survival story

[Bill Watson]

Just back from my Colorado trip, Blake and I were supposed to cross paths on the 8th near Silverton, CO. I was on the asphalt in that stretch (US 550) and Blake was going to be off-road. It was pouring rain. It was about 40 degrees. I had on full rain gear and the heated gloves were on high. As we continued the climb from Ouray over Red Mountain Pass, it was snowing about 1000' above us. I was waiting to meet up with Blake and hear the stories of his weather!! Imagine my surprise when I got my messages on my cellphone from Blake. Broken Collarbone and 5 ribs as well, a few days earlier. WOW, quite the story about the recovery, and thanks to Matt K. as well. For such a painful / risky crash scene, things sure went well for getting you out OK. Get well Blake, I always enjoy your posts. Hey, and quit trying to copy the Rev's every move!! Bill Watson Phoenix __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[James Morrow Sr]

Wow, according to my calculations, you didn't receive hospital care for 4 hours. When I broke my collar bone and 7 ribs in May, I barely made 15 minutes, until the hellicopter EMT got me some morphine. You are one tough dude to make 3 or 4 hours. Also, I needed 5 days just to be ready to ride in a Car on smooth roads. Took me 2 weeks to return to work is some pain. 6 weeks of painful exercise to have full range of motion. Of course I am 63 years old, keep forgetting that (G). Make sure you do your exercises, really helps in getting back to normal. Collar bone and ribs have been the most long term pain I have had to experience. My bike was OK too, except for busted mirror, scratched plastic, very rideable. Sorry about the crash, glade you survived well.

On 9/8/06, 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) > > -- James Morrow Sr Union, MO '00' RT + dual plug + Bunkhouse '00' BUSA + 15hp '05' KLR650 + big fun factor [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Don S]

I notice that Blake had mentioned that he "didn't have time to let go of the handlebars when the bike went out of control. Would someone elaborate on the effects of letting go/not letting go of the bars during a tank-slapper. I've never heard of that before. Don S. Bill Watson wrote: Just back from my Colorado trip, Blake and I were supposed to cross paths on the 8th near Silverton, CO. I was on the asphalt in that stretch (US 550) and Blake was going to be off-road. It was pouring rain. It was about 40 degrees. I had on full rain gear and the heated gloves were on high. As we continued the climb from Ouray over Red Mountain Pass, it was snowing about 1000' above us. I was waiting to meet up with Blake and hear the stories of his weather!! Imagine my surprise when I got my messages on my cellphone from Blake. Broken Collarbone and 5 ribs as well, a few days earlier. WOW, quite the story about the recovery, and thanks to Matt K. as well. For such a painful / risky crash scene, things sure went well for getting you out OK. Get well Blake, I always enjoy your posts. Hey, and quit trying to copy the Rev's every move!! Bill Watson Phoenix __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] --------------------------------- Want to be your own boss? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Bogdan Swider]

..

> > 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.

Matt, do you know what tires Blake was riding on at the time ? Bogdan

[Blake Sobiloff]

On 9/11/06, Bill Watson wrote:

> Get well Blake, I always enjoy your posts.

Thanks--will do!

> Hey, and quit trying to copy the Rev's every move!!

Imitation and flattery, I guess. -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)

[Bogdan Swider]

Ah Blake, I can ask you directly. What kind of tires were you running ? Do you think they were a factor in you going down ? Bogdan

[Blake Sobiloff]

On 9/11/06, James Morrow Sr wrote:

> > Wow, according to my calculations, you didn't receive hospital care for 4 > hours. When I broke my collar bone and 7 ribs in May, I barely made 15 > minutes, until the hellicopter EMT got me some morphine. You are one tough > dude to make 3 or 4 hours. >

Actually, I crashed at around 12:15, started riding the truck to the main road around 3 PM, got to the road and the waiting ambulance around 4:45, and made it to the clinic around 6 PM. Transferred to the hospital at around 8, and by 9:15 or so I got my first food since breakfast and my first pain pill. This is the third time I've broken a collarbone, so the pain and healing process is getting to be waaay too familiar. Also, I needed 5 days just to be ready to ride in a Car on smooth roads.

> Took me 2 weeks to return to work is some pain. 6 weeks of painful exercise > to have full range of motion. Of course I am 63 years old, keep forgetting > that (G). >

Thanks for the stats; I hope I progress as well. Make sure you do your exercises, really helps in getting back to normal.

> Collar bone and ribs have been the most long term pain I have had to > experience. >

The only exercises I've been prescribed so far are lung exercises to make sure I don't get pneumonia. I see my local orthopedic Wednesday morning, so I'll see what he has to say about exercises. Thanks, James! -- 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]

[Blake Sobiloff]

On 9/11/06, Don S wrote:

> I notice that Blake had mentioned that he "didn't have time to let go of > the handlebars when the bike went out of control. Would someone elaborate > on the effects of letting go/not letting go of the bars during a tank-slapper. > I've never heard of that before.

Keeping a hold on the handlebars allows the energy of the tankslapper to transfer through you to the rest of the frame, throwing the rear of the bike akimbo like the front. If ya' let go soon enough the energy won't transfer to the rear and you'll have a better chance of riding the tankslapper out. The front should stabilize on its own. -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)

[Blake Sobiloff]

On 9/11/06, Bogdan Swider wrote:

> Ah Blake, I can ask you directly. What kind of tires were you running ? Do > you think they were a factor in you going down ?

Nah, I don't blame the tires at all. I think the problem was an edge trap that I didn't see, and I don't see how a different tire would make a significant difference in how the front reacts to an edge trap. However, I sure would have loved a steering damper! Something that doesn't get involved until the third oscillation or so would seem ideal. -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)

[Blake Sobiloff]

On 9/11/06, Bogdan Swider wrote:

> Matt, do you know what tires Blake was riding on at the time ?

Matt just left for his home. We're both on TKC-80s. I was running 22/24 (F/R), and Matt was running a little higher (24/28?). -- Blake Sobiloff http://sobiloff.typepad.com/> http://sobiloff.typepad.com/klr_adventure/> San Jose, CA (USA)