I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Sunday evening I was riding home and decided to take a short detour near my home just to see what the recent excavation work had accomplished. 3 houses from the corner going about 15 -20 mph when two mid size dogs came running at full speed from a blind drive on my right.
No time to react as they ran in front of my vulcan 500. 1st dog cleared but second dog hit my front tire full force turning my wheel as it rose and rolled over his body. when the tire landed it was fully tuned and the bike flipped. My right knee was crushed between the tank and the gravel covered asphalt,then I slid across a driveway and dropped 3-4' into a ditch lined with large limestone rocks.
My right tibia was a clean break but right at the knee joint, my ACL & MCL were torn loose The landing on the rocks broke 5 ribs shattered my right shoulder and did a lot of damage to the joint.
5 hours of surgery put the knee and leg back together with a plate & 5 screws and 2 more screws to re-attach the ligaments. Everything else was in pieces but in place so no need for surgery.
I am in rehab now and will be for a while. The leg damage will require 3 months befre i can put my full weight on it and the r shouder can't take a crutch so i will be in a wheelchair for a while.

THE GOOD NEWS
The dog seems to be okay!

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Well that totally sucks, but real glad to hear you're alive and kicking, even if only with one leg right now.
Our thoughts etc. etc. are with you. You sound a lot better than you probably look, and I'm sure you feel worse.
Get well quick and stay in touch.
You out of the hospital now, in a rehab facility or home?

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Dang, the owner aught to be shot.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

WOW, something else to watch for besides cage drivers. Were the police called? I would go after the dog owner's home owners insurance. Do get well soon, and back to riding.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Ouch !!! I can't imagine how you feel. I'm just thankful you weren't injured more with that landing. I would imagine there could have been an even worse outcome with more speed. Or maybe not on second thought. You may have just plowed through the dogs and survived quite nicely.
But it does point out that even a low speed get off can be a life threatening mishap. Just for curiosity, were you wearing ATGATT ?? I'm pretty sure you subscribe to safety gear but it may be a lesson for those of us who think they won't get hurt much and dress very lightly with no armor.
Do you know if the bike is repairable or a write off ?
I'm sure the dog owners are upset quite a bit but they should have more control over their animals. There lack of foresight could very well have killed you. Hopefully they are properly insured and take responsibility for your injuries.
Keep us updated and take care of the broken body parts.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Geeez! Burk, get well soon, with speedy recovery!

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Sorry to hear,Burks.Hope you feel better soon.Keep us updated.
:) :cool:

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

So sorry to hear about the accident. Just goes to show that ALL riders go down sometime in their riding carreer. :cry: I noticed that your knee got crushed between the tank & the ashphalt. You know that I've got a bee in my bonnet about never riding without engine guards/crash bars. Did you have a set fitted? or was the guard buckled, because if you did have them fitted & they didn't do their job, I'd be interested to know what brand they were. Hope everything heals up o.k. :2tup:

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Man, what a story!

Glad you survived to tell us about it, and I sure hope you're back to "before" condition real soon !

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Wow Burk I'm glad you survived it. I went down at 18mph and was bruised, some rash on my right arm and damage to my right shoulder but that was it. I wish you a speedy recovery and keep us posted.


:)

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Sorry to hear that. Glad it wasnt worse. Feel better real soon burkes !!

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Thanks for everyone's well wishes.
I am in rehab now. The police were called but according to my wife they just filed a report w/o doing any interviews with witnesses and they did not even cite the dog's owner even though my wife requested it. We are planning on hiring a lawyer to investigate our options against any homeowners insurance. I will probably be out of work for a couple of months + and we will have a lot of medical bills to pay and things like a ramp so I can be rolled into our house. While I was lying in the ditch I heard a witness say he saw the whole thing happen and that he's told the dogs owner several times that he needed to keep his dog put up because it keeps running out in the street.

BTW I crashed across the street from a local riders group's clubhouse, "The Unforgiven" and they were great to me. One of them jumped down in the ditch with me before i was even able to take my first breath after the crash. He told me not to move asked me if i could breath, then gently removed my helment and put a blanket under my head and stayed with me until the EMT's arrived. They called 911 and my wife for me too.

I do have crash bars and the right side was slightly bent which may have reduced the amount of damage to my knee but obviously did not totally prevent it.
WW, I was wearing very little gear. 1/2 helmet, leather boots, blue jeans, and a t-shirt. The helmet was slightly scratched and probably kept the side of my face from being scraped up. The jeans kept my legs from road rash but did not provide any impact protection. my armored riding pants might have reduced the damage to my knee if i had been wearing them. The t-shirt did little to protect me from road rash and i have it on my right elbow shoulder and back, but mine is pretty mild since i only slid about 15' before falling into the ditch. I have a really high tech armored jacket that I think would have saved my shoulder and ribs but i only wear it in Winter because it weighs about 15 lbs and it is very hot. We all make choices and must live with the consequences. Given the same weather and other circumstances I would probably make the same choices again. I know many will read this and think i am an idiot but i am trying to be honest and i just prefer to ride with less gear than many people. (BTW please forgive all the typo's I am having to type with one hand in an awkward position,while under heavy painkillers and i just don't feel like taking even more time to correct my errors.)
My son in law was able to drive the bike home from the crash site,but i have only seen a few pics of the bike. my wife took pics of me in the ditch and i will try to get a few posted when i am able.




















i

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

PICS

http://s18.postimage.org/sjpga005x/ME_IN_THE_DITCH.jpg

http://s9.postimage.org/hdo7j7gl7/BIKE_IN_THE_DITCH.jpg

http://s17.postimage.org/wexfqadu3/JOHN_AT_REHAB.jpg

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Boy, it is good that you did not crash into the face/mouth of the culvert. Culverts are deadly even to belted in auto drivers.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Burkbuilds, you're not an idiot with gear choices. I'm in SC and it does get mighty hot and humid down here. I wear my mesh jack as far into the hot weather as I can and then, like you, I switch to a t-shrit. I wear the full face helmet until I can't take it anymore and switch to the 3/4. It sure beats the guys I see with no shirt, shorts and sandals. It's the choices some of us make. Get well my friend and I'll add you to my prayers.


:)

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Wow BB, that is one ugly place to land. It is good to hear you had immediate help from the local folks.
No I won't utter horrible words about no gear or little gear. It is your choice as we have discussed before on a few threads. I do know the heat factor can be nasty in some areas and dressing lighter is almost a must or the heat will wear you down very quickly.
Of course I will always continue to advise new riders to wear armor as they are most likely to have an oops on the road and then hope they continue to wear it out of habit the way I do.
Thanks for the update and pics. Our prayers have you in mind for a good recovery.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

That's an amazingly nasty looking ditch and you're lucky you only broke a few bones, and that the bike survived too. Could have been a lot worse.
Sue the bastard! When you win, you'll feel a lot better and it won't happen to someone else. He should pay for his carelessness. Do you know who the witness was?

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

I am not a "sue happy" kind of guy, but this has cost me a lot in many ways. If they have homeowners liability insurance I will pursue it. If not, I don't think the people on this street have much to go after and it would probably be a waste of effort even if we were awarded something because we probably couldn't collect. "you can't get blood from a turnip" scenario. I don't know who the witness was but i think they will be easy to find. My neighbor is a member of that riding club and they sounded frustrated with the dog's owner anyway.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Oh my goodness, that looks and sounds so terrible. I'm so sorry that happened to you and hope you heal very quickly. That is so cool that there were biker friends right there and that they jumped in to help and were so kind about everything. Best wishes to you for a very speedy recovery and that you're up and riding again soon.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Holy Crap!

Like everyone else has said, there isn't a worse place to have gone down, really.

We're all very happy that you're still in one piece.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Just wait 'till you get up and around and you try and go through the airport metal detector.
How you feeling now a week out from all that?

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Man, that sucks...
Hope you are feeling better soon.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Well it has been over 8 days since the crash. I am still at the rehab hospital and I am still on some heavy duty painkillers but i am making progress each day. I can now get from the bed to my wheelchair by myself, and maneuver around the room and go up and down the halls. I can feed myself meals and get to and from the toilet unassisted. I can get in and out of a car, brush my teeth and shave and even get baggy shorts and shirts on and off by myself. Given a few specialty tools I can even put my socks on and off but i can't tie my shoes. It will be several months before I can walk and I can only lift my right forearm to a position parallel with the floor for now. I am in good spirits and looking forward to a full recovery.

Insurance estimates $2200 in damages to the bike. I plan to have my local dealer go over it and see if they find anything the adjuster might have missed, no big hurry since it will probably be Fall before I can ride again.

I am hoping to be released by the weekend and do the rest of my rehab as an outpatient.

Thanks again for all your well wishes. :)

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

This is an incredible accident and could have happened to anyone. I am glad that your injuries will not result in permanent disability. I hope your recovery is swift and your pain is minimal. Will continue to send prayers and good wishes your way!

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Burkbuilds, you cannot believe what a cold shower your accident is to me. Since i've seen your pics i got really careful, when driving through villages or gipsy village, since there are a lot of dogs who ran, bark... beside the cars, bikes and motobikes. I haven't run over a pet, forest animals, just frog... Yet...
Take care, if its any consolation, the good about your acident is that you survived it and share it with us, and to me: it's making me more careful and tolerant to the happening on the road...
Take care and i hope you'll be enjoying cruising soon!
May the force be with you!

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Borkbuilds so sorry about the accident and that looks like a nasty ditch to end up! yikes! as a new rider I try to wear my safety gears but lately if I'm just going for a ride around my neighborhood I tend not to wear my riding jacket and even wear shorts! well after readibg this that will all change and I will have to invest on a good riding pants for I only usually wear denim or cargo pants..Hopefully you recover soon and ride sooner than later..

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Burkbuilds, you have been a long time member of this forum and a lot of us have gotten to know you as a great asset to our little community. It is never easy to hear of one of our members going down, crashing, losing control of their bike or getting hit by a vehicle. I am so glad to hear you are ok and alive to tell about it. I think i speak for everyone, even those who choose not to reply, that an accident like this always makes us, if even for a little while, more aware of our surroundings after hearing a story such as this. I witnessed a motorcyclist get clobbered by a car that turned left from the right lane, cutting the motorcyclist off and causing him to hit the side of the car. I sat there with him while paramedics were on the way, dealing with moron bystanders wanting to move him, take his helmet off (some idiot who said he knows first aid says take his helmet off and check see if he can move his neck, to which i told him to 'fuck off, touch him and the EMT will be tending to you as well) and the crazy driver wanting to SHAKE HIS HAND while he lay there scraped up and in obvious pain. But seeing that accident happen right in front of me sent a chilling message that shit can happen anywhere, any time with no warning. For the next two weeks i rode much more cautious and actually put a helmet on (yea yea, i know). Point is, we all feel the effect of someone else's accident in some way or another.

I, as well as the rest of us, wish you a speedy recovery and hope to see you back riding again when you are all healed up. Thank you for sharing your story with us. Take the time to feel better and come see us when you are able.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Dupo, you raise some good points about helping a downed rider. Stay with them and fend off the do gooders until the EMTs arrive. Never ever try to remove a helmet of an injured rider.

The handshake thing is just out of this world when you think about it. Hi, my name is Terry(sticks out hand)I just tried to kill you.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Looking at it from their perspective, I think the real human reaction would be to want to console them in someway or to embrace them to let them know that they are sorry. It's a primate thing that you can observe while watching Chimpanzees have their little clan/turf battles in the jungle. One clan will attack another, but they will often pick out opposing chimps and give them a kind of handshake or arm rub to let them know that it's not personal and they are sorry. (I know it sounds kind of out there, but look it up. It's fascinating. I recommend "Next of Kin" by Dr. Roger Fouts. Look past the personal opinion parts and what you see from his study of wild chimps explains a whole lot about human behavioral techniques.)

https://d2koz23mjt6pxl.cloudfront.ne...88-14862-X.jpg

Drivers in that situation were, as most of them are, completely unaware of the one-personal vehicle that was flying towards them. Had the motorcyclist been another car, with air bags and such, you wouldn't have gotten that kind of response from the driver. At least the person felt sorry, even if their desire to express that is misguided and ill-timed.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Jonathan, I do understand the human message to offering a hand in times of stress etc. But it still sucks when some one turns left in front of you and takes you out. I had this happen to me years ago. Yes , we did the handshake. Lucky me, no bike, just my brand spanking new car. Great witness's though. Two LEOs across the street.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Thanks everyone for your kind words and encouragement. I was really fortunate to have a fellow biker come to my aid while I was in the ditch and grateful for his insistence that I stay put until the EMT's arrived. After 3 months, I was finally given permission last Tuesday to start putting weight on my right leg again. It's kinda tender but that will eventually go away, I hope. I have about 85% range of motion with my right arm again although I've lost a lot of muscle, but that will also come back eventually. My ribs are no longer painful, just a little "stiff" at times, but at least it no longer makes me wince if I sneeze.

Hey, My Trike kit arrived yesterday and I'm hoping to get started with the conversion of my new Vulcan 900 into a trike later this week. I'll take lots of pics and post what I'm doing as I go. :)

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

BB, the trike kit will be a good form of therapy for the muscles and mind. Just don't over do it and work safe.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Wow, BB. Thanks for all of the details and the pics and especially your positive attitude. I am very careful about all gear except my chaps or overpants and I am almost paranoid about my knees and shins. And yet, I continue to ignore Alan's sage advice about crash bars...think I will start the research to rig all 3 of my bikes. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers for a full recovery and minimal pain.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Maggie, I am also a big fan of good crash bars. Although mine did not prevent my leg from breaking, they were bent, showing that they took some of the impact I would have otherwise received, so even though they didn't prevent all the damage, I think they probably kept me from worse damage. I went down one other time and the crash bars were scraped up and I was unhurt, so yes, I think they are a good investment.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Wow, that is insane!!! I know it has been a while since your accident but my heart goes out to you and hope you are feeling better!!!
Regards Joe.

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Thanks Joe, I am still recovering 7 months out, but I've made tremendous progress and I will continue to regain some of what I've lost for several more months. I am walking without a limp now at least until I get fatigued near the end of along day. I am back in Physical therapy to further strengthen my right leg muscles to further stabilize my knee joint and just generally regain some of the muscle lost to atrophy. I have about 95%+ range of motion in my right arm again and I think I'll get at least 98% before I'm done with my progress. I plan to graduate from college in less than a month and after the holidays I plan to join a gym and get back to swimming laps and getting some of this weight back off me which should also help lesson the stress on the knees.

Everyone has been very supportive and encouraging about my recovery and I really do appreciate the kind words from this community of riders. :)

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

The bike looks awesome!! Glad to here that your healing well.All the best in the days ahead.
:) :cool:

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Blaine..............turn on your memory cells please. BB has recovered and has been doing well for some time. :lol:

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

WW, although I've made a lot of progress Blaine is correct that I still have some recovery left to go. I'm back in physical therapy doing work to strengthen my right leg muscles and stabilize my knee joint. I have definitely come a long way since the wreck in April, but I hope to make further progress in the next couple of months and get as close as possible to the range of motion and abilities I had before the wreck.

By the way, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone this coming week, even you Canadians :)

Re: I fought the dog and the dog won.
 

Oh my. Here I thought you were pretty much recovered and ready to run a marathon. :oops: My bad. Obviously you are far better off than you were a few months ago.
I can relate to a range of motion or lack of it though. I messed up my left shoulder years ago and had to do PT etc to get things right again. I was in a lot of pain for a long time before the soft tissue healed and gained strength enough to hold up my coffee cup. I'd likely have healed faster if I'd just snapped a few bones instead. Now that I think about it you did quite a bit of both tissue and bone damage.
I'll hold my cup up high and offer a toast to good health. :2tup: