I'm out of commission for a while...

My sort-of ride report from Enoree, SC 01/03/09. I made it 5 miles:

Hey gang!

I'm alive. So far. The wife hasn't killed me yet, but when the reality of cancelling our Hawaii trip two weeks from now sinks in, that may change.

Since several will want to know, I'll just tell you. Nice wide trail at Enoree, but quite slick in places. I had gone around one of the loops and had so much fun I thought I'd take another lap and catch up to my pals from behind. I realized I was starting to tire a little so I had gone to a short-shifting 'easier to ride in the mud mode' and slowed up a tick.

I was setting up for a turn, on the brakes, and the front just wouldn't stick, the bike kept drifting in the mud to the left -right into an cut/eroded embankment. One of those things that didn't look like it was going to be a big issue, but since the dirt in the embankment was so soft, when I hit it with a glancing blow (Sort of like when a race car brushing the concrete wall and pancakes the right side) my knee stuck into the soft dirt. Body stopped, bike kept going.

After the initial pain subsided, I thought I was going to be OK. At that time I thought I had just smacked the knee pretty hard like we have all done so many times. A rider on a parallel trail saw me on the ground and stopped to see if I was OK. As the rider took off 'her' helmet, I recognized her as Mel Brooks from Hendersonville, NC.

I managed to stand up, and Mel helped me pick my bike up (she did most of the work!) and I still thought I could get on it and ride off. As soon as I put weight on my left knee and tried to move, it buckled out from under me like it was made of cooked pasta, and I did an instant face plant. I couldn't get on the ground fast enough. I'm convinced I did as much or more damage then as I did with the initial impact.

The crew Mel had been riding with started to show up and they flagged down a utility ATV rider and they lifted me onto it and that guy carried me out to the parking area. One of the riders with Mel's group brought my Husky out a few minutes later. BTW, the Husky doesn't have a (new) mark on it. That was my 1st "moving violation" in over 1000 off-road miles this fall. I know some think I crash all the time, but in reality it's pretty rare. It's just that when I do, everyone seems to know about it 'cause they have a tendency to be 'big'.

The guys I came with loaded up all the bikes and gear and we headed for Asheville. I called my wife at work (hey, somebody has to work...) and told her she needed to come home and take me to the hospital as I had a 'suspected boo-boo'. We got to the ER and though none of the admitting staff would verbalize it, we all knew what the damage was.

After the X-Rays and the MRI, the ER Doc sez I've got a ACL tear, along with two other tears that I don't remember the names of. The only thing I heard him say was "You've torn 3 of the 4 ligaments that hold your knee together. You're going to want to contact a surgeon right away."

I've got to say, my first visit to Mission/St.Joseph Hospital was pretty good. Everyone was super nice and attentive, and I was out the door in 4 hours 10 minutes! I was real pleased.

The ER Doc called me at home Sunday to check on me! Can you believe it? He said that just after I left, the Surgeon he recommended stopped by the ER, and he showed him my MRI results. He told me the surgeon said "we'll be doing this one right away". Great. Is that good or bad? Good news is that after the MRI specialist reviewed my case, only two, not three ligaments are torn. My appt. with the surgeon is Tuesday morning. BTW, as long as I don't do something stupid, it really doesn't hurt. I've taken nothing more than Ibuprofin for swelling. Go figure.

Above all, I want to thank everyone who stopped their riding and helped me and my bike out of the woods Saturday. Without you, a bad situation would have been far worse. I'm sorry, but Mel Brooks and Mike Drake were the only riders I recognized out of the large group, but again, I thank you all. Riders are a special group and we take care of our own. Unfortunately this was my turn to be taken care of.
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Gary

Sorry to hear the news, hope you heal up quick.

Sorry to hear your injured but glad it isn't worse. Well wishes from south jersey and hope you heal up real soon Gary!

--gandalf

Sorry to hear about the injury, did the doc mention how long you'll be off your leg??? would crutches or one of them fancy shmancy knee braces allow your trip to continue??
It might be less painfull in the long run, depending how your wife takes, hope you heal up quick

Sorry to hear about your injury. Here's to a speedy recovery
I blew my ACL apart riding too. The swelling sucks!! Surgery is not too bad. A little rehab and in a few months and you'll be back on the Husky!

Remember scars are cool!

Tell them to put your whole leg in a cast,but with your leg slightly bent so you can ride your bike again,,,,,,,,,,,,,That really does suck though,,,hope things heal quickly for ya Gary.

There is nothing to bring us all back to reality than a serious injury. I'm sorry to hear about the injury and I hope you heal quick so you can ride again...sucks to be away from the Husky too long. It sounds like you are in good hands and have had a very good medical experience so far. I always use stories like this to smack me back down to earth before I actually get smacked down to earth on my own accord.

David

Get that knee rebuilt/ported and polished!! And get back on that horse best of health!! Wishes for a Speedy recovery!!! R

Did all this 3 years ago.... Start PT and leg strengthening now, before surgery. Start pedaling a stationary bike and get back on it as soon as you can after surgery. Stay off the motorbike at least 6 months after surgery. If your surgeon doesn't understand dirt bikes, find one who does MX riders. Best wishes for a quick recovery!
Norman

Heal well fellow Husqavite.

Don't forget the BMX racers motto....... "Bones heal, Chicks dig scars, Pain is temporary, and GLORY IS FOREVER" !!


Stroker Ace

Before I went to the surgeon's office, I had made up my mind that if this guy had an "attitude" about off-road bikes causing injuries, I was going to find someone else. Well, he had an attitude all right...

You're not gonna believe this. He comes into the room and asks me all the pertinent questions including how I did it. He wants to know EXACTLY how I did it. So I'm trying to explain what happened and somewhere in the story point out that I'm not exactly a rookie at off-road riding, getting ready to defend my position.

After telling him about glancing off the embankment, he says " I know what you mean, I've been riding a long time myself. I've got a BMW R1200R, and I'm looking for a dirt-bike to start racing the North Carolina Hare Scramble Series".

You could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather. I was stunned. I asked him what he was looking for and he said "Maybe a KLX450F...I havent' decided"

Without putting his choice down, I mearly pointed out that the Japanese perimeter frame bikes are a pain in the ass to work on, and you can't possibly get a plate on one in NC. "Have you considered a Husky? The entire TE line is 50 state street-legal..."

This led to 10 minutes of the Husky rebirth and it's purchase by BMW, which really opened his eyes. He pulled out his prescription pad, tears off a sheet and writes down cafehusky.com and sticks it in his pocket!

THEN,
I go downstairs to the physical therapy center to get fitted for my brace. The woman pulls out these fancy metal braces and sez, "since you're an off-road rider, we'll fit you with this type of brace that you can use for your rehab/PT, and then continue to wear it under your riding pants after you heal."

The brochure that comes with it has pictures of Grant Langston all over it with his testimonials about the brace. It's a $1000. brace! (my cost w/ ins. : $153.20)

Oh, BTW, the Doc is doing the surgery tommorow, Wed. 1/7.

Good luck with the surgery. Cool you have a surgeon that's like us. Maybe he'll treat you a little better than the anti-dirt bike guys.

BTW- My wife's Ant just got a ACL tear on Christmas morning just getting out of bed.