74 replies to this topic

[abarbarian]

I thought life was pretty lousy last year. Well this year life is even worse. Here is just one snippet from a tale of woe.

I was forced into looking for alternative reliable transport as the old Mitsubishi at 14 years old was simply a cash black hole and every time I  drive it I pray to the gods that I will make it home.
As the dreaded MOT (Ministry of Transport yearly test)was looming and cash from me mums house sale will arrive ?????????????????. I decided that I could scrape up enough cash to purchase a cheaper alternative to a car, cheaper to buy, on fuel , tax  etc etc. So after much deliberation I found an almost new



Only had 997 miles on the clock so it was almost run in. Took it out for a first ride of 27 miles came back with the first decent smile on me face since April 2015.
Next day went for a ride with me mate, fab day out on the roads north. On the way home 97 miles later on some minor road the bike decided to jump and dance on a long stretch of sand and gravel left by the last storms. Tussled with the barley tamed beast and it made one last jig wrestled me to the ground and jumped on top of me. 500cc Royal Enfield Bullets are pretty darn heavy. Luckily my ankle jammed under the exhaust did not break, or my knee or hip. They did end up blue black purple and several shades of yucky greeny yellow. As did the entire right side and front of my ribs. Oh and my collar bone snapped clean in two.
I managed to kick the bike of me leg before I got burnt but could barley breath let alone move for almost fifteen minutes. Took almost two and a half hours for the ambulance to get to me and drop me of at the hospital due to the remoteness of the crash. Worst couple of hours of me life as I was sure that I was badly smashed up. Luckily only the collar bone was broken.
Mind you I could not lie down on a bed to sleep for four weeks and had to doze of in an armchair. Saw the consultant after six weeks and he told me the bone was not healing well and I had to go back and see him in three weeks.
That was today and as I suspected he told me that the bone had not healed and I would need some CAT scans and a wait of several more weeks before they could operate and plate and screw me up. Knowing the NHS that could be a couple of weeks to a couple of months before they operate. So it looks like I will be handicapped and out of action for quite some time to come.
Never even turned the pc on for four weeks as I was totally out of it on some heavy duty opiates. Am only just managing to do some very basic pc stuff as am pretty darn down in the dumps.
So Sorry for not logging in earlier folks.

For the bikers out there here is a bit more info on the beast.

http://madelikeagun....classic_500.php

Quote

Armed with a potent fuel injected 500cc engine and clothed in a disarmingly appealing post war styling, this promises to be the most coveted Royal Enfield in history. For those who want it all. The power, the fuel efficiency, the reliability and simple, yet drop dead gorgeous classic styling. The classic turns heads not because it wants to but because it can't help it. You will appreciate the beat not just for the music it creates but also for the muted feeling of strength and power that it signifies. The view is simply better when you are astride a Royal Enfield Classic 500 â?? whether moving or still. Nothing more to be said.

Would have preferred the smaller up swept pipe configuration but here in the UK you get the fat long exhaust as in the first pic. Apart from that the beast is fab. If only I could ride it

Ooooops nearly forgot. The bike has a couple of small scratches, a small bend in the front mudguard and the side box will not close properly. An a small bend to a bracket has already been fixed just needs a dab of black paint. Hacked of that the ambulance crew cut one leg of me luverly leathers which did save me from gravel rash as the bike and me skated along horizontally on the road for fifteen feet (me mate measured the distance whilst waiting for the AA) An hurray me leather jacket was almost scratch free. There is always a silver lining to any tale.

Edited by abarbarian, 10 August 2016 - 02:35 PM.

[ebrke]

Ouch! Sorry to hear your misfortunes--hope things get better soon.

[Capt.Crow]

NIce bike man. Darn shame she played the bytch with you. But I just bet that was not the first time you pulled tarmac . The collar bone is a cruel injury and I'm real sorry it had to happen to you .
Did much the same thing off a square four .Hit a patch of gravel pulling in for petrol down Stonehenge way many years ago . Luckily enough all I had to suffer was the indignity of getting back to London with no ....NO.... butt in my leathers and a bloody saddle . I remember going most of the way standing up on the rests.
Heal quickly .Heal well.

[abarbarian]

ebrke, on 10 August 2016 - 03:08 PM, said:

Ouch! Sorry to hear your misfortunes--hope things get better soon.

Ta muchly.   Saw the consultant yesterday and the break has not healed. So now I have to wait a few weeks before they can operate and plate and screw me. So I'll be wet shaving with me left hand for quite some time yet. I can definitely say that doing everything left handed is the most difficult set of skills I have ever had to master in my entire life.
Apparently you have to wait three months from the time of the break before they can operate, beats me as to why.

Capt.Crow, on 10 August 2016 - 07:52 PM, said:

NIce bike man. Darn shame she played the bytch with you. But I just bet that was not the first time you pulled tarmac . The collar bone is a cruel injury and I'm real sorry it had to happen to you .
Did much the same thing off a square four .Hit a patch of gravel pulling in for petrol down Stonehenge way many years ago . Luckily enough all I had to suffer was the indignity of getting back to London with no ....NO.... butt in my leathers and a bloody saddle . I remember going most of the way standing up on the rests.
Heal quickly .Heal well.

Only the third time I have surfed tarmac in forty years of biking. The other two were simply torn clothes affairs. A fact that surprises me as I used to bike like a demon, quietened down in the last few years though what with being a reformed respectable an all.
Hmm make that four times. Back in '76 a prat coming towards me turned with no indication and I nearly chopped the front end of his brand new car before I flew through the air and splash landed into tarmac. According to me mate who was stood waiting to cross the road I seemed to be lying unconscious with a leg bone sticking out of me Lee Coopers pumping claret everywhere. Until the guy jumped out of his mashed car and stood shouting "Oh me new car me new car" seems I stood up and took two paces towards him before crumpling comatose again. Lucky for me I guess as if I had reached him I'd be typing this from the Scrubs or the secure wing of Strangeways.

Bet you look a real prize plum riding that square four home

Edited by abarbarian, 11 August 2016 - 11:37 AM.

[zlim]

Ouch! Here's hoping they move up your surgery.
I had breakfast with a group of friends this morn. Her husband was riding their horse in July. The horse tripped and he flew. He has a broken left wrist and some cracks either around his neck or back. I wasn't sitting near enough to gather the full details.

Sitting in front of the computer is way safer!

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Ah... so that's where you've been. I was just thinking about you the other day, Erik. I was going to send out the cavalry to track you down. Your appearance here has made that unnecessary, thankfully. Cavalry is terribly expensive to mobilize these days.

About your recent melding with the earth... AH! The memories... yes, indeedy. I can say that I have most definitely been there and done that... have the scratched-up helmets, scuffed boots, and torn t-shirts to prove it; not too mention the stray road rash scars here and there about my body.

Motorcycle riding is absolutely cathartic. However, boo-boos happen... even to the most skillful and experienced riders. My first foray into road/field tobogganing w/o the sled happened for me at the ripe age of 14 years old while riding my uncle's Honda 450 full-dresser retired police motorcycle. I missed a turn off pavement onto a dirt road at speed and ended up sliding under a barbed wire fence and into a cow pasture. Were it not for my two cousins, I would have remained under that bike with my right leg roasting on the exhaust for who knows how long. FUN times!

The most recent spill occurred during a Florida afternoon torrential downpour on a major highway just north of Tampa when I "high-sided" at a stop light when I lost traction attempting to stop at a yellow light rather than just zoom across. Zooming across, as my brother just ahead of me did, would have been the safer option. I broke two ribs and bruised my clavicle on that trip. More FUN times.

Get back on the horse as soon as you can, mate. It's the only way you'll get over those jitters about riding again.

Wishing you well, my friend!

[abarbarian]

zlim, on 11 August 2016 - 04:16 PM, said:

Ouch! Here's hoping they move up your surgery.
I had breakfast with a group of friends this morn. Her husband was riding their horse in July. The horse tripped and he flew. He has a broken left wrist and some cracks either around his neck or back. I wasn't sitting near enough to gather the full details.

Sitting in front of the computer is way safer!

Yeah in retrospect I should have stuck to computing. Glad I resisted the urge to join the foreign legion and stuck to C.O.D.

V.T. Eric Layton, on 11 August 2016 - 05:13 PM, said:

I would have remained under that bike with my right leg roasting on the exhaust for who knows how long. FUN times!



Get back on the horse as soon as you can, mate. It's the only way you'll get over those jitters about riding again.

At least you would have had a hot meal whilst waiting, and home cooked at that  

I have actually been for two rides on the beast, short ones, but ssssssshhhhhhh don't tell the consultant. Realise it was a tad foolish but I knew the break had not mended and was careful not to place any excessive strain on the break. I just had to make sure I could still ride. An the rides gave me a great deal of stress relief.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

HAHA! A week after breaking my ribs/injuring clavicle (2002), I went for a ride at 2AM. It was painful. I didn't try that again for a bout two months after that.

[abarbarian]

Hmm busted me collar bone on 03-07-2016 and still have a busted collar bone. An they say the NHS is great. All I can say is hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

[LilBambi]

Man, hindsight is always 20/20 but with this info in hand, I bet you wish you had just gotten a car. Might have been cheaper (considering all the medical bills) in the long run and less pain!

Here's hoping and praying you will be much better very very soon!

[abarbarian]

LilBambi, on 31 August 2016 - 09:30 PM, said:

Man, hindsight is always 20/20 but with this info in hand, I bet you wish you had just gotten a car. Might have been cheaper (considering all the medical bills) in the long run and less pain!

Here's hoping and praying you will be much better very very soon!

Well I was always going to get a bike at some point. An I bought the bike at this time as the car was due its annual test and as it is 14 years old I thought it would be a waste of money trying to keep it on the road.
So the plan was buy a bike, cheaper to put on the road and 80 to the gallon so cheaper to run. Buy a house and then buy a decent car with any left over loot.
Plan was doing well for at least two days

Medical bills..................not here lass,,,,,,,,,,,,,I live in a civilized country where the state takes care of such things

As to pain well the extra now that all the bruising on the rest of me body has cleared up is no big deal.

[Capt.Crow]

look up . knitbone. Purple flowering comfrey. It's a bit medieval but one never knows . Those old warriors must have had some success after a rough joust at the tilts.

[abarbarian]

Capt.Crow, on 01 September 2016 - 05:05 PM, said:

look up . knitbone. Purple flowering comfrey. It's a bit medieval but one never knows . Those old warriors must have had some success after a rough joust at the tilts.

Ah ha the good old comfrey poultices. Tried them and ginger compresses. Also I have a NutriBullett  an have made , cherry, boiled beetroot and raw spinche leaf smoothies.

[Capt.Crow]

abarbarian, on 02 September 2016 - 05:08 AM, said:

Capt.Crow, on 01 September 2016 - 05:05 PM, said:

look up . knitbone. Purple flowering comfrey. It's a bit medieval but one never knows . Those old warriors must have had some success after a rough joust at the tilts.

Ah ha the good old comfrey poultices. Tried them and ginger compresses. Also I have a NutriBullett  an have made , cherry, boiled beetroot and raw spinche leaf smoothies.

Please do not be close to any naked flame after the spinach smoothies

[abarbarian]

Still got a busted collar bone. However after contacting my local MP's office I now have a date set for a plate and screw operation. If I remember correctly I think it set for the 5th November.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Remember! Remember, the 5th of November.

[abarbarian]

Had me op on 6th. Initial after x-rays look good. Seven day dressing change looked very good. Waiting for 14 day consultant looksee. Keeping fingers crossed. Heavy duty meds are boss. Sigh , guess I'll have to stop taking them soon.

[V.T. Eric Layton]

Long term prognosis:

[Capt.Crow]

Very good to see you are on the mend at last .

Wonder will you get cranky when you stop the meds .

[ebrke]

abarbarian, on 15 November 2016 - 10:41 AM, said:

Waiting for 14 day consultant looksee. Keeping fingers crossed.

Plate and screws worked very well for me, although for completely different injuries. A serious wrist fracture ended up with no disability at all after plate/screws and physical therapy. Same goes for a shattered calcaneus (heel bone)--plate and screws and PT some years ago, and I can walk 3 miles a day with no problems from that foot. (Good thing I don't fly--I'd have a bad time at airport metal detectors.)

Edited by ebrke, 15 November 2016 - 05:22 PM.

[abarbarian]

Capt.Crow, on 15 November 2016 - 02:14 PM, said:

Very good to see you are on the mend at last .

Wonder will you get cranky when you stop the meds .

Cranky ,,,,,,,,hmmmm only for a day or two. The meds were making me feel really strange so stopping them was quite a relief. I stopped smoking a couple of days before me op as the doc said it would really help with the bone repairing itself. Since I have been smoking woodstock style since the age of 16 I found it surprisingly easy. The fear of the bone not healing may have made the difference. had a couple of bifftas three times since so I recon I done pretty well.
Seem to be on the mend though had a scare two days ago as I had some bleeding from one end of the scar. Spent a scary afternoon at the local hospital. X-rays showed the plate and screws ok, phew that was some relief. Doc reconed that the knot from the self dissolving stitches was the cause of the blood leak. The stitches had dissolved inside the wound and left the knot outside which did not dissolve but had been pulled out of the wound by being caught on clothing etc. This had left a very small hole, hence the leak. This healed over and no more leaking. Phew I was well and truly spooked for a day and night thinking that stuff had gone wrong and I would have to do the whole op and recovery trail again.

Seeing the consultant on the 14th in the morning and am moving home down to Wales on the 15th, super fast (for me that is) fibre broadband connected on the 19th so expect to see me around loads as I will still be recovering and semi house bound and the winter weather will keep me inside too.

My thoughts and best wishes to the other members having a tough time this year.

Edited by abarbarian, 06 December 2016 - 03:29 PM.

[Capt.Crow]

Cymru.. boyo it looks like you are getting nearer to the ferry. I'll be looking forward to giving you a holiday and a few sessions in the bar. When you are settled and healed up .
Very good to see you are on the mend at last .
Bob amser yma i'w groesawu ar gyfer barbarian cyd-

[abarbarian]

Capt.Crow, on 06 December 2016 - 05:05 PM, said:

Cymru.. boyo it looks like you are getting nearer to the ferry. I'll be looking forward to giving you a holiday and a few sessions in the bar. When you are settled and healed up .
Very good to see you are on the mend at last .
Bob amser yma i'w groesawu ar gyfer barbarian cyd-

I;ll keep me eye out for cheap ferry deals then as I will be only  twenty five miles or so away from Fishguard.

Mind you I have a  estuary at the bottom of the garden and am thinking of getting one of these



so I guess I could walk down the garden and then paddle across for a pint.

[ebrke]

Glad to hear things are going well. Do be very careful outside this winter--falls are bad at the best of times but could be really problematic for you at this point in recovery!

[abarbarian]

ebrke, on 06 December 2016 - 09:08 PM, said:

Glad to hear things are going well. Do be very careful outside this winter--falls are bad at the best of times but could be really problematic for you at this point in recovery!

Ta. Yup I'll be extra careful on me feet. I intend spending most of me time on me butt shooting aliens and bad men till April at least. I have to be extra careful whilst driving too as the seat belt , obligatory in the uk, goes across the right shoulder and right across the break. So super super careful driving.