I can't feel sorry for "Roadrash Girl"

[Snowbird]

Hey, welcome back, Black Label. I posted on the old ST.N wondering how you were doing. I did not expect to see a progress report on you when I clicked on this thread, but I can see where you are coming from. Congratulations on your progress and keep us informed. I can only imagine how hard this is for you.

Black Label, be sure to look at this thread, so we don't lose your input:

http://www.sport-touring.net/forums/showthread.php?t=845

[PackMule]

Holy Fuck, BL.   I petered out on the old STn when the server got wonky -- missed the news of your accident.

Amazing how life can change in the blink of an eye.  Glad to see rehab is progressing.  Keep us posted on your progress.

[phoenix]

Hey, I saw your original story, roadrashgirl's got nothing on you. Glad to see you're walking.
 
I don't think anyone feels sorry for roadrashgirl, the general reaction seems to be that it was an stupid series of decisions that could have minor if she had been smart enough to wear gear.
 
By your account, you made all the right choices and continue to do so. I'd like to meet you one day.
 
Been wondering what happened to you, keep us posted.

 
my thoughts exactly. Cheers to you Chet/blacklabel.

[Tyrroneous]

This is great news BL.  5 months must've felt like an eternity.  I'm impressed by your will and determination.  Thanks for being a great example of what a positive attitude and a lot of grit and determination can accomplish.  

[Heath3n]

I'm sad to hear that it take more than a large percentage of a person's body to be covered with road rash before you can drum up any sympathy.
 
For the record...I feel sorry for both of you. I couldn't even begin to understand the pain both physically and mentally that has been suffered and I pray I never have to. From what I've gathered...no one really knows how your crash occured (unless I missed something) and it could have been just as stupid of a sequence of events as road rash girl. Fortunately you were smart enough to have on gear and it looks like you're moving on and well on the way to recovery. Congrats!

[spinalator]

I was wondering how you are doing, as I did not know of the name change. Good to see you are up and about, kudos for the recovery!

[Snowbird]

I'm sad to hear that it take more than a large percentage of a person's body to be covered with road rash before you can drum up any sympathy.

Heath has a point, I guess. But we motorcyclists somehow deceive ourselves into thinking we can control our destinies. Sadly, ultimately, we cannot.

[chornbe]

I'm sad to hear that it take more than a large percentage of a person's body to be covered with road rash before you can drum up any sympathy.
 
For the record...I feel sorry for both of you. I couldn't even begin to understand the pain both physically and mentally that has been suffered and I pray I never have to. From what I've gathered...no one really knows how your crash occured (unless I missed something) and it could have been just as stupid of a sequence of events as road rash girl. Fortunately you were smart enough to have on gear and it looks like you're moving on and well on the way to recovery. Congrats!

I don't feel sorry. I do feel bad that he got hurt, but I don't pity him or feel sorry for him. Facts is facts, folks... motorcycle vs. tree, road, car, truck, deer, etc., the motorcycle comes up the loser almost every time. We all know this. We all mount up anyway.


He, like every one of us, weighed the risk vs. reward of riding, and made a choice. He lost that day. Roadrash chick lost that day. But no one holds a gun to any of our heads and demands we ride. We make this choice. We pay the price some times. And while many collisions may be caused (directly or indirectly) by a driver in car or truck, the blame for being in that situation in the first place is ours alone.


And such is life.

[mxvet57]

congrats on walking again.
 
 i do remember your origanal story when it all happend. and just looked at it again. i still cant amagen what you were feeling when this was happening.
 
I have ben wondering where you have ben and how you were doing.
 
i can relate with what you are going through b/c i have a friend that was parlised from the wast down and today he can walk with the help of a cane.
 
dude keep your head up and you can beat the odds.
 
BTW i saw a pic of roadrash girl and she still dresses like a squid.

[jschmidt]

Nice lookin' leg. Congrats.
 
BTW Roadrash Girl is now doing public appearances at bike shows, presumably for a fee. Go figure.

[PackMule]

 
BTW Roadrash Girl is now doing public appearances at bike shows, presumably for a fee. Go figure.

Why do you say that like it's a bad thing?  If she can keep even one person from making the same, stupid, painful mistake that she did, why not spread the message?  If she's as articulate as the year-later article, she could be a good ambassador (though looking at her myspace page, I somehow doubt it).


Who's to say that BL won't go on to be an inspiration for amputees?

[Montyburns]

BL- Like Monsoon, after reading the original post about your accident, I've thought about you a lot and wondered how your are doing.  Every time I read about an accident I look for the thing that the rider was doing wrong (speed, conditions, decision making, etc) and then try to convince myself that I will not make similar mistakes.  However, when I read the post on your accident and saw that your are a very experienced and responsible rider and still had such a horrible accident, it really had an effect on me.  I don't know if you will every feel up to it, but I think that a lot of us could benefit from hearing your thoughts on riding, the risks vs. the rewards for you, and what you would or wouldn't do differently if you could do it all over again.  If that is not something you want to talk about, I sincerely hope you keep us updated on your life and your progress.  I think almost every one of us knows the same thing can happen to us.  

[Busa@11K]

Sometimes even when you do fucking EVERYTHING right, shit happens.  

Sorry to hear about your accident.  Yeah, I have to agree and say that the uncontrolled variables of riding a motorcycle is the only thing I don't like about the sport.  Sometimes it comes down to timing and luck, sometimes it comes down to variables that are no controllable as a rider.

Glad to hear you're making a good recovery and keep up the great work and attitude.

[tenbears]

First time I came across this, and its a very graphic lesson in what not to wear.

I think she's a very spunky lass and respect her massively for getting back on... and yes, I would.  

[OrangeSVS]

Congrats, ubetcha/blacklabel.

Hope you're still getting enjoyment outta that Strat!    

[tenbears]

 but something finally broke...

Jeeze... that's a badie... I feel for ya man. Hitting anything on an off is going to do serious damage. In my near on 30 years I've been extremely lucky... even in my despatching days in London... and despite being hit head on I've always walked away.

All the best for Chrimbo, m8.

[Bodhi]

Probably because your lights were off.

[Chet Ubetcha]

BL- Like Monsoon, after reading the original post about your accident, I've thought about you a lot and wondered how your are doing.  Every time I read about an accident I look for the thing that the rider was doing wrong (speed, conditions, decision making, etc) and then try to convince myself that I will not make similar mistakes.  However, when I read the post on your accident and saw that your are a very experienced and responsible rider and still had such a horrible accident, it really had an effect on me.  I don't know if you will every feel up to it, but I think that a lot of us could benefit from hearing your thoughts on riding, the risks vs. the rewards for you, and what you would or wouldn't do differently if you could do it all over again.  If that is not something you want to talk about, I sincerely hope you keep us updated on your life and your progress.  I think almost every one of us knows the same thing can happen to us.  

I can't thank everyone enough for what all has been said.  This is a really good idea, Monty.  Hopefully I'll get to an "in-depth article" like the "Queen of Road Rash" has done for that magazine.  

I stopped coming by the board for a while because I mentally couldn't be around active motorcycling.  I just wasn't ready for that yet.  I couldn't even see all my motorcycle magazines when they came in the mail.  My wife would drop them right in the garbage before the rest of the mail even made it to the counter.  

Things have gotten better upstairs.  I've had countless dreams of crashing since the accident.  Most of them involved blowing a corner in one way or another.  I don't remember the specific details of them beyond that, but I know that I've had them.  I have also had a handful of dreams where I bought another motorcycle post-accident.  It has always been a green Kawasaki Ninja 250....can't tell you why!  Anyway, no matter how many dreams I have, I have gotten better with being around motorcycling.  Even if I'm ever physically and mentally able to ride again, I'd never put my wife and kid(s) through the worry every single time I saddle up.  

Memory-wise, nothing has changed.  I still have no idea what happened.  No further ideas have surfaced, and I haven't seen the motorcycle.  Hell, I haven't even seen the Wing Safety report that was done on me!  Although I really do believe that some day in the future some time I'll see those final moments through my eyes either in a dream or as a sudden memory, I'm finally alright wiht the fact that I'm not going to know for the time being.  I may NEVER know, but it's not going to hound me anymore as it did in the beginning.

Some relevant things have been said so far.  One thing I'd like to address personally is that the ONLY similarity between RRG's accident and my own accident is the fact that we were both on motorcycles.  I try hard every single day not to be bitter about my situation, especially when I see someone streaking down the highway at insane speeds with nothing more than a pair of shorts and sneakers on.  Being on (and then OFF) a motorcycle is where the similarities end.  I WASN'T] going 120mph, I wasn't unaware of my surroundings, I wasn't underdressed, and I DIDN'T have a devil-may-care attitude about motorcycles and riding.  People treat these things like toys, when they aren't.  I hate to sound like I'm on some high horse, because I'm not.  However, there are serious differences between our thoughts and our actions pertaining to the world of motorcycling.  We both ended up seriously fucked up.  So, who was right in the long run...?

Other than that, I'm really not extremely bitter or upset about everything that has happened so far.  I believe that God has a plan for everyone and their life.  Whether that is what YOU believe or not is up to you.  However, I kinda have to believe that right now, otherwise I'd just end up crying myself to sleep everynight wondering what I did to deserve all this.  I had to make a conscious decision a while back and decided that I need to still be an active member of my family.  THEY certainly don't deserve this, so I am not going to make their lives any harder than it needs to be.  I think I've had a good outlook on things.  I have my days, but who wouldn't in a situation like this?  My wife has been my angel.  She became pregnant in the two weeks between my return from deployment and my accident (high five Nick!!!:D), and she has had a rough pregnancy so far.  She is sick every single day.  She has to take care of me now as well as our daughter.  On top of that she is still active duty Air Force.  I can't thank her enough for everything she does.

As evident by the pictures above, I finally got my prosthesis on Friday.  It's taken so long due to the extensive damage in my left knee and how unstable it's been.  Also, due to the lack of use, a contracture of my ankle has developed, and it takes quite a bit of coaxing to get my left foot to go plantar and beyond.  Some days it just won't go 90 degrees and I have to work with what I have.  Luckily, Friday was a good day for my ankle and knee, and the initial introduction with the leg went very well.  I refrain from saying it was easier than I expected to be, because God knows this shit isn't easy and I haven't even SEEN the tip of the iceberg yet, but it was definitely a different experience than I thought it would be...in a good way.  I have waited so long for this, and I'm really excited about the future therapy with it.  My wife was tearing up when she saw the smile that wouldn't leave my face.  

Future...  well, my future in the Air Force is still undecided by TPTB.  although I still get the smoke blown up my ass about how there shouldn't be any reason I can't remain on duty, I'm fully prepared now (and possibly even looking forward to) for life on the "outside".  I plan on attending the Luthier Institute in Vancouver for guitar repair and luthiery.  I then want to possibly work for myself doing local repairs and setup as well as possibly getting contract work from larger guitar chains such as Guitar Center and Sam Ash, who usually don't do in-house repair work.  I think this would be a great possibility to supplement whatever disability/VA money I'll be getting.  We'll still get the bills paid, and that is all that matters.  I'm working on my degree (which I've started accelerating again), and may one day try to follow a path to being a Physical Therapist.  Though working with older patients (such as in the VA) doesn't really interest me, I now have a soft spot for wanting to help those with lots of life left who have been in some sort of accident or something similar.  By the same token, I still would love to finish out my Air Force career and retire.  I want to retire, not seperate.  But, I'm not the one who makes the plans...

Anyway, that's where I'm at right now, physically and mentally.  I'm not afraid or upset in the least to talk about the accident and my life afterwards.  If anyone has any specific questions, feel free to ask.  I hope I've cleared up some questions that some people have had.  Again, I can't thank everyone enough for all the thoughts, prayers, and general good karma sent my way.  I'm surprised and thrilled to see that so many people not only remember the accident, but still think about it on a regular basis and may use my misfortune to plant that bug in their ear when they may be thinking about doing something stupid, or even if it just helps keep in mind that anything can happen at any time.  

Thanks again!

[Chet Ubetcha]

Congrats, ubetcha/blacklabel.

Hope you're still getting enjoyment outta that Strat!    

Hahahaha....  I still have it, though it hasn't left the closet since I got home from Jordan!  I recently bought a 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom which has been getting quite a bit of playtime.  

[boxjoint]

 I plan on attending the Luthier Institute in Vancouver for guitar repair and luthiery.  I then want to possibly work for myself doing local repairs and setup as well as possibly getting contract work from larger guitar chains such as Guitar Center and Sam Ash, who usually don't do in-house repair work.  I think this would be a great possibility to supplement whatever disability/VA money I'll be getting.  We'll still get the bills paid, and that is all that matters.

Cool. I have been doing woodwork for about 12 years now and started out by working on my own guitars and eventually building them. I don't play anymore (or build guitars anymore mostly furniture) but here is a good recource for you:
http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com

They sell woodworking machinery mostly but the president is a luthier himself. They have a supplimental catolog along with their industrial machinery that sells frettting supplies, wiring, fingerboard radiousing jigs et..

Good luck in your endevor and keep those spirits up!