The Big One

Oh shit. That hurt.

After a half-day practice to learn the track on Friday, Saturday morning I rolled through tech and took to the track. First couple laps I warmed up the tires and picked up speed.

3rd or 4th lap of the session, the rider behind me (I heard later) saw puffs of smoke then a nice plume start coming out of my bodywork. Something in the motor had broken and was spewing oil on my rear tire.

At the exit of Riverside, a very fast long right-hander, I felt a little slide from the rear. New brand of tires and some pressure adjustments had me thinking no big deal.

After a short straight, the track takes a left-hand kink off toward the Lost Hills complex. But I never made it. Full-throttle in 5th gear (over 100mph), the now well-lubricated rear wheel slid out, turning the bike sideways, then it caught traction, flipping the Heritage Service Centre SV650 and its erstwhile rider skyward. A classic highside. See this for a representation of what it might have looked like.

I don't remember the flight or the impact, just tumbling along seeing sky, ground, sky, ground for a while. The rider behind me said I cleared the bike by a good 3 or 4 feet.

When I was sure I'd come to a stop, I started the post-crash inventory. Wiggle the extremities and make sure everything's still there. I sat up and started flexing various joints. I couldn't see very well because my visor was all scratched up, but it seemed that my left arm wasn't moving exactly in time with my efforts. Uh-oh.

The heaven-sent AFM medical crew was at my side in no time, helped me get my helmet off and walked me to the turn box. We got my leathers off the top half of me, and they made me a fantastic Boy Scout sling to immobilize my arm to my chest. I caught a ride with the crash truck over to the ambulance in the pits and we started taking inventory. Left arm jacked up in some way. Left foot very painful. Right knee had nice road rash. Luckily, that seemed to be the extent of it.

We decided to take the ambulance to to hospital in nearby (45min!) Bakersfield so I could get pain meds on the way. Long story short, the only significant injury was shattering my left humerus just above the elbow. After escaping Kern Medical Center and coming home in a splint, we found an elbow specialist at UCSF in San Francisco to take care of me.

I had surgery on 4/3 to screw it back together. We're looking at a long road to full recovery with physical therapy and probably some follow-up surgery in a few months to clean up scar tissue and extra bone.



So sadly, this will serve as the 2008 season wrap-up for Rusty Camaro Motorsports. I'll be out of commission and off the bike for quite a while as we concentrate on getting me functional in the real world again.



For shout-outs this time, I can't say enough about the quality protection my Helimot suit and Sidi boots provided. I beat the bejesus out of all my gear, and came out remarkably unscathed. The elbow injury probably couldn't have been prevented no matter what, and nothing else broke despite some pretty obviously heavy impacts.

And of course, when you mess yourself up to that extent, you become dependent on the generosity of those around you. I can't say enough to thank Dave C., Dave R., Ana the NMP and my other pitmates for taking care of me and my stuff. The AFM turnworkers and race organization are also without peer.

But of course, once I leave the track I am completely in the care of the lovely and ever-patient Michele, who has put up with more than her share of trouble during this episode. She's been by my side non-stop and has provided care, soothing, encouragement, and all-around love and support. I'd be completely helpless if not for her.

Cheers...