Saturday, September 28th, 2002 is the official last day of the riding season for the West Bank Motorcycle Club. True, there will be many more days of group riding for the members this year, but this is the last day on record for organized rides for the club.
As usual, we assembled for the start of the ride at Whiskey Junction. Don Drew is the road captain for the ride. Two of the members are tied for first place for the most rides this season. And, sure enough, both showed up for this ride too. It was a cold and dreary day. I put on my electric jacket liner, and yes it was cold enough for me to appreciate it. At least the
weatherman seems to think we may not get caught in any rain for this ride. Before getting started we got a group photo. Pictures are very important for the last ride.
	I was rider number 9 in a group of 14. It didn’t start off that way. Two were kind of slow getting going when we started. They joined the group a little while into the ride. I think it was shortly before we went over to the Wisconsin side of the river. I guess I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have to the speed. Instead I was just maintaining a proper distance from the rider in front of me, and that is pretty normal
for a group ride. We were going around a left turn. It seemed like a 90 degree turn on a two lane road in the country. As I started around that turn I saw that the second half was covered with sand. I remember thinking sarcastically to myself that this was going to be a lot of fun. That fun never had a chance to get started. Just then I heard the sound. The sound of my bike grinding on the pavement as I leaned into the curve. I was leaning far enough to bottom out in this curve! That was going to make the sand all the worse. That thought flashed through my mind in less
than a second, and then I realized that my faithful 1500 was doing something all by itself! It had started going for the side of the road. There wasn't much over there either. A very short stretch of gravel and then the ditch. An almost straight down gully of several feet. I realized I was going to be a mess no matter where I went. A short ways down the road were trees. I just didn't want to go as far as those trees. This picture shows my track going right up by the trees. I don't remember doing much of anything. Just trying to stay on the bike as it bounced along that ditch. The trees ware coming up fast and
there wasn't much I could do about it. Just as I could reach out and touch the nearest, I became aware of the throttle. I gave a little gas, and that lovely LC just turned sideways and climbed up the side of the bank, and right back on the street! I know God had a lot to do with that! I looked back at the turn and saw the bikes behind me entering it. I rode on down the road to avoid being in their way and really having an accident. I checked the mirror and realized that they weren't coming. Now I wondered what happened to them. Just then a lone rider came out of the turn and rode up and told me that another had fallen in that curve. He went on to catch the ones in front, and I went back to that turn.
Jac and his wife Dona had crashed their Intruder 1400. The bike didn't look like it was too badly damaged, and Dona was up walking around. Jac was lying on the ground hurting pretty bad. I tried to get off the bike and found that my foot and leg hurt real bad when I tried. The EMT came over and we decided I was going to ride to the hospital in an ambulance.
At the hospital Dona found out she was OK. Jac had some bad bruising but that was about all. Me, I had a broken leg. The big bone in my left leg was broke, but not out of place. It was held there because I have a metal rod that runs lengthwise through the middle of the bone, from a previous injury. When my doctor saw it, he said there wasn't a lot to do. He put an immobilizer on me, and I have to stay in bed. It is non-weight bearing.
I am told that these old bones that have been broken before take a lot longer to heal. It's only been a short while, but I'm already going nuts. I'm sure glad I had this laptop laying around. I was flat on my back for about six weeks, and then a week on crutches before I returned to work. I want to extend a thank you to those that hung out at the hospitol with us. I thought it was comforting and I was grateful for it.
This last picture shows the ambulance we rode to the hospital in. More interesting is the backwards view of the curve that did all the damage. We came around it from the other side, and if you look closely, you can even see the sand on the road. This ride was truly the last ride of the season for the WBMC and me.