Passes & Canyons Blog

Two weeks after Randy Savely lost his left leg below the knee in a car/motorcycle accident, his wife Joan and her son Vince were awakened by crashing noises. Racing to see what happened, they found Randy laying at the bottom of the stairs with two garbage bags beside him. He had been carrying one bag in each hand, trying to navigate the stairs with his crutches, and had fallen.

On one hand she was relieved that he was not badly hurt or bleeding from his injured leg, but on the other hand, “I wanted to kill him.”

“Leave those trash bags where they are, I’ll take care of them,” he told Joan and Vince. “This trash will not get the best of me.”

The road to recovery

The ramifications of losing a leg are not all as obvious as climbing stairs with crutches.

“You don’t realize the limitations a prosthesis presents,” says Joan. “He can’t crawl under the car to change the oil like he used to. He can’t get up on the roof to replace shingles the wind blew off. He wears out so much more quickly that we have to schedule things and not try to do them during the week when he’s tired out from work. It’s not that he can’t do some things, it’s just that he’ll be worn out for a couple days afterward, so we plan those things for the weekend.”

Joan explains that amputees require as much as 50 percent more oxygen than before, which is where the exhaustion comes from. Randy’s leg is also permanently weakened, and there are limits to how much he can lift.

Dealing with the artifical leg, the prosthesis, has its own issues. Randy has different feet for different functions, and “my walking foot is spring-loaded, and pushes me into the next step. I’m fortunate to have my knee and be able to do what I can.”

Every time Randy changes shoes he must readjust the prosthesis to compensate for different heel heights, using shims.

“Each morning I spend 45 minutes walking around getting the shims just right. I take them with me everywhere I go and adjust things several times a day.”

Physical adjustments were not the only issue the family had to deal with, and the friends who gathered in support at the hospital continued to show their concern afterward.

“They brought an enormous amount of food, and raised a lot of money,” says Joan. “They made sure we didn’t just fold up, made sure I was still functioning on the planet, staying engaged.”

Friends came by frequently and took them boating and camping. “We went tent camping, and both air mattresses went flat so we slept in the car,” Randy laughs. “I’m going to try this year to get out bird hunting.”

Support came from all directions. When Joan’s car broke down her boss handed her the keys to his Hummer and told her to just drive it until her car was fixed. Then a friend, Tim, took her car for repair, and when it was ready told her where to go to pick it up. When she asked how much the repairs would cost the folks at the shop told her “It’s paid for” and would not tell her by whom. She finally learned that Tim and another friend had covered it.

Although Randy’s medical care was covered by health insurance, he did not have disability coverage and the loss of income was crippling. Told by the doctors that it could be a year before Randy would walk, they knew they could not make their house payments. They informed the mortgage company of the situation and went into foreclosure. Ultimately they also filed for bankruptcy.

Losing the house wasn’t all negative. It had four levels, which made things pretty hard for Randy with all those stairs. The rental they moved into is all on one floor. And when the day to move arrived, friends in eight pick-ups and trailers showed up and “We made it all in one trip. We started at 8 a.m. and were done by 2 p.m.”

Part 1 – The Accident and the Hospital
Part 3 – Back in the Saddle

Biker Quote for Today

Bikes are like wives; if it ain’t yours don’t touch it.

OK, it’s Thanksgiving week and I’m going to give myself a break and go completely with these Examiner Resurrections. But that’s great, because this three-part piece that I will post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday is what I consider one of the very best things I ever did in eight years writing for Examiner.

A bit of an update is in order, however. Randy and Joan have since divorced, and Randy is no longer active in ABATE. He does still hold the Randy Run for Fallen Bikers.

Broken Wings: When A Biker Goes Down Hard – Part 1

When everything finally came to a stop, Randy Savely sat up, thinking, “Well, I’m alive.”

A couple moments later he noticed his boot laying in the middle of the intersection.

“That boot don’t come off,” he thought. Then he turned to the driver who had hit him and asked for his belt to use as a tourniquet on his leg.

At that early morning hour on March 8, 2007, life changed forever for Randy and Joan Savely. Randy lost his left foot and lower leg, and he and Joan gained an understanding of what is truly important in life: friends and family and people who care about you.

The accident and the hospital

Randy needed to be at work early that March day, so, with only one car, he decided to let Joan sleep and take the Harley. They worked close to each other so normally they went together.

Riding east approaching an intersection, Randy saw the car coming the other way, looked to the left at the car stopped there, and looked back to see the oncoming car was turning into his path.

Awakened by the phone, Joan hurried to the hospital. Randy and Joan are ABATE members, and word flew out through the ABATE grapevine so that by 7 a.m. Joan was joined by 15 friends who sat with her the entire time until Randy came out of surgery at 3 p.m.

Before going into surgery, Randy informed the surgeon that “I will walk and I will ride again.”

The doctor replied, “You do understand that we’re going in the operating room and I’m going to amputate your leg?”

Randy replied, “Doc, you do what you’ve gotta do, I’m going to ride again.”

Under other circumstances, they learned later, the surgeon probably would have removed the leg to above the knee. Considering Randy’s determination, the doc worked extra hard to save the knee, and he was successful.

“The doc was awesome,” says Randy. With the knee still attached, he is able to bend his leg, which makes a world of difference sitting on a motorcycle.

Joan was with him through it all. “She put up with more than I did,” Randy says, and when Joan came in his room one time looking obviously exhausted he told her to climb in bed next to him and sleep.

“I hadn’t slept in three days,” Joan says. Randy kept the nurses away and Joan slept there the entire afternoon.

During his hospital stay, Randy has a constant stream of visitors. Most were friends and acquaintances, but one day he noticed someone he did not recognize in the hall in leathers, just standing there.

“Do I know you?” Randy asked.

“No,” the stranger replied, “I just heard a brother had gone down and I wanted to see how you are.”

The two talked awhile and Randy has never seen him since.

“It choked me up, holy for crying out loud. You feel so insignificant, but then you feel so important to some people.”

“It’s changed what’s important in our lives,” says Joan. “There are so many things that are just not important any more.”

Randy had four surgeries in the week following the accident, and whereas most patients would have stayed in the hospital for three weeks, he recovered so well and so quickly that he was released after one week. Far from being the end, however, this was just the beginning.

Part 2 — The Road to Recovery
Part 3 — Back in the Saddle

Biker Quote for Today

I’m a biker’s wife. Just like a regular wife but way more badass.

OK, this is the last of these Examiner Resurrections to focus on great roads in Utah; I’ll move on to other things next time.

I told you about Kolob Road, the best motorcycle road in Utah that nobody knows exists. Here’s one more that everyone knows, with a twist.

Utah 9 crosses through Zion National Park from just east of Springdale. As soon as you enter the park you reach Zion Canyon Road, which goes up Zion Canyon. This is the main part of the park that all the tourists go to. And you should, too. It’s worth it. This is the Zion that most people know.

During peak season you can’t drive this road any more. It’s a deadend and there used to be hordes of traffic and it was not pretty. Now they put you on free shuttle buses that run frequently, making the the canyon a lot more enjoyable. I’ve got some pictures in the slide show below (sorry, no slide show carried over from Examiner) that gives you an idea of some of what you’ll see.

But that’s not the road I have in mind. What you’re really interested in is Utah 9. If you look at the map you’ll see a bunch of switchbacks followed by broken lines for a bit. This doesn’t mean the road is gravel, it shows that you’re going through a tunnel. A long tunnel. With windows cut out of the rock.

It’s at the east end of the tunnel when things really get interesting, not that the switchbacks weren’t. You come out of the tunnel and there’s a ranger shack and a parking area. Park here.

Then cross to the north side of the road and take the trail you’ll see there. It’s a steep climb right at first, but you don’t climb more than 100 feet or so and then it levels out the rest of the way. This trail takes you back over the saddle of the hill you just came through in the tunnel and the view back into the canyon is spectacular. Again, check the photos in the slide show. It’s awesome. And I mean that in the original sense of that overused word.

Once you’re back to the road, the run on out of the park is still pretty darn scenic. There’s a reason there are so many parks in such a small area. Southern Utah is fabulous. So many roads, so little time.

Biker Quote for Today

Freedom: Getting lost on your motorcycle and enjoying every minute of it.

I’m here to blow the cover off the best motorcycle road you’ve never heard of. Somebody’s probably going to hate me for this.

This is such a minor road that, as you can see, the mapping software doesn’t even show it when I zoom back enough to get it all in. Trust me it’s there.

And where is there? This is Kolob Road, going north out of Virgin, Utah. It runs up into Zion National Park but there is no sign of any kind telling you that. The only reason we found it was that my wife did some research before we headed for Utah last month, and she discovered it.

What a discovery! I would rank this hands down as the highlight of our entire trip. You can take a look at the pictures in the slide show below to get an idea of what I mean. (Note: Sorry, the Examiner slide show is lost to the world.)

This little strip of two-lane, red(!) asphalt climbs and winds high into the park and the views are incredible. At one point you want desperately to look at the view but the road is narrow and steep and you don’t dare. Find a place to park and walk back down if you want to see it.

I’ve been through Zion quite a few times and I have got to rank this as the best part of the entire park. And almost nobody knows about it! There’s even a campground up at the top and they don’t charge a fee to use it. Probably too much trouble to go all that way to collect the fees.

By the way, it’s not a motorcycle-accessible road to the campground, so don’t try that unless you’re really into that stuff.

So it’s 20 miles up and 20 back and altogether 40 miles of some of the best riding in all of Utah. The pictures don’t do it justice; you’ve got to see it for yourself. But don’t tell the locals I told you.

(Note: If it seems I’ve been putting up numerous Examiner Resurrection pieces about Utah recently it’s true. I’m taking these more or less chronologically and back in 2009, when they were all written, we had just been on an extended trip to Utah.)

Biker Quote for Today

Sometimes you need a really crooked road to get your head straight.

This is another Examiner.com resurrection, dating from June 2009.

“Spectacular” is the word to describe the canyon country of southern Utah, and the best of it is completely accessible on a motorcycle. And no, I’m not talking dual sport. I mean Harley/Honda luxotourers.

Get here via whatever route suits you, we’re just going to cover Utah 12 and Utah 63, which goes down into Bryce Canyon National Park.

Heading east from the junction with U.S. 89, Utah 12 very quickly enters Red Canyon. Here you get just an inkling of what you’ll find at Bryce Canyon, but Red Canyon is incredibly beautiful all on its own.

Continue east until you reach the turn-off for Utah 63, which heads south a few miles before entering the national park. There are a couple motels just north of the park and they have restaurants that are open until 10 p.m. If you’re the camping sort, there are campgrounds inside the park, and back at Red Canyon as well.

The entrance fee for the park is $12 for motorcycles, unless you’re a grey-hair and have your Golden Age Pass.

We found the best thing to do was to run all the way to the end of the road without stopping and then make all your stops on the way back north. The reason is, all the view areas are on the east side and this lets you avoid pulling in and out across oncoming traffic. Of course, the entire road through the park is well-maintained asphalt.

Taking this approach, your first stop will be Rainbow Point. The view, on a clear day, is more than 100 miles. You’re at a towering height and it’s like the whole world is laid out at your feet.

Working your way back to the north, there are small, unnamed view areas and bigger, named view areas. Not surprisingly, the views are more spectacular at the named spots. That’s not to say the smaller spots are not worth stopping at.

The further north you get the most the view becomes one of towering, multi-colored hoodoos, as they’re called. These are the pinnacles that stand tall as the areas around them erode away. Not a true canyon, Bryce Canyon has been formed primarily by water seeping into cracks in the rock, freezing, and forcing the crack wider and wider, while the chips that break off get washed away.

Finally, back near the north end of the park, is the ring of view areas named Sunset, Sunrise, Inspiration, and Bryce Points. This is the best spot to get off the bikes and actually hike down into the canyon. The shortest loop, six-tenths of a mile, is Navajo Trail Loop. For a bit longer hike, take the Queen’s Garden trail from Sunset Point over to Sunrise Point, about 1.6 miles. There’s a lot of down and then a lot of up, so be sure to wear decent walking shoes and carry water. Don’t be surprised if it rains a bit while you’re walking, but usually the coolness and wet is welcome.

Then you’re on your way again. Panguitch, about 7 miles north of Utah 12 on U.S. 89 is a nice place to stop for the night, with numerous attractive motels, a grocery store, gas stations, and restaurants.

Enjoy the ride, but enjoy the stops, too.

Biker Quote for Today

I love to ride. I hate to arrive.

For eight years I was a writer for Examiner.com–the National Motorcycle Examiner, if you will–and in that time I published somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,000 articles. That relationship ended about a year ago, so it was only a few days ago that I learned Examiner had shut down in July 2016, taking down all the many thousands (millions?) of articles done by many, many writers.

While a lot of my articles were timely and republishing them now would be useless, in my own opinion at least, some of the work I did was very good, remains relevant, and deserves to be resurrected. I had already been republishing some of the very earliest stuff because advances in technology had rendered some early work technologically incompatible, and it had been dropped. Now that list of potential resurrections has grown enormously.

A terrific motorcycle sidetrip in southwestern Utah

OK, you’re riding from California or Las Vegas, trying to make good time and cover a lot of ground, on your way somewhere east. You’re staying mostly on the interstate, but passing through southern Utah you hate passing all this beautiful terrain, and you need a quick fix of twisty roads. Do I have a treat for you!

Cedar City is where you want to get off the superslab. Get onto Utah 14 and head east and you soon find yourself climbing through gorgeous canyons and winding and twisting to your heart’s content. Enjoy.

After about 18 miles or so you’ll want to catch Utah 148 going north. If you liked what you’ve seen so far, you’re in for an even better treat. This road winds through Cedar Breaks National Monument and the numerous view areas are all worth stopping for. The panaromic vistas range from deep, red canyons to mountain views that, on a clear day, extend over 100 miles.

You’ll come to the Brian Head summit, a bit over 10,000 feet in elevation, and see Brian Head itself just to the east. Later in the summer you might even want to ride the 3 miles of good gravel road to the summit, but in late May/early June when we’re visiting the road still has deep snow on it.

Over the hump, you come down into the ski resort town of Brian Head, where a sign warning of 13 percent grades gives you a hint of what is ahead. Down the hill you go, again winding and twisting, until you come out to the little town of Parowan, where you rejoin the interstate.

You’ve just enjoyed a 42 mile diversion from I-15 and only added half that distance to your trip. Oh yeah, you can take this route going the other direction, too.

This is the type of thing riding motorcycles is all about, isn’t it?

Biker Quote for Today

Give the world and its baggage the middle finger, then get on your bike and ride.