As most of you know by now, Ace & I were in a motorcycle crash a week ago. For those of you who missed it, this is what happened: We were up on the mountainous roads out in Newberg, Or; having a nice Sunday ride. We both were fully-geared (neither of us ever ride without full gear). We came up around a corner, and there was an oncoming car in our lane. Ace had time to tell me "HOLD ON!" through the com, we headed toward the ditch, and fell off the bike. The bike ended up on its right side, and there was glass on the road (busted light bar). I could hear him asking me "Babe... babe, are you okay? Babe?" but I couldn't answer; I had the wind knocked out of me.
The other car had pulled over, & called their friends who lived nearby to come down (they were visiting from Japan, and on their way -- in a rental -- back to the airport to head home). I was able to sit up at this point, Ace yelled at the driver, she fully admitted to being in our lane, but never gave a reason, and then he realized he couldn't put weight on his right foot. He also threw up (shock, we assume), then took a pic of the bike on its side (posted later) & the car's plate. At this point, another car came upon us, pulled over, and called 911 for us. We took off our jackets, helmets, & gloves... the driver of the second car gave us his lemonade, and four of the six helpers stood over us to protect us from the sun while waiting for emergency services. Two of the guys uprighted Ace's bike to get it off the road, as well.
We were checked over by the EMTs, and since I could walk, we got to ride together down to the hospital. Ace had a moment of fear in the ambulance; he told me that when I didn't answer him right away, he thought I was dead... Anyway, once there, we had separate rooms close together. We both got checked over, we both got Xrays, we both talked to the officer who was on-scene (who told us the driver was not cited), then we were released with prescriptions (which neither of us felt the need to fill). I texted a couple friends to get a little help -- K.S. went over to my house to take care of the dogs while we were still in the ER, and S.M. picked us up & took us home. Ace & I both posted pics to FaceBook & a short version of what happened.
Monday, A.C. volunteered to drive me to Freddy's and push the cart. I also called my parents to let them know what happened & that we were essentially okay. Tuesday, GamerBoy came over to visit, check on us, and make dinner for us. I also rescheduled all my Wednesday clients to Thursday & Friday (grateful for a light week -- I only had five clients this week). Thursday, I went in to the studio; took care of two clients. Friday, Ace had his ortho consult in the morning, then his sister & her husband came up to take him on a few other errands while I took care of three (one of which had to reschedule, so I did two) clients.
I've been posting pics & updates daily on my FB, and sent some to my parents. Interestingly, I've lost three "friends" this week (no clue who; perhaps they were nail cohorts, and decided I was boring? lol)... can't please everyone, I guess. Anyway, some things have occurred to us this week: We are thankful we have full coverage on the motorcycle (in the likely event the other driver's insurance is never held responsible for any of this), we are thankful the gear did its job (thank you to SCORPION MOTORCYCLE HELMETS, TOURMASTER jackets & gloves, and CORTECH motorcycle/riding jeans), we are thankful we have excellent medical coverage, we are thankful we have a savings account large enough to get us through this, we are thankful Ace's job pays short term disability, we are thankful for our "village"... we are thankful for our lives.
We don't have the report from the insurance adjuster yet, so we have no idea if the bike is fixable or totaled (if totaled, we'll part out some of the good stuff that's still intact). Once Ace heals, we will get back on "the horse". Ace will have surgery, probably at the end of this week or early next, and will be off-work for 10-12wks (he gets a metal plate & some screws in his ankle... permanently). I know I say this a lot, but most people don't listen like they should: Motorcycles & motorcyclists are usually NOT the problem. YOU, the driver of a four-tired vehicle, are the problem. YOU need to pay attention, YOU need to follow the rules of the road, YOU need be cautious. Because if YOU are stupid, like the driver of this car was, WE are the ones paying for it... potentially with our lives.
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