survival story

[Blake Sobiloff]

Hi all, I just got back from my supposed-to-be 2-week trip on the Trans-America Trail. While in Utah, on the way out to Colorado to pick up the trail, I crashed pretty hard. It looks like I caught a slight edge trap while going about 40 MPH on a straight section of dirt road. This sent the bike into a tank slapper and I couldn't get my hands off the bars before the bike wiggled into the piled-up gravel between the tire tracks that made up the road. Once in this gravel, the bike ejected me off the high side and upon landing my left collarbone broke. This freed my shoulder blade to push back into my ribs and break five of those. Ouch! (At the time I knew only that I'd broken my collarbone and possibly one rib; I had no idea four other ribs were fractured, too.) I also saw stars out of my right eye for a minute or two. Despite this bad turn of events, I had some good luck coming my way. Matt, my riding buddy, is a firefighter/EMT, so he did a super job of taking care of me. I guess I gave him quite a fright initially, as he first asked me if I could wiggle my fingers and toes and my only response sounded to him like a "no." What I really said was "uuunngh," as the wind was thoroughly knocked out of me! It wasn't until I started cursing my broken collar bone and rolling over to my un-injured side that he realized I might not be paralyzed. We were 20 miles from the nearest ranger station, so after Matt got my arm in a sling, a cold pack on my collarbone, and me seated off the road, he left to get help. I was reclining against my luggage in the shade of a small bush, a good supply of food and water at hand, as well as a signal mirror and a whistle. I gave Matt my GPS (which survived the accident) and set the "Man Overboard" function so that it would always guide him back to my location. (I should note at this point my admiration for Rev. Martin; despite our similar injuries I was in no condition to ride out. Than man has some serious sand!) On his way to get help Matt encountered an extremely nice couple of older Dutch tourists who were exploring the same road in a rented Explorer. After flagging them down and explaining what happened, they agreed to find me and stay with me until Matt could return with some help. I was alone for probably less than an hour before the Dutch showed up, and they did what they could to make me comfortable. Just their simple companionship was a tremendous morale boost, but the woman also used to be a nurse, so my good luck continued. Big thunderstorms were brewing along the peaks to either side of the valley I was in, but fortunately all we got were a few light showers. The storms were quite concerning, though, as the area is known as the Bentonite Hills--they quickly turn into impassible goo with each rainstorm, and the lightening would surely keep any aircraft grounded. Luck again went my way, however, and the road remained dry enough for Matt to return with a Ranger and three local wilderness guides (Angel and two guys whose names we didn't catch) who happened to be in the area. After much conversing and strategizing, the Dutch couple volunteered to slowly drive me the remaining 14 miles to the exit of the park and to the waiting ambulance. We crawled along for nearly two hours, crossing sand washes, washboard, multiple dry creekbeds, and, finally, a hub-deep water crossing about 30 yards long. Once at the ambulance, I said my thanks to everyone and was whisked away to the nearest clinic an hour's drive away. Meanwhile, Matt took the Dutch into the nearest town to buy them dinner in appreciation for what they did, and got both of our bikes to a hotel. (Yes, amazingly enough my bike was still rideable--it was just missing the mirrors, the speedo glass was shattered and the shifter was a bit tweaked.) Once at the clinic I had a series of x-rays that showed the surprising number of broken ribs. Concerned about the potential for pneumo-thorax, they loaded me back into the ambulance to go to the big hospital an hour further north for additional x-rays and an overnight stay. The big hospital in Richland did a fine job of making me comfortable overnight and discharged me after a last set of x-rays in the morning confirmed no further complications. Matt then picked me up in a U-Haul truck and let me rest in a motel for the remainder of the day as he figured out how to get the bikes and the rest of our gear loaded up. He also did a great job of cheering me up, renting a couple a DVDs for us to watch (no comedy, though!). Yesterday and today we bounced along the highway from Utah back to San Jose. Matt is being a super friend and is staying with me through the weekend to help me get situated. A BIG THANKS to Matt for all his help, and great apologies for ending our trip so early! Matt had some pretty interesting adventures of his own while in search of help for me, but I'll let him post about that. A note on gear: ATGATT. Arai Signet GT helmet (now trashed; I have some bruising on my left temple, which would explain me seeing stars out of my right eye). T-Pro armored shirt and pants; I have some nice bruises around the edges of the pads on my left side, so no doubt they saved me from additional injury. Held gloves. Asterisk knee braces. Sidi Crossfire boots. Aerostich Darien jacket and pants (with the TF2 pads removed). If only there was some sort of hard armor to prevent collar bones from breaking! -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)

[clutz003]

--- Blake, Glad to hear thay you are relatively ok. A couple of weeks ago I was in the Eastern Sierra between Walker and Bridgeport on a dirt/sand road by myself fully loaded with camping gear and almost lost it a few times, thinking (probably too much) about the Rev. Hope you have a speedy recovery. Craig A18 San Jose, CA

[Don S]

Hi Blake. Real sorry to hear about your mishap. I ride dirt roads just about every time I go out. Some are trickier than others. I also found out that good visibility is essential in order to read the road surface. A couple of times I left my camp for home a little early in the morning. The sun would cast shadows through the trees making observation of the road surface very difficult to see. The corners can be particularly treacherous after long periods of dry weather. Dust piles up about four inches thick near the outside of the curve. Once you get into that stuff, things get very squirrely very quickly. Straight line stuff with traffic ridges and lines of loose gravel can also be bad. Had the bike do some serious snake action on that stuff too. Now, for the benefit of the group, is there anything that you could have done differently to reduce the risk of the accident? Did you have any forewarning to suggest a reduction in speed or did it just come out of nowhere? Could you read the road well enough? I'm not questioning your skills. Just looking for any helpful info that will keep me out of a similar jackpot. Sounds like your injuries are fairly serious. Thankfully, it hasn't inhibited your ability to keep posting. You are one of the mainstays of the group. Your input is always welcome and valued. I get the feeling that we will be hearing quite a bit from you for some time to come. I look forward to it. Get well soon. Don S. (inventor of the Swine Oiler - aka - Bacon-Master Chain Lube System) Blake Sobiloff wrote: Hi all, I just got back from my supposed-to-be 2-week trip on the Trans-America Trail. While in Utah, on the way out to Colorado to pick up the trail, I crashed pretty hard. It looks like I caught a slight edge trap while going about 40 MPH on a straight section of dirt road. This sent the bike into a tank slapper and I couldn't get my hands off the bars before the bike wiggled into the piled-up gravel between the tire tracks that made up the road. Once in this gravel, the bike ejected me off the high side and upon landing my left collarbone broke. This freed my shoulder blade to push back into my ribs and break five of those. Ouch! (At the time I knew only that I'd broken my collarbone and possibly one rib; I had no idea four other ribs were fractured, too.) I also saw stars out of my right eye for a minute or two. Despite this bad turn of events, I had some good luck coming my way. Matt, my riding buddy, is a firefighter/EMT, so he did a super job of taking care of me. I guess I gave him quite a fright initially, as he first asked me if I could wiggle my fingers and toes and my only response sounded to him like a "no." What I really said was "uuunngh," as the wind was thoroughly knocked out of me! It wasn't until I started cursing my broken collar bone and rolling over to my un-injured side that he realized I might not be paralyzed. We were 20 miles from the nearest ranger station, so after Matt got my arm in a sling, a cold pack on my collarbone, and me seated off the road, he left to get help. I was reclining against my luggage in the shade of a small bush, a good supply of food and water at hand, as well as a signal mirror and a whistle. I gave Matt my GPS (which survived the accident) and set the "Man Overboard" function so that it would always guide him back to my location. (I should note at this point my admiration for Rev. Martin; despite our similar injuries I was in no condition to ride out. Than man has some serious sand!) On his way to get help Matt encountered an extremely nice couple of older Dutch tourists who were exploring the same road in a rented Explorer. After flagging them down and explaining what happened, they agreed to find me and stay with me until Matt could return with some help. I was alone for probably less than an hour before the Dutch showed up, and they did what they could to make me comfortable. Just their simple companionship was a tremendous morale boost, but the woman also used to be a nurse, so my good luck continued. Big thunderstorms were brewing along the peaks to either side of the valley I was in, but fortunately all we got were a few light showers. The storms were quite concerning, though, as the area is known as the Bentonite Hills--they quickly turn into impassible goo with each rainstorm, and the lightening would surely keep any aircraft grounded. Luck again went my way, however, and the road remained dry enough for Matt to return with a Ranger and three local wilderness guides (Angel and two guys whose names we didn't catch) who happened to be in the area. After much conversing and strategizing, the Dutch couple volunteered to slowly drive me the remaining 14 miles to the exit of the park and to the waiting ambulance. We crawled along for nearly two hours, crossing sand washes, washboard, multiple dry creekbeds, and, finally, a hub-deep water crossing about 30 yards long. Once at the ambulance, I said my thanks to everyone and was whisked away to the nearest clinic an hour's drive away. Meanwhile, Matt took the Dutch into the nearest town to buy them dinner in appreciation for what they did, and got both of our bikes to a hotel. (Yes, amazingly enough my bike was still rideable--it was just missing the mirrors, the speedo glass was shattered and the shifter was a bit tweaked.) Once at the clinic I had a series of x-rays that showed the surprising number of broken ribs. Concerned about the potential for pneumo-thorax, they loaded me back into the ambulance to go to the big hospital an hour further north for additional x-rays and an overnight stay. The big hospital in Richland did a fine job of making me comfortable overnight and discharged me after a last set of x-rays in the morning confirmed no further complications. Matt then picked me up in a U-Haul truck and let me rest in a motel for the remainder of the day as he figured out how to get the bikes and the rest of our gear loaded up. He also did a great job of cheering me up, renting a couple a DVDs for us to watch (no comedy, though!). Yesterday and today we bounced along the highway from Utah back to San Jose. Matt is being a super friend and is staying with me through the weekend to help me get situated. A BIG THANKS to Matt for all his help, and great apologies for ending our trip so early! Matt had some pretty interesting adventures of his own while in search of help for me, but I'll let him post about that. A note on gear: ATGATT. Arai Signet GT helmet (now trashed; I have some bruising on my left temple, which would explain me seeing stars out of my right eye). T-Pro armored shirt and pants; I have some nice bruises around the edges of the pads on my left side, so no doubt they saved me from additional injury. Held gloves. Asterisk knee braces. Sidi Crossfire boots. Aerostich Darien jacket and pants (with the TF2 pads removed). If only there was some sort of hard armor to prevent collar bones from breaking! -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA) --------------------------------- How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger s low PC-to-Phone call rates. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Blake Sobiloff]

On 9/9/06, Don S wrote:

> > Now, for the benefit of the group, is there anything that you could have > done differently to reduce the risk of the accident? Did you have any > forewarning to suggest a reduction in speed or did it just come out of > nowhere? Could you read the road well enough? I'm not questioning your > skills. Just looking for any helpful info that will keep me out of a > similar jackpot. >

Feel free to question my skills; I am! I was about 12:15 local time when I went down, so the sun was nearly straight up. This probably made for minimal shadows, making it easy to miss small road features like edge traps. From my perspective, the headshake came out of nowhere, on an easy, straight piece of road. My mistake was to not let go of the handlebars soon enough. I've never practiced letting go of the bars, and I guess it shows. I should say that, prior to the accident, I was having the most fun I've ever had on my KLR. The TKC-80's were working well, the day was nice, the scenery was beautiful, and I was just starting two weeks of this kind of fun. The adrenaline rush was like what I get when I do a track day. The KLR seemed to be able to tractor through anything, and the suspension soaked up the bumps wonderfully. It came as a real shock to have my KLR bite me like it did.

> Sounds like your injuries are fairly serious. Thankfully, it hasn't > inhibited your ability to keep posting. You are one of the mainstays of > the group. Your input is always welcome and valued. I get the feeling that > we will be hearing quite a bit from you for some time to come. I look > forward to it. >

Thanks for the kind words, Don! Actually, typing isn't the most comfortable position--I have to extend my arms and round my shoulders a bit, which doesn't feel good on the ribs nor the collarbone. I'm going to try to catch up on my reading and TV watching, but I'll monitor email a bit, too. -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Jeff Saline]

Blake, Bummer to hear about your "incident". I was just thinking about you and Matt on my way home yesterday afternoon and wondering how the trip was progressing. I'm glad you had so many good luck opportunities once you finished with the bad luck actuality. Best wishes for a fast and full recovery. Jeff On Fri, 8 Sep 2006 16:05:04 -0700 "Blake Sobiloff" writes:

> Hi all, > > I just got back from my supposed-to-be 2-week trip on the > Trans-America Trail. While in Utah, on the way out to Colorado to > pick up the trail, I crashed pretty hard.

SNIP...

[Bogdan Swider]

> > Once in this gravel, the bike ejected me off the high side and upon > landing my left collarbone broke. This freed my shoulder blade to > push back into my ribs and break five of those. Ouch!

Glad you made it home and are on the mend. You'll be back ridding soon. Thanks for sharing the details of your adventure. Bogdan

[Matt Knowles]

> On 9/9/06, Don S wrote: > > > > Now, for the benefit of the group, is there anything that you could have > > done differently to reduce the risk of the accident? Did you have any > > forewarning to suggest a reduction in speed or did it just come out of > > nowhere? Could you read the road well enough? I'm not questioning your > > skills. Just looking for any helpful info that will keep me out of a > > similar jackpot.

I'll have more to post about the whole trip and the final riding day when I get back home but I thought I'd address these questions because they were certainly on my mind too. I was riding behind Blake with him in view but far back enough so I wasn't eating all his dust. I saw his bike fish tail violently several times, and then it went completely sideways in a big cloud of dust. Next I saw Blake pop out vertically of the cloud of dust and I could tell it was a very hard landing. I immediately slowed, expecting to find some huge road defect that caused the crash. I got up to where his bike laid in the road and didn't notice any defects at all. At that point I didn't know what to think. Only after I dealt with Blake's injuries and got ready to leave for help did I go back and trace his tire marks to see what happened. We were on a single track gravel road at that point, with well defined tire tracks from cars and trucks. In riding those types of roads, I prefer to ride in one of the two tire tracks, knowing that the gravel will be shallower there. If I have to cross from one track to another I treat the middle as I would any other edge trap, and try to cross it quickly at an angle. The middle section of a gravel road will usually have a deeper bed of loose gravel, so I try to avoid riding in the middle. Dirt roads (as opposed to gravel) I often do the opposite, because on a dirt road that often turns to mud you can find yourself stuck in a rut, or the surface will have far more loose material where the 4 wheel vehicles travel. So back to Blake's incident, what I found was that he was in the middle of the road between the two tire tracks. What caught him was something I've never seen before on a gravel road and I'm not sure how it formed, but there was a ledge of gravel that was about 1.5" high. I can best describe it as what you see when they lay down a fresh layer of asphalt on a highway, and you have a step between the old layer in one lane and the new higher layer in another. Blake caught the tires right in that edge trap and that started the whole chain reaction. So just like on the road, when you're off-road, lane position can be critical. Matt Knowles - Aesthetic Design & Photography (707) 786-4643 - www.aestheticdesign.com

[Don S]

Thanks for the explanation Matt and kudos to you for taking such good care of Blake. I've seen similar road conditions that you described at the point of loss of control. It seems to be caused by rain and lots of traffic. The water gathers in a depression and as vehicle wheels pass through it, the water tends to splash away from the forming ledge. After a duration of rain and a fair amount of traffic, a prominent and stiff vertical ledge will develop. Sometimes when the conditions dry, loose gravel can be thrown into the depression to conceal the ledge. I'm with you though, I prefer to ride in the vehicle tracks on gravel roads. I went for a 100+ mile ride today and at least half of it was gravel. I had Blake's incident in mind a few times. Don Matt Knowles wrote:

> On 9/9/06, Don S wrote: > > > > Now, for the benefit of the group, is there anything that you could have > > done differently to reduce the risk of the accident? Did you have any > > forewarning to suggest a reduction in speed or did it just come out of > > nowhere? Could you read the road well enough? I'm not questioning your > > skills. Just looking for any helpful info that will keep me out of a > > similar jackpot.

I'll have more to post about the whole trip and the final riding day when I get back home but I thought I'd address these questions because they were certainly on my mind too. I was riding behind Blake with him in view but far back enough so I wasn't eating all his dust. I saw his bike fish tail violently several times, and then it went completely sideways in a big cloud of dust. Next I saw Blake pop out vertically of the cloud of dust and I could tell it was a very hard landing. I immediately slowed, expecting to find some huge road defect that caused the crash. I got up to where his bike laid in the road and didn't notice any defects at all. At that point I didn't know what to think. Only after I dealt with Blake's injuries and got ready to leave for help did I go back and trace his tire marks to see what happened. We were on a single track gravel road at that point, with well defined tire tracks from cars and trucks. In riding those types of roads, I prefer to ride in one of the two tire tracks, knowing that the gravel will be shallower there. If I have to cross from one track to another I treat the middle as I would any other edge trap, and try to cross it quickly at an angle. The middle section of a gravel road will usually have a deeper bed of loose gravel, so I try to avoid riding in the middle. Dirt roads (as opposed to gravel) I often do the opposite, because on a dirt road that often turns to mud you can find yourself stuck in a rut, or the surface will have far more loose material where the 4 wheel vehicles travel. So back to Blake's incident, what I found was that he was in the middle of the road between the two tire tracks. What caught him was something I've never seen before on a gravel road and I'm not sure how it formed, but there was a ledge of gravel that was about 1.5" high. I can best describe it as what you see when they lay down a fresh layer of asphalt on a highway, and you have a step between the old layer in one lane and the new higher layer in another. Blake caught the tires right in that edge trap and that started the whole chain reaction. So just like on the road, when you're off-road, lane position can be critical. Matt Knowles - Aesthetic Design & Photography (707) 786-4643 - www.aestheticdesign.com --------------------------------- Stay in the know. Pulse on the new Yahoo.com. Check it out. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Don S]

Thanks for the reply Blake. I'll put your name on the list to mail out a Swine Oiler to you. Rest up and get well soon. Don Blake Sobiloff wrote: On 9/9/06, Don S wrote: Now, for the benefit of the group, is there anything that you could have done differently to reduce the risk of the accident? Did you have any forewarning to suggest a reduction in speed or did it just come out of nowhere? Could you read the road well enough? I'm not questioning your skills. Just looking for any helpful info that will keep me out of a similar jackpot. Feel free to question my skills; I am! I was about 12:15 local time when I went down, so the sun was nearly straight up. This probably made for minimal shadows, making it easy to miss small road features like edge traps. From my perspective, the headshake came out of nowhere, on an easy, straight piece of road. My mistake was to not let go of the handlebars soon enough. I've never practiced letting go of the bars, and I guess it shows. I should say that, prior to the accident, I was having the most fun I've ever had on my KLR. The TKC-80's were working well, the day was nice, the scenery was beautiful, and I was just starting two weeks of this kind of fun. The adrenaline rush was like what I get when I do a track day. The KLR seemed to be able to tractor through anything, and the suspension soaked up the bumps wonderfully. It came as a real shock to have my KLR bite me like it did. Sounds like your injuries are fairly serious. Thankfully, it hasn't inhibited your ability to keep posting. You are one of the mainstays of the group. Your input is always welcome and valued. I get the feeling that we will be hearing quite a bit from you for some time to come. I look forward to it. Thanks for the kind words, Don! Actually, typing isn't the most comfortable position--I have to extend my arms and round my shoulders a bit, which doesn't feel good on the ribs nor the collarbone. I'm going to try to catch up on my reading and TV watching, but I'll monitor email a bit, too. -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/> < http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA) --------------------------------- Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Tengai Mark Van Horn]

Whoa... big ouch! Those are definitely bones that I hope I never break. I've had many-a-crash, but I've been fortunate so far. Mend well, and keep your chip up. Mark