A Skateboard! Really?

[Red Cobra]

I recently lost an altercation with a 10 yr old on a skateboard. The kid ran a red light and his board slammed into my motorcycle's front wheel. Fortunately, the kid jumped clear and was OK. The bike went down in slow motion as I was going slowly making a right-hand turn at an intersection (I had a green light). The kid’s board came into me from my left so the bike fell to the right, in the direction of my turn, and came to rest on my right foot. There had been a car in front of me that went straight through the intersection and I guess the kid didn’t see me behind the car. Anyway, his board slammed into me and, as the bike started to go over, I (unsuccessfully) struggled to keep it upright (Nomads are damn heavy!). I know, I know - every safety course I'be been on tells me to let the bike go, but instincts are instincts. Anyway, when everything came to a rest, the ring finger and little finger on my left hand were sticking out at an odd angle and swelling up fast and my right ankle hurt like hell. I managed to ride the bike home (not far fortunately – only about two blocks) although I had some trouble operating the clutch with my left hand.

My wife took me to a clinic which sent us to another clinic (after a one hour wait) which sent us to a jewelry store to have my wedding ring cut off (my finger was very swollen and turning a lovely shade of blue/black at this point as circulation was being cut off). Then it was back to the clinic. End result? After 4 1/2 hours or so of waiting in clinics and 11 x-rays, there was nothing broken. I had two dislocated fingers and a badly sprained, bruised and swollen right ankle (torn ligaments and stretched tendons). It was rather painful (ahem!) when the doctor took my fingers one by one and pulled them straight and then shifted the bones to correctly align them. To be fair, he did warn me; that is, he actually smiled and said “This will hurt”. Damn straight! Then he said that the fingers will continue to cause me pain “for a year or so.” Oh joy, oh bliss. Still, as noted, the good news is that nothing was broken. He told me I would be looking at 2-3 weeks of compression bandaging on the fingers and ankle plus ice and physio before I could ride again. In the meantime, a bandaged left hand and a cane are in order.

Oh, and the kid? Well, to be fair, he did apologize and then got back on his board and merrily skated off. The bike is OK. Like I said, it just sort of slowly rolled over. Sigh and double sigh. I try to practice road awareness and to be aware of and alert to everything around me. But a skateboard? You just never stop learning about road hazards .....

[Zoom]

Get the little S.O.B. to cut your lawn and shine your bike...... Grrrr lol

Well with some time the pain will leave, I guess it could have turned out much worst.

Good luck and motor on

[slomoshun]

Great attitude R.C., I know a few, myself included, who would have gone off on quite a rant after such an incident. Well done.
slo.

[Go_Green]

Good to know that you'll be fine. There are a number of kids around here on boards, that's one more thing to be aware of I guess. Hope you'll be back on the bike in no time and that your fingers heal up well.

[Black Lightning]

I agree with Slo. With an attitude like that you'll heal up in no time at all.

[Gerhard]

Glad everything worked out for you.

I tipped my bike over last September, on our driveway of all places, I could blame it on the trench that had been dug to install fibre optic cable to the house but it was my fault. It was a sunny afternoon and I was rolling up the drive out of gear just watching the grass grow, I hit the fresh gravel in the trench and the bike stops dead and over I go. I must have pushed off the pegs as I landed several feet from the bike on the lawn. It broke the right side mirror, the mirror housing and the cover over the little fairing protector bumpers. I had the bike lifted and up in just a few seconds, adrenaline at work. Next day I had a sore shoulder and owed an extra $300 on my credit card. The thing I remember most clearly was this feeling of total surprise as the bike was going over.

Gerhard

[Black Lightning]

The thing I remember most clearly was this feeling of total surprise as the bike was going over.

I would be willing to bet that almost all of us have experienced that feeling of surprise at least once. I would also be willing to bet that a substantial portion of the people that have experienced that feeling of surprise have also had an audience for the whole performance.

[Red Cobra]

Thanks for the support. I was back on the bike on Monday – 3 weeks less 2 days since the skateboard incident. The ankle is healing well but is still swollen a bit and I don’t quite have the full range of movement. No serious pain, however (unless I do something stupid - which is easy for me to do), and physio continues. The fingers are doing well. I can shift OK but I can’t bend them enough to ensure constant pressure so, when I come to a stop light, I have to slip it into neutral as I can’t hold the clutch in that long. Nonetheless they are starting to bend OK and should be fine in another couple of weeks. They are also still somewhat swollen around the knuckles where they dislocated and are painful if I bend them too far. But as they say, time heals all wounds.

[Black Lightning]

The fingers are doing well. I can shift OK but I can’t bend them enough to ensure constant pressure so, when I come to a stop light, I have to slip it into neutral as I can’t hold the clutch in that long

I have never sat for any length of time in gear with the clutch in. On my english bikes the clutch would get hot and start to grab, which would either stall the engine or precipitate me out into the intersection on my ass. If you did that with BMWs the release bearing would wear out very quickly. I'm usually in neutral before I stop.

[Zoom]

I'm usually in neutral before I stop.

Hey I do that too!
.........so great minds think alike