One night after work I was getting ready to make the ride home when I decided to wait for two other guys to come out. I waited for about 15 minuets and was just about to leave when someone came out and we started talking. After about 5 minuets talking to him I thought surely my friends would be right out so I waited a little longer. Once again just as I was about to leave someone else came out and we talked. This happened at least once or twice more before my friends finally came out. We only rode about one mile before they turned left and I was going to continue straight. I waved bye to them and then decided to make the turn after all and follow them. I hit the gas, caught up to and hung with them through the first turn but they pulled away from me going through the second turn. Once I exited the turn I saw a long straight away and took advantage of the power of the Busa. I dropped down two gears and nailed the gas. Just as I caught up with them, they slowed and entered the third turn that I didn't know was there. I was going way to fast and hit the rear brakes hard. Well, the rear tire locked up and I felt the bike starting to slide out from under me. I got off the brakes and saw a small opening in the guard rail ahead of me and pointed for it. As soon as I left the road everything went to a blur because I was getting bounced all over the place. Then all of a sudden things got crystal clear and that is when I saw the tree. Before I had a chance to even think about what was going to happen there was a bright flash and I was laying face down in the dirt. My bike was about twenty feet away from me and I was about forty feet away from the road. I tried to roll over and that is when I knew my right leg was broken. I had to grab my pants leg and lift it to flip over. I was able to get my helmet off and get out my cell phone just as my buddies came back for me. One of them came flying off the road and just about lost it in the wet grass while the other stayed on the road. They called the police and the ambulance. After a few minuets they all showed up and I was on my way to the hospital. About half way there I was just starting to feel the pain. I had a sharp pain just above my right knee and that is when I found out that I had broken my femur. They put me in traction and that made the pain die down a lot. Once we arrived at the hospital the cop came up to me and told me that in GA the state law is any single vehicle accident gets a To Fast For Conditions ticket. Mind you I am strapped down to a stretcher, my neck in a brace and my head taped to the back board, when the cop asks me if I can sign the ticket. With as much sarcasm as I can muster up I ask him if it was on a clipboard, then told him hold it over my head and give me a pen. By now it was about 12:30 am and they were asking me who they should call. "Nobody I"ll call them in the morning because there is nothing they can do now. Let them sleep. " When the morning came around I picked up the phone and called my parents to tell them what had happened. Just as my Dad asked me what hospital I was in (I had no idea) a nurse walked into my room. This was the first time the day shift nurse had seen me awake the first thing I said to her was " Where am I?" The look on her face was priceless
and her chin hit the floor. I started laughing and said I am sorry and that I knew what had happened but I didn't know where the hospital was to give my parents directions. The look of relief on her face as almost as funny as before. By this time I knew that I had broken my leg in four places and I was going in for surgery later that afternoon. They put my leg back together using two rods and six screws. One rod in my femur and one in my tibia with three screws holding them in place. I spent three days in the hospital and then moved in with my parents for almost four months while I healed. I had to goto physical therapy three times a week for two of these months. During this time I went through one more surgery to have one of the screws in my femur removed. Finally I was allowed to go back to work but it was on light duty. I had to work behind a desk for two months and under went one more surgery before I was allowed to return back to the floor. I still needed on crutch to get around but at least I was back to my job. I used that crutch for the better part of a month before I was able to go the whole day without it. Well, finally last February I got all of the hardware removed from my leg but a part of my femur broke in the process so I missed another two months of work.
Lessons learned:
1) Never push yourself to keep up with people that can ride better then you.
2) Never push yourself on roads that you don't know.
3) Always use both front and rear brakes. I HAD a very bad habit of only using my rear brake.
4) Think about what you say before it leaves your lips because you can scare the life out of someone that way.
5) When your time comes up you will know it. Look how many times things happened in order for me to follow my friends down that road.
All said and done I broke my femur, my tibia, and my fibula(in two places), I under went four different surgeries, I missed six months of work, I was on light duty for two months, used crutches for about eight months total, fixed my bike for $4600 and my leg for around $60,000. Thank god for insurance.
It was a very painful lesson to learn but now I only ride to please myself. If I go faster than someone else I always check to make sure that they can catch up to me. If I go slower than someone else I will let them pass me and I will catch up to them when they let me.
Lessons learned:
1) Never push yourself to keep up with people that can ride better then you.
2) Never push yourself on roads that you don't know.
3) Always use both front and rear brakes. I HAD a very bad habit of only using my rear brake.
4) Think about what you say before it leaves your lips because you can scare the life out of someone that way.
5) When your time comes up you will know it. Look how many times things happened in order for me to follow my friends down that road.
All said and done I broke my femur, my tibia, and my fibula(in two places), I under went four different surgeries, I missed six months of work, I was on light duty for two months, used crutches for about eight months total, fixed my bike for $4600 and my leg for around $60,000. Thank god for insurance.
It was a very painful lesson to learn but now I only ride to please myself. If I go faster than someone else I always check to make sure that they can catch up to me. If I go slower than someone else I will let them pass me and I will catch up to them when they let me.
