Without a plane, unfortunately the laws of physics suggest I can’t so there was no need to attempt to prove it, however once again the road conditions conspired against me in my travels and I was ejected from my bike at about 100Kph, while heading north on state highway 1, April 6th 2017.
There was the tail end of a rather nasty storm over the country so the conditions were very wet, certainly not ideal, but nothing to really be to concerned with. That would be if it weren’t for New Zealand’s poor road maintenance and design, chip seal is very effective until the base tar bleeds through in the heat then cools to form a surface with limited traction in the dry, and when its wet well traction is sometimes optional, not a big deal in a car where if one wheel is compromised you have three others that are hopefully stable, on a motorcycle loose traction on one wheel and you have lost fifty percent of your contact with the road, and your stability, which is exactly what happened on this occasion.
After a short flight, of a few meters I impacted with the road, during the flight there was time to think to make the conscious decision not to land with my arms outstretched, which could have lead to broken arms, hands, or collar bones, so I tucked in, (training helps, if you take enough of it, and of course listen), my landing was not pleasant, but thanks to spending on decent gear I was intact but not entirely unscathed, my right glove was shredded but amazingly that hand was completely intact, my left glove looked fine but my pain receptors were telling the hand inside was not in it’s normal state, and when the glove was tenderly remove my little finger was at an odd angle, it wasn’t difficult to tell it was badly broken but that didn’t hurt to badly, my ribs however were my source of pain and causing me difficulty breathing, thankfully I was not far from assistance, the car in front had seen me go down and another was behind fast enough, emergency services were called, in New Zealand when outside of most larger towns, (even close to some), the first responders are the volunteer fire service, and thankfully being just one kilometer from Dunsandal they were onsite in a few minutes and thankfully they had oxygen on board which aided me with my breathing while we waited on the Ambulance to arrive. It was cold and to be honest I was starting to go into shock both from the pain and the cold so things get a little hazy for a while until I was in an ambulance and warming up a bit, until once again the shock took a hold and I passed out briefly causing a little concern to the the ambulance officer so we pulled over and I was attended to by the paramedic who was following in a car behind.
The trip from this point was uneventful, well until the question. I was asked is there anyone I should call? Umm yes I guess we had better inform my wife her number is on my phone under ICE, (hey if you don’t know already have a number on your phone under ICE, which is short for in case of emergency), and well that number was known to Helen, (the ambulance officer), she had kind of just got off the phone to nearly the same number, she had been speaking to the emergency department at Christchurch public hospital , the main section of the number was the same just a different extension so there was very probable Kerry could be there waiting, thankfully by the time we got there Kerry had been and returned to work leaving instructions to be called on my arrival.
Having been in the emergency department a few times over the years for various reasons, (not always related to accidents), I never knew there was a room that looks as if it could be used as an operating theater, things you learn, anyhow there was a full team of folks there prepared and awaiting the arrival of some really messed up person involved in a serious motor vehicle accident, so that wasn’t me right? No cant be, oh it is me. I heard one doctor make a remark that there was no way I had crashed at the speed I had and sustained so little damage, (not quite famous last words but to their eyes I was in nearly perfect condition), x-rays were taken, an ultrasound, and a CT scan, which confirmed my suspicions re the ribs, not broken but fractured, and my finger well that’s a story on its own, and this one has gotten long enough.
Just the two of us 