Dirt sucks.

[Lucifer Caitiff]

Monday I went out riding with my friends, we hit mulholland drive, rode the snake, then out to encinal canyon towards the beach. We go to stop at a turn out, I may have been going a tiny bit faster than I'd like but I was still confident that I had it. At the last second, just as I was coming to a stop, the front brake locked, I slid MAYBE 2 inches, but that's all it needed to come out from under me. I went down with the bike, but the bike went down on my left leg. As soon as I hit I knew something bad happened. I felt my leg twist in a way that it shouldnt have.

My friends lift the bike off me immediately, I try to move and my foot just kinda flops. Yeah. It's broken. Then the shock begins to wear off. Yeah..it's definitely broken.

I debate on whether or not to call an ambulance or call someone for a ride, but as the pain starts to get worse, I relent and say "yeah call an ambulance". The fire department shows up, put me in a splint and they take me to west hills hospital. After an xray and plenty of morphine, they splint me. The doctor there was really cool. I told her that I don't have insurance, she said that the best thing to do in this case is to leave against medical advice....and have somene take me to LA County at USC, but be ready to wait around a LONG time.

So thats what I do. I have no insurance. At the end of the day, I broke both bones in my lower leg, tib and fib. Surgery is scheduled 2 weeks from yesterday, they tell me it will speed up recovery.

I'm not going to stop riding, as soon as I can walk again, I'm getting back on the bike. Of course I'll take it slow, shake off the rust and regain my muscle memory and all that....but I'm going to ride again. My bike is fine, clutch lever is bent. Basically, for such a minor spill, it's the worst thing that could have happened. It was just one of those "**** happens" moments, I think, because I could have just as easily slipped on an oil slick while i was working on the car, or tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and done just as much damage. Of course it will still make me a better rider. Street tires don't do well on dirt, I think next time I'll make sure I'm at a power walk speed before I even make the turn out.

At least I got some bad ass pictures, inspiration to get my ass back out there

NOTE: I wasn't wearing gloves because I was cleaning my Knox Handroids. Otherwise I always wear them.

BTW...how bad ass is it that I used my motorcycle jacket to prop up my broken leg?

 

[chomorro]

OUCH, im glad your ok :thumbup:

First thing i did when i bought my bike is get health insurance and aflac accidental injury coverage LOL :rockon:

 

[CanadianFZ6]

Bad luck dude... If you were Canadian... you wouldn't have to worry about medical insurance... and our economy is better... Heal up and safe riding...

.... another example how an ABS equiped bike would have prevented this type of accident.... No doubt the ABS naysayers will throw in their rebuttal... :spank:

 

[chomorro]

How does this happen by the way? Does the slippage cause an automatic front brake lock? Or is it from gripping down on the brake after slipping? Sorry newb here

 

[CanadianFZ6]

How does this happen by the way? Does the slippage cause an automatic front brake lock? Or is it from gripping down on the brake after slipping? Sorry newb here

Clarify... are you asking how abs works or how the locked front wheel caused the accident?

If I understand you correctly... With any vehicle... the less traction you have the more likely you will lock your brakes.. unless your vehicle has abs of course... If you lock the front wheel on a motorcycle... you are pretty much going down...it happens so fast (happened to me once), there is little chance of recovery...So to state the obvious on loose or wet surfaces will require extra care (gentle braking), especially on motorcycles...

 

[VEGASRIDER]

OUCH, im glad your ok :thumbup:

First thing i did when i bought my bike is get health insurance and aflac accidental injury coverage LOL :rockon:

Yup, same here and don't forget life insurance! Especially if you have dependents or married.

Now would you have sustained this leg injury if you were wearing the proper protective gear? Meaning riding pants with armour. Shin, knee and thigh pads. Maybe you still would have, but again, maybe not, it coud have just been a minor off and you could have gotten up and ridden away on your bike.

Something to think about the next time you get on your bike.

Don't forget, if your front tire locks up, release immediately! And always pay attention to the surface. It will determine which brake you should apply.

 

[DefyInertia]

Ok we all make mistakes.

But dude you totally failed! Completely avoidable and riding a motorcycle in the canyons with no insurance...come on, man. Then going to the state hospital so the taxpayers can pay your bills? Getting right back out there once healed?

Maybe you shoudl get your affairs together and learn to pull over at a turn out without crashing before you go back to sport riding in the hills.

But really, hope the healing goes as planned...not fun. Hopefully they give you some good drugs to ease the pain. Good luck.

Bad luck dude... If you were Canadian... you wouldn't have to worry about medical insurance... and our economy is better...

Did you not notice the part about how he went to the place that offered taxpayer funded health care to him?

Your economy is much smaller and has less challenges to deal with, yes. Have fun up there.

How does this happen by the way? Does the slippage cause an automatic front brake lock? Or is it from gripping down on the brake after slipping? Sorry newb here

Brake, lock, slip generally. Operator error leading to a loss of traction plain and simple. Slow down before exiting the pavement and then come to a stop with your rear. If your'e good, you can use both brakes even to the point of getting squirly...but if you mess it up you may have a broken leg.

 

[DefyInertia]

If you lock the front wheel on a motorcycle... you are pretty much going down...it happens so fast (happened to me once), there is little chance of recovery

Not that I really disagree, but I've locked my front countless times on the pavement and the dirt (w/ knobbies that is). On the pavement it leaves a nice ~foot long black strip. To be fair, I've only done it when practicing stoppies or emergency braking (when very focus on my front contact patch...so maybe my experience is not that telling).

 

[rsw81]

@ Vegasrider: This kind of injury would have likely happened regardless of pants and/or armor. They are most commonly caused by the rider trying to put his/her foot down as the front washes out, causing a torque and axial load through the foot into the lower leg. Often times you have a 50:50 shot of the tib/fib breaking vs ligaments in the knee tearing up.


@ Lucifer: Whatever doctor told you to leave against medical advice (AMA) to go to LA County MC due to your lack of ability to pay (read no insurance) broke the law. It is the law in California for any emergency room to provide you with the proper care despite your ability to pay. Glad to hear it all worked out for you in the end, but what if you died on the way to LA County? That doctor would have been held responsible.

@ DenyIntertia: Well said. Agree 100%. This is one of the problems with our system is that people who should be paying for insurance abuse the system when it is convenient for them. I'm glad that we can provide care for anyone who needs it, but not when it's abused like this. If you have enough money to buy a motorcycle and take it for a fun ride up Mulholland, you have the money to buy health insurance.

 

[dxh24]

Yup, same here and don't forget life insurance! Especially if you have dependents or married.

Now would you have sustained this leg injury if you were wearing the proper protective gear? Meaning riding pants with armour. Shin, knee and thigh pads. Maybe you still would have, but again, maybe not, it coud have just been a minor off and you could have gotten up and ridden away on your bike.

Something to think about the next time you get on your bike.

Don't forget, if your front tire locks up, release immediately! And always pay attention to the surface. It will determine which brake you should apply.

I'm so glad i rode dirt before street, i learned alot of valuable stuff...I learned the hard way how not to brake quickly (too much front). So now that i'm on the street i know when to let off the front and let the back do the work, has saved me already!

OP: that sucks man heal up quick and get back on the saddle :thumbup:

Glad your ok!

 

[Norbert]

If your front locks up, release it and re-engage the brake.
In the dirt, you have more time to respond to the locking, since you slide more. That's my experience at least. You can slam that rear brake as hard as you want! I've never seen a rear brake lock up, except on the track. This is great in the dirt.....

As far as ABS...well I have ABS on my bike and we turn it off in the dirt. The bumps and wheel slippage confuses the sensor. I'm not sure ABS would have helped in this case. There are bikes with ABS+traction control that's good for the dirt and street, such as the Super Tenere. :rockon:
Not sure how well it works, though....

I'm glad you're ok, of course. Don't feel bad. I think this type of crash (or "mishap") is very common. Be responsible and get some health insurance. Can't afford it? Well, work on your career first before getting into motorcycles. That sounds judgmental, but hey, you bought a bike so you're obviously not living in poverty. Why not buy some health insurance? Or just ride around in Canada and mooch off of them! :Flip: :canada:

 

[Norbert]

@ Vegasrider: This kind of injury would have likely happened regardless of pants and/or armor. They are most commonly caused by the rider trying to put his/her foot down as the front washes out, causing a torque and axial load through the foot into the lower leg. Often times you have a 50:50 shot of the tib/fib breaking vs ligaments in the knee tearing up.

Would this have happened if he was wearing some good motorcycle boots?
Like the Sidis that restrict your foot from twisting, or even motocross boots.
I think the injury would have transferred to his knee and he would have twisted his knee very badly...

 

[Motogiro]

Get better man! Yup...watch that front wheel!

 

[dxh24]

Would this have happened if he was wearing some good motorcycle boots?
Like the Sidis that restrict your foot from twisting, or even motocross boots.
...

To answer that question: Yes it very well still could have. Being in MX for 15 years, i've seen guys completely shatter both the fib and tib with full top of the line motocross boots on.... when you're dealing with those kind of forces, 1/4" of plastic isn't going to stop it from getting cranked in ways it was never meant to.

I myself fractured mine with full on MX boots fitted correctly in a similar situation, bike fell wrong way, pinned leg, body kept moving... leg took the beating...

On the other hand it very well could have saved the leg. Although knee injuries are FAR worse than leg bone fractures as far as healing. lot's of times you'll go through multiple surgeries and still have to live with pain in your knee (believe me i've seen it).
A full size sport boot might have caused less damage but you never know.
Either way let us wish the OP getting well soon eh? :thumbup:

 

[Kaisersoze]

Im sorry to hear about your accident. I hope the healing goes quick! :thumbup:
As for the choice between broken bones or torn ligaments, I would say broken bones its the obvious choice I would take. Ligaments dont really heal well, period. Not a lot of blood flow to them to help the process and on top of that, as someone mentioned, more surgeries and greater recovery time.

 

[chomorro]

so what if he didnt put his foot out and just fell over grabbing the tank with his legs?? Would he then have had just some bruises on his side and arms if he was wearing good gear?

 

[dxh24]

so what if he didnt put his foot out and just fell over grabbing the tank with his legs?? Would he then have had just some bruises on his side and arms if he was wearing good gear?

Lol easier said than done... our bodies instinctively want to be vertical, and when something changes that, we automatically intervene.

 

[rsw81]

Would this have happened if he was wearing some good motorcycle boots?
Like the Sidis that restrict your foot from twisting, or even motocross boots.
I think the injury would have transferred to his knee and he would have twisted his knee very badly...

In short, likely yes. The boot will protect your ankle and foot, but that twisting motion with then just get translated up the leg further, possibly affected his knee as dxh24 already mentioned.

 

[Lucifer Caitiff]

I knew I'd get some flak, hopefully some thorough explanation will clear things up. This is a chance to learn, that's all. I've been riding almost every day for the past 3 years, racking up 45,000 miles in that short time. I'm obviously doing something right if this is the first major injury I've sustained.

One of the most important lessons I've learned, that makes me a better rider every single time I ride, is to always ask yourself "How could i have handled that better? What did I do right? What did I do wrong" even if you come out unscathed, always ask that question. It's the reason I commute with my gopro, so that if something happens I can study the video.

The insurance issue
I was actually in the process of getting insurance. I had applied for a blue shield PPO, they weren't going to approve me until I provided proof that I was sufficiently treated for the minor neck injury I sustained when I got sideswiped by an illegal lane change last year. I was sufficiently treated. I had JUST received the letter asking for that proof 3 days before I fell in the dirt.

The hospital issue
They splinted me, gave me drugs, etc. The idea of going to county hospital wasn't to leech off of taxpayer dollars, but even paying full price at county is cheaper than paying full price at the hospital i went to. That said, I'm a taxpayer, unlike 90% of the people that go to county, so I have every right to go there, dammit.

Protection
I was wearing knee and shin armor under my pants, the impact i took was from the side, from the weight of the bike coming down on me. It broke in the middle of my shin bone, not far enough down for proper boots to protect me. If you can find gear that would protect against the type of injury I sustained, I'll certainly put it on the high priority list.

Lesson learned
I knew this was certainly possible. I came onto the dirt just a little fast, not WAY too fast, but it was borderline...a little faster than I'd like. Next time I'll just pass the turnout, turn around when it's safe, and rejoin the group.


The future
I'm wondering if crash bars would have helped to keep the bike off of me a little better. I'm also wondering if I can find some ABS brakes to throw on the bike. All the guys I was riding with have BMWs, so they made that stop NO problem, even if they were going as fast or faster, they had better brakes, they all had ABS.

EDIT: looks like ABS might not be feasible...oh well. Next bike will have it, thats for sure.

I'd also like to get some experience with a dirt bike, just so i can learn how to better handle situations on the street.

 

[Lucifer Caitiff]

UPDATE

Surgery got bumped up. I'm going in tomorrow morning at 5am. This is good news. Hopefully that will speed up recovery dramatically. I'll get this stupid cast off my leg, and I'll no longer feel bones shifting around every time i have to stand up to take a piss