Brag and Drag 2006

[bandet01]

cool i will make it next year if i have to trailer the beast up there but hope to have it done in a few more weeks just a few more things to do to it

[TomKat]

Sounds like a good time was had by all. I do believe that I will have to venture across the border and check out the party next year, once our restore is done on our '79 XS Special. So plan away. I'll be needing a vacation about this time next year.

[Bob Falter]

Well, I finally made it back from Brag N’ Drag. Had a great time and met some great XSers. I want to thank Chevy for coming up with the idea and all the work he put in and Pain for helping to make it happen. I also want to thank Marty for not giving up on the thing back when we were the only two bikes going for sure and Cindy for the great food.

Like I said, I had a great time. Brent made a good room mate and I loved all the old XS rally stories. I’m glad I got to meet Sally. She was interesting to talk to and probably the smartest one of the group. It was good to meet Cruiser, a relatively close by XSer. Arlen, next spring I’ll be getting a hold of you and we’ll go for a ride.

It took me exactly one week longer to get home than I had planned. I just had to take highway 82 on the route back (we had ridden most of the other routes on our trip to Dubuque). I was within a mile of DeSoto, WI, (where 82 ends). I was getting a little over confident, too bold, too careless, and a lot stupid. Found myself in a left hand turn, scrapping a lot more metal than I should be. It felt like the back end was about to go out so I straightened up the bike a bit which made me swing wide on the corner and run onto the gravel shoulder. Would have still been OK if the road would have done anything other than make a hard right turn, but a hard right turn it was, and I came back on the road in the middle of what should have been my right hand turn.

I have always told myself that in this situation (with the bike being upright and going straight) I should clamp on the brake hard and try to get rid of as much speed as possible. Stupid tried to make the right hand turn. Hardly got the bike laid over before we went off the rode, into the air, and crashed into the hill that made up the other side of the ditch. I did get the XS laid over enough that it landed mostly on the suspension. I, lacking suspension, slammed into the side of the hill with my left side. I slid down into the ditch. The XS tried to leave without me but fell on its right side in the ditch next to the road.

After a long string of cuss words, telling myself just how dumb I was, I figured I had better do something before I passed out. The XS was about 12 feet away and had my emergency cell phone in the back bag. I tried to crawl on my elbows but my damaged ribs wouldn’t let me do that. I was doing good just to breath. After laying there for a bit, and thinking about passing out again, I pushed myself up onto my arms. Then I pushed my rear end up and got onto my knees. I could tell something was loose in my rear end. I crawled over to the XS and flopped down on my right side.

I got the cell phone out, turned it on, and “No Service”. So much for my emergency plan. At this point I knew that I had broken something in my rear end and figured that I had several broken ribs and probably a collapsed lung. During this time, two cars and a truck had gone by and none of them had seen me. After a “suck it up and git er done” pep talk, I got back up on my hands and knees and crawled the short distance to the top of the ditch.

It wasn’t long before a car came by going about 20-25 mph (the speed recommend by the signs and the speed that I wished I had been going). It was two women talking to each other. When they came out of the left hand turn and started into the right hander I was straight in front of them and waving. Women look at each other when they talk so they didn’t see me. The curve had some bank to it which put me up close to level with their windows. When they got right beside me the passenger, who was looking at the driver, saw me waving in the back ground.

They stopped and came to check on me. Their cell phones wouldn’t work either so one of them went up the hill to see if the phone would work there. Just after she left another person came by. This person was from DeSoto and went down there to call on a land line.

The local fire department came out with their EMT’s. Since I was having such a hard time breathing they said that they were going to “life flight” me out of there and got a board (gurney??) to put me on. I laid there thinking “They are going to slide me onto that board and it is going to hurt like hell.”. They did, and it did, but I was on the helicopter fairly quickly.

It hurt again when they slid me off the board onto a soft stretcher or bed. That felt like heaven. Things are sketching, to say the lest, over the next couple of days. I had given them my wife and daughter’s telephone numbers while we were waiting for the helicopter and someone got a hold of my daughter. The helicopter had taken me to Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI. I had a broken pelvis and a severely battered and bruised left side, chest, and back but no broken ribs or collapsed lung.

The staff at Gunderson Lutheran were the best I have ever had. I met a lot of interesting people and really had a good time, considering the circumstances. It’s not all that bad having a couple of young, good looking, women scrub you down. On the other hand I got to experience, for the first time, several things that I would have just as soon gone to my grave with out experiencing. I’ll spare you the details.

I just got home last Monday, one operation, seven screws, a metal plate, a lot of aches and pains, and several dozen pain pills later. They had to screw my pelvis and left heap together so I can’t put full weight on my left foot for the next 10-12 weeks.

Stupidity ruined an other summer, and I said I wasn't going to do that again. It has taken me three days to get this typed. I can’t sit up very long and I type slow. Haven’t checked any email or the XS11 web site but will start on that tomorrow.

Even through all that, I look forward to next year’s rally. Again, I had a great time. Also I have some great ride ideas. Did I ever tell you about this curvy road in Wisconsin ------------------

Bob

[Ken Talbot]

Hooooleeee cr@p, Bob! That's a heck of a way to end an XS rally, but I guess you probably already knew that. I'm glad you're still with us and able to write about it yourself, even with a bit of humour.

Rest up, take it easy, get better - next summer's riding season is just around the corner...


Speaking of humour, how's the bike?

[GNEPIG]

Hooooleeee cr@p, Bob!

.. Yeah, what Ken said!
glad to hear that you made it and hope you get better soon.

[Pain]

Dude - Bob - that sucks. Sucks really back.

I know Gunderson, Nice place. I guess I am glad you are on the mend (and able to be on the mend). Hope to see you next year!!

[Bob Falter]

Thanks for the all well wishes. Rest is about all that I can do at this point. I haven’t made it out to the garage to look at the bike but they say is not too bad. Some things broken on the right side. My son-in-law brought it home for me. When he unloaded it he started it up and rode it up the driveway and into the garage so it can’t be too bad.

Bob

[dewibp]

Holy CRAP x 10!!!! I've been wondering how your trip went. Man oh Man what a deal. I hope you are getting along better. I will be on vacation after Labor Day so maybe will come up your way.

[chevy45412001]

Holly???

Dang Bob, Sure sorry to hear about this. But glad your mending.And in half spirits. Hope to see you next year or sooner, Iowa wasn't THAT far away . Just git well soon. Our prayers are with you. (and i thought Bob was the sane one )

[MartyA]

I wondered why we didn't hear from you!! Actually I sorta kinda guessed...

Well now you can paint that beast like you thought you wanted to. Lotsa people have lotsa parts here. Glad you are able to tell us about it.

BE a good patient - rest up, heal well, we'll see you next year.

Now, tell me where that road is again...

[Bob Falter]

DEW - Come on up, I’m not going anywhere. I knew I needed that fairing I got from you for some reason, my Plexifairing is totaled.

Chevy - I’ll be there next year, thanks for the prayers. I fool a lot of people on the sanity thing.

Marty - Come over next summer and I’ll show you the road. I’ll let you go first.

My GPS tells me that I was doing 57 mph going into the turn but I wouldn’t put much faith in that. It has me at 118 mph at one point on the trip to Dubuque and we all know that can’t be right.

Bob

[chevy45412001]

118

NO we never went above 85mph.......ha ha ha

[cruiser]

Geez-Louise Bob,
I also had wondered why we hadn't heard from you. If I'd have only knowd I'm only 25 miles from Gunderson. Could have stopped in to assist you with the nurses.

Ya, our ride can wait till spring so heal well. I have been thinking about a couple of routes.

Funny how I seem to have heard a different story about the pace of that Saturday trip........maybe I was daydreamin.

Glad your back on the road to recovery, take it slow.

Arlan

[Bob Falter]

Yes it will probably have to be next spring. Even on the optimistic side, 10 weeks will be 10/25 before I can ride again. In our neck of the woods it is not likely we will get a warm enough day, that late in the year, to ride comfortably for about 400 miles. I sure screwed up the end of this summer. I turn 61 Oct 30, maybe then I’ll know better then?

Bob

[Pain]

Originally posted by Bob Falter
Yes it will probably have to be next spring. Even on the optimistic side, 10 weeks will be 10/25 before I can ride again. In our neck of the woods it is not likely we will get a warm enough day, that late in the year, to ride comfortably for about 400 miles.

I ride all year, and las year made trips to River Falls, about 300 some miles, to see my now-fiancee.

Not that I am upset I will not be doing it this year, of course. Better to take the extra time to heal.

Originally posted by Bob Falter
I turn 61 Oct 30, maybe then I’ll know better then?[/B]

doubt it.