ouch!

If you are me, and you show up for work in a sling, the first thing every single person that walks through the door asks is “um..is that motorcycle related?” Of course it is “motorcycle related” almost everything I do is motorcycle related. Obviously the ultimate reaction varies widely: some want to hear a hairball story (“I actually cleared the oncoming lane of traffic and landed in a…”), others DO NOT WANT TO HEAR ANYTHING (“for Christ’s sake man my WIFE is right behind me and I am gonna hafta listen to her…”), and still others suddenly get kinda weird about soliciting advice from someone who is obviously either incompetent or unbalanced, or both.

In a moment of inattention last week, I lost my balance while backing a large V-twin out the shop door. Instead of letting out a high-pitched scream and letting the bike fall, my reflex was to struggle to keep the bike upright. The bike weighs 800 lbs. I weigh 150. Someone had to win, someone had to lose. The bike headed for the ground, and most of the rotator cuff muscles in my right shoulder went there with it. As a bonus, they fractured the top of my right humerus on the way. Of course, I danced around for a few minutes, thought I was going to puke, and did the John Wayne thing: I forgot it and got back to work. After I closed for the night, about 9 hours later, I hopped on the XS2 and rode about 15 miles to the hospital, just to make sure I was OK. I’m OK, but my shoulder is a mess. The Doctor says it will be THREE MONTHS before I ride again. This, my friend, is really really bad news.

I have tolerated/survived a week of being driven to work by my loving family members but this weekend I am plotting my long term survival strategy. Rejoining the world of car drivers is a jarring experience for someone like me–I log an average of about 25 miles a month on 4 wheels–so this is not an undertaking that can be dealt with carelessly. We are bringing Klaus, the Angry German Battlewagen, out of retirement, and it is with his good graces that I will either survive this ordeal or perish in the attempt.

Klaus, the dented German

It is my intention to keep a journal of this experience. If I actually manage to do so, I will post the results here on (probably) a weekly basis.