My Last Ride

[coker737]

My brother and I were riding Motocycles down the Texas Hill Country when I was involved in an accident, a truck turned in front of my 2007 Honda VTX1300R last Friday (9th). Broken scapula, broken clavicle, and 8 of the 12 ribs are broken all on left side. On top of that I had a left lung they inserted a chest tube into my lung to drain all the blood. Air Evacuated to San Antonio Military Medical Center SAMMC. (BAMC as I remember it) were I spent 9 days. The most Professional Medical staff ever.

The Retro is totaled. My days of riding the Steel Horse are over I must say. I really loved the VTX and I had her just the way I wanted. I really loved riding but times have changed with Freaking Distracted Drivers.

To all my TBH friends that ride Motorcycles, I say a prayer that all of you have safe rides.

My Physical Therapy Goal is to be ready for this upcoming Bow Season.

[MadHatter]

Dang man! Glad you are ok

[scjeeptx]

Hate to hear, but glad you're "ok". Same thing for me, used to be a commuter until I had to deal with I35 in Fort Worth.

[T_Sebastian]

I know the feeling man.

Ive still got my Harley Ultra sitting in the garage. Just cant bare to let it go just yet, but havent ridden it in over a year. It just sits there. Im currently the major bread winner for my wife, and 5 kids, and my mom. If anything were to happen to me, they'd be up $h!t creek. Thats just not a risk Im willing to take.

Hope you heal up soon.

[Turtlewax]

Happy to see you are still with us.

I parked mine almost 3 years ago. Seemed like everytime i would ride, someone would do something stupid. I said no mas!

[GTRH8R]

Glad you came out of it with the grassy side still down...I used to commute on mine everyday but it just got too insane around the DFW Metroplex. Too many lane divers, distracted people, and people who just don't care if they kill you. Gave up the Harley to make sure my 3 kids have a dad until they grow up. I missed it for a bit but I just buy a new gun when I think about wanting to ride again.

[Neyber89]

I ride a lot have a 2010 Harley CVO. I have been riding since the 70's. Now days people just don't care anymore. Bud I'm so glad you survived!! Bless you, and shame on the driver for not caring if they pull in front of bike riders. Take him to the bank!!!

[AntlerCollector]

I've ridden all my life up until last year. I decided that I have cheated death long enough. There's just more distractions than ever for drivers now. It's hard enough to drive a truck when people are headed straight toward you and texting while crossing into your lane! I've had several close calls and have been badly hurt once on my bike. I've had good friends lose their life because someone else pulled out in front of them. I do miss riding, and Im not gonna say I will never ride again, but it's scary out there. The last time I was injured I spent a week in the hospital. I told myself I was done riding then, but I lied. It was in my blood still. Finally I just felt like it was time to walk away while I still could. I hope you have a fast recovery brother.

[Hart8]

Dang,sounds like you're lucky to be alive!
A guy digging for something in the floor board nearly pushed me off a bridge on 287..Had a car right on my *** as it was happening..I'd already made up my mind I was gonna try to ditch the bike,and hang on to the side of his truck..Last split second he jerks back over in his lane..That was my last time on mine.

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[shunter14]

Glad you're ok!!! Had an idiot almost take me out on 35 on Saturday coming into San Antonio. What happened after, he'll always be on the look out for bikes. That clevis hook that attaches your whip comes in handy for cars like that. I've had a lot of near misses and scares ya but just can't give it up. I enjoy riding too much. Prayers for a speedy recovery

[justletmein]

Glad you're alive, hope you have a speedy recovery. Lost my best friend to a bike crash long ago and more recently my mother's husband as well. My son went out and bought himself a bike when he was 18 after enlisting in the Army and wanted to "have some fun" before he shipped out... yeah we all know how that ended up now his spine is fused and obviously DQ'd before he ever made it to Basic.

I had a 2007 VTX as well but it was the one with the skinny tail can't remember the model, "C" I guess? Thing was a good cruiser and I rigged up fishing rod holders to the passenger pegs and rode to the coast more than a few times. It's a shame to hear of one getting trashed like that. I went from that VTX to sport bikes and loved them, but have more than a few stories to tell from San Antonio traffic from general ******baggery to some old lady literally just trying to push me out of my lane with her car. Wasn't bad working off hours/nights and riding at mach 4 to work every day but once I was moved to normal M-F day shifts I got rid of my last bike in a hurry and never looked back, figured I'd tempted fate enough and it was time to let go.

[PVDT]

Glad you're ok. I have shoveled many bike riders off the road and they're the innocent driver 99% of the time.

[Ruark]

I've ridden all my life up until last year. I decided that I have cheated death long enough. There's just more distractions than ever for drivers now. It's hard enough to drive a truck when people are headed straight toward you and texting while crossing into your lane! I've had several close calls and have been badly hurt once on my bike. I've had good friends lose their life because someone else pulled out in front of them. I do miss riding, and Im not gonna say I will never ride again, but it's scary out there. The last time I was injured I spent a week in the hospital. I told myself I was done riding then, but I lied. It was in my blood still. Finally I just felt like it was time to walk away while I still could. I hope you have a fast recovery brother.

Same here. I LOVED my bike (Kawasaki Vulcan), but went down hard one day on a slippery spot. A few seconds later, I came to, lying flat on my back in the middle of the highway. No cars, thank goodness. My wife, daughter, mother, and a bunch of others depended on me, so I was not only gambling with my life, but with theirs as well.

Then the 2 guys I rode with both went down REALLY hard - like a week in the hospital each. One was going through a curve and just slammed down out of the blue, for no apparent reason. Lost some meat, some teeth, and broke a vertebrae, came THIS close to being paralyzed from the eyes down.

The other was peacefully cruising home down I35 around Georgetown at 70mph, straight line, dry pavement... and suddenly slammed to the pavement and tumbled for 50 yards with broken bones all over his body. His new Harley Road King was scattered all over the place. To this day, he has utterly no idea what caused it.

Plus, I knew, or knew of, several other guys who had ridden for decades, with HUNDREDS of thousands of miles, in all 48 states, and then were killed on the road. So much for experience.

One of them was cruising along I35 at 75 and suddenly realized the car in front of him wasn't moving. He had a split second to change lanes. He glanced over his shoulder, whipped into the other lane, and slammed right into a big gravel truck that had just pulled onto the road and was going about 2 mph. The whole thing happened in like 3 seconds.

The other was killed by one of those left-turners. He had like 400,000 miles of riding experience.

My bike sat in the garage for about a year and I finally sold it. Being a "biker" was a special time in my life, and I have many fond memories, but the time just came to end it.

[Cajun shooter]

Same here. I LOVED my bike (Kawasaki Vulcan), but went down hard one day on a slippery spot. A few seconds later, I came to, lying flat on my back in the middle of the highway. No cars, thank goodness. My wife, daughter, mother, and a bunch of others depended on me, so I was not only gambling with my life, but with theirs as well.

Then the 2 guys I rode with both went down REALLY hard - like a week in the hospital each. One was going through a curve and just slammed down out of the blue, for no apparent reason. Lost some meat, some teeth, and broke a vertebrae, came THIS close to being paralyzed from the eyes down.

The other was peacefully cruising home down I35 around Georgetown at 70mph, straight line, dry pavement... and suddenly slammed to the pavement and tumbled for 50 yards with broken bones all over his body. His new Harley Road King was scattered all over the place. To this day, he has utterly no idea what caused it.

Plus, I knew, or knew of, several other guys who had ridden for decades, with HUNDREDS of thousands of miles, in all 48 states, and then were killed on the road. So much for experience.

One of them was cruising along I35 at 75 and suddenly realized the car in front of him wasn't moving. He had a split second to change lanes. He glanced over his shoulder, whipped into the other lane, and slammed right into a big gravel truck that had just pulled onto the road and was going about 2 mph. The whole thing happened in like 3 seconds.

The other was killed by one of those left-turners. He had like 400,000 miles of riding experience.

My bike sat in the garage for about a year and I finally sold it. Being a "biker" was a special time in my life, and I have many fond memories, but the time just came to end it.

I've ridden all my life up until last year. I decided that I have cheated death long enough. There's just more distractions than ever for drivers now. It's hard enough to drive a truck when people are headed straight toward you and texting while crossing into your lane! I've had several close calls and have been badly hurt once on my bike. I've had good friends lose their life because someone else pulled out in front of them. I do miss riding, and Im not gonna say I will never ride again, but it's scary out there. The last time I was injured I spent a week in the hospital. I told myself I was done riding then, but I lied. It was in my blood still. Finally I just felt like it was time to walk away while I still could. I hope you have a fast recovery brother.

Same story here guys. I rode my bike for the first time a few weeks ago in over one year. The traffic was so bad and I was so frustrated but the time I got home I decided that's it. I'm putting it up for sale.

I rode mini bikes, dirt bikes and the street bike for over 40 years, and now it's time to hopefully give someone else the good luck I had. I'm not looking back.


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[sailor]

Yep.. I gave it up a few years ago myself...
Too many days in the hospital.. Too many stiches...
Right or wrong.. In a wreck.. The biker always loses...

There's only two kinds of bikers...
Those, that have had wrecks..
And those, that are gonna....