rain jacket to stop the wind. What a huge difference that made! I was actually fairly comfortable for the first time on this trip.

And I was glad I had it because the temperature dropped as we headed up to Leadville, and it was also looking like rain. We had lunch and left Leadville in a light rain, all of us decked out in full rain gear. At least I was warm.

We finally hit actual rain around Conifer but after that it got warm. I could have stopped to strip the rain gear off but was taking no chances, and fortunately it was not blazing hot crossing town. Sometimes it is and then you want nothing more than to get that dang rain suit off.

Will I ever learn? Probably not. If I could somehow search this blog for every time I mention being ill-prepared for the weather I’m sure it would be a long list. And I never, ever gave any thought to being a litigation attorney.

Biker Quote for Today

Riding any motorcycle is like meditating with your hair on fire.

A different day’s ride with the RMMRC.

I’m sure some folks in cars reached their destinations with stories of crazy motorcyclists they had seen that day. That day being the day the other RMMRC riders and I made the trip home from Meeker/Craig.

As we headed up Tennessee Pass, toward Leadville, there were a lot of curves, but of the eight of us, seven were linked in on our Cardos. So you come up on some slow traffic and one or two guys are able to pass, but then there’s a blind curve . . . and these crazy bikers kept passing! We had eyes around the bend.

“Keep coming; all clear.” That’s all you need to know until you hear “Traffic coming!” Then you wait while a car or two goes by the other direction and then there’s the “All clear.”

If you don’t understand what is happening you’re certain these guys are nuts.

So let’s get back to the start. Gene and I were the last to arrive at the launch point the day before so we did not have time to get our Cardos linked to the group, but we ended up linked to each other. Just a residual effect from a previous trip, I presume. Come the second morning, however, we all had time and we got everyone linked in one group. This was a first for this group, to have so many on at once.

And it was kind of fun. I like the solitude of being just me in my head while riding as much as anyone but this is a bunch of guys I know well and we could just chat. It was nice. Plus it makes it a lot easier if you need a pit stop.

I’m still not especially familiar with the operation of this thing. The first day I could talk to Gene but I was also getting music and a lot of static. We stopped in Granby for a break and gas and then the music was really coming in loud and clear. What the hey? I started fiddling around with my unit and finally figured out the music Gene was playing was not slopping over to me, this was my own music, some radio station. And all the static I had been hearing was from the radio being set on a frequency where there was no signal. Pretty basic, but if you haven’t read the instruction manual . . .

Then on the second day, leaving Craig, I could only hear the other guys faintly and they couldn’t hear me at all. So I started fiddling with things again, which is pretty hit and miss when you’re riding. But I hit on the right combination and suddenly I was part of the conversation. Nice.

We got down to Wolcott, made the run on I-70 to Meeker, and started up Tennessee Pass. And you already know what happened on that stretch.

It was good, too because we could point things out to each other, such as side roads. As we came past State Bridge I pointed out the Trough Road, which is very good gravel and goes up to Kremmling. Things like that.

I have wondered if I would find the chatter intrusive, because I do like spending time just in my head while riding. But I think I’m going to be just fine with these communicators.

Biker Quote for Today

Some people will tell you that slow is good–but I’m here to tell you that fast is better. I’ve always believed this, in spite of the trouble it’s caused me.

My most visible outward injury was this thumb, and yes, it still hurts a lot. But there were actually other injuries that were worse.

What is it like to be on the receiving end of that phone call? The one where a police officer or some other emergency services person calls to tell you your husband or wife or whoever is not where you thought they were, but are instead in the emergency room somewhere?

I asked Judy that question after my recent head-on with a car. At least when the news is not all that bad, apparently the call can be handled pretty well.

In Judy’s case, the phone rang and she didn’t recognize the number but I guess caller ID identified it as the Littleton PD so she picked up. Then the officer addressed her in a manner I suspect has got to be something they are trained on. He told her, essentially, “I’m Officer So and So and I’m talking with your husband here in the emergency room at Swedish, who has been in an accident but is in fairly good condition.”

Quick and efficient. First he tells her he is talking to me, so clearly I’m not dead. Let’s put that fear firmly to rest. Then the reality–I’ve been in an accident and yes I’m hurt–but not horribly. Oh that’s a relief.

Now, Judy is not the sort to panic or flip out when something like this happens. I imagine in some cases despite all the care in planning the statement, the person on the other end of the line is going to freak out. But not Judy. From that point on he was able to explain all he needed to explain, tell her where she needed to come, and it was OK.

I can’t imagine what it must be like for the officer when the news is worse. I have this idea–I could be wrong–that if the person involved is dead they send someone in person to the door. There can’t be many assignments much worse than needing to deliver that news.

Or if the injured party is really, really badly hurt. “Yes ma’am, your husband is clinging to life and if he does live he will certainly lose a leg.” How horrible would that be? I can’t imagine receiving that call. Actually, the officer probably would not pass that information along in the phone call, just “He’s alive but he’s hurt badly and you’re probably going to want to get down here.” Then let the doctors deliver the really bad details.

I’m super glad in my case there were no really bad details. Judy is, too. Now I’m just wondering how long it’s going to be before my body stops hurting.

Biker Quote for Today

Driving a car versus riding a motorcycle is like playing a basketball video game versus playing basketball.

The revised article on the KRDO website.

In the middle of last week I saw a piece by KRDO out of Colorado Springs titled “State Patrol says confusion over new motorcycle law leading to more crashes.” This was in reference to the recent law that allows filtering–not lane-splitting–on Colorado roads. The new headline is “Law enforcement says motorcycle crashes and deaths are up across the state.”

The information KRDO got from the Colorado State Patrol (CSP) was so bad I knew immediately I had to do a blog post about it. It turns out, it was so bad that going back to the article today I found that KRDO had revised the headline and inserted a three-paragraph editor’s note pointing out the original inaccuracies and clarifying the information. Good for you, KRDO. Bad on you CSP. KRDO also extensively revised the article, which makes me wish I had copied it down at the time because now I can’t quote you the really bad information that had been given.

When I had initially mentioned to Judy what the CSP had said she just shook her head and said “The State Patrol is just rewriting the legislation the way they think it should have been written.”

Essentially, KRDO quoted the CSP as saying that confusion on the filtering law has led to more crashes. It also said people mistakenly believed that filtering was allowed on highways, when actually it only applies to city streets. That particular statement is mind-boggling in how far off it is. In fact, KRDO said in the original article that nothing in the law differentiates between highways and city streets, but CSP was saying if they see people filtering on the highway, even if traffic is at a dead stop, they will issue citations.

Here are a couple of the clarifications:

At the time, CSP stated that confusion over the law was contributing to an increase in motorcycle crashes and fatalities this year. They have since clarified that there is no data linking the law to the rise in incidents.

Additionally, CSP initially told KRDO13 that it is illegal for motorcycles to pass cars in standstill highway traffic. We sought confirmation multiple times and were assured this was correct. CSP has now clarified that under the new law, motorcycles are permitted to pass vehicles at 15 mph or less when traffic is stopped on the highway.

Now, there’s no question that some motorcyclists are using this filtering law as a justification for doing things the law does not allow. I have more than once seen riders blasting between cars at speed on the highway. If the CSP nails them I won’t shed a tear.

But dang, CSP, how can you guys enforce this law when you don’t even seem to understand it?

Biker Quote for Today

Darkness will always be looming in the background, somewhere in the distance, just around the bend. But at least we can have faith in our motorcycles to keep us grounded, to give us courage and perspective, and to light the way in the face of our demons.