Cancelled due to broken legs, details later.

First topic message reminder :

TOG Ride 20 January 2013

This is a medium pace ride. A medium Pace ride is where you can pass the ride leader to enjoy the roads and your bike, but you need to be aware of upcoming route requirements. If you make a wrong turn you are on your own.

This ride is also being organised on another forum. it is not an exclusive NSWBandit ride.

Ride leaves Dayboro skate park parking area, Mt Mee Road at 8:00am, 7:45am meet, greet and rider briefing.

There are only a few planned stopping points along the way, see below, but we will stop as required to regroup if we become too strung out. There are points along the way where we will be making turns. We will stop at all the major turns as required on the day, plus at times we will try to slow the ride down for turns so the group bunches up. Slower/less confident riders will be accommodated as we will regroup as required.

Stopping Points:
Dayboro at the skate bowl car park, also meeting point for riders coming from other directions;
Mary Cairncross Park for a toilet break and drink if you need it, there is a Cafe;
Mapleton BP for fuel stop (and split up if required) and toilet break (~180kms from Dayboro);
Montville Pub, Montville, stopping for lunch;
Mary Cairncross Park for a toilet break and drink if you need it, there is a Cafe;
Then back to Dayboro skate bowl car park arriving at about half past.

Route is shown from/to Dayboro.
The ride is around 300kms as shown taking approximately 5 hours excluding stops.
https://maps.google.com.au/maps?saddr=Dayboro+Pool+%26+Gym,+Williams+Street,+Dayboro,+Queensland&daddr=Mount+Mee,+Queensland+to:D'Aguilar,+Queensland+to:Wamuran,+Queensland+to:Newlands+Rd,+Wamuran,+Queensland+to:Scurr+Rd,+Wamuran,+Queensland+to:Beerburrum+Road,+Elimbah,+Queensland+to:Old+Gympie+Rd,+Beerburrum,+Queensland+to:Bald+Knob+Road,+Bald+Knob,+Queensland+to:Burnett+Lane,+Reesville,+Queensland+to:Booloumba,+Cambroon,+Queensland+to:kenilworth,+Queensland+to:Mapleton,+Queensland+to:Montville,+Queensland+to:Kirby+Road,+Palmwoods,+Queensland+to:Palmwoods,+Queensland+to:dent+park+to:Tunnel+Ridge+Road,+Mooloolah+Valley,+Queensland+to:Maleny-Stanley+River+Road,+Wootha,+Queensland+to:D'aguilar,+Queensland+to:Mount+Mee,+Queensland+to:Dayboro+Pool+%26+Gym,+Williams+Street,+Dayboro,+Queensland&hl=en&sll=-26.800094,152.816906&sspn=0.048878,0.098791&geocode=FfcIYf4dKPMbCSGO28hKk4eq0ylLpysGePiTazGO28hKk4eq0w%3BFT3IYv4dThgbCSk54ZvioA6UazGQkd7zWqMCBQ%3BFQE1ZP4dN4IbCSmryCkGtQqUazEght7zWqMCBQ%3BFUtnY_4dIX4cCSkFJy0QMfSTazGwnN7zWqMCBQ%3BFYXXY_4d0ascCSltpt9sJ_WTazEhnenaB3t_uw%3BFZc3ZP4dxugcCSmd1QLBO4uTazFjZy3kUjjyHQ%3BFZHvY_4dVsYdCSnp4fbXM_OTazEwde2vlIZhdQ%3BFVfrZP4dBVodCSkXsrBNEoyTazGd48uEI7NbNA%3BFXUBZ_4dqBYdCSk_6Cj6FoaTazHRN4OTffyVUQ%3BFZppZ_4dl1IbCSlzHIRqRniUazHm5Q_Z4V9olg%3BFXBaaf4dQLYZCSlZuy9kAX2UazFGHyg2u6E11w%3BFVswav4dUW8aCSkzINZgL36UazGQwt7zWqMCBQ%3BFWvBaf4df44cCSnN0pfbln-TazGwwt7zWqMCBQ%3BFY-_aP4d2_UcCSkpltgbB4GTazHwq97zWqMCBQ%3BFQ6CaP4dEk0dCSl3UVqre4GTazGQyBOIwv1KYw%3BFUXLaP4d4PUdCSmrx56dn3iTazHwrN7zWqMCBQ%3BFd2jZ_4dwGseCSGgaSLXW6MCDymvNse1n4STazGgaSLXW6MCDw%3BFTp1Z_4dZSkeCSlPYK459ISTazERfz9zidoOVw%3BFQNhZ_4d9McbCSnTjRNCFniUazFW7p1obH7F0A%3BFQE1ZP4dN4IbCSmryCkGtQqUazEght7zWqMCBQ%3BFT3IYv4dThgbCSk54ZvioA6UazGQkd7zWqMCBQ%3BFfcIYf4dKPMbCSGO28hKk4eq0ylLpysGePiTazGO28hKk4eq0w&t=h&mra=ls&z=10

Rider list of attendees:

That sucks big time TOG, hope all comes good for you, & good luck with your recovery.

Geez TOG sounds like a nasty accident that one, hope your recovery goes well. All the best to you and your family.

Graham

Hammy wrote:... So what is your real name ? Can't really ask to see TOG.

ps. How are the nurses.

LOL, Hammy at RBH Reception. "I want to see that other guy". Reminiscent of "Who's on First?" by Abbott & Costello. The look would be priceless.

Its Sean Harrison, Ward 7A Sth Bed 10.

ThatOtherGuy wrote:

Hammy wrote:... So what is your real name ? Can't really ask to see TOG.

ps. How are the nurses.

LOL, Hammy at RBH Reception. "I want to see that other guy". Reminiscent of "Who's on First?" by Abbott & Costello. The look would be priceless.

Its Sean Harrison, Ward 7A Sth Bed 10.

Cheers Sean.

Well that sucks . All parts still being attached is good though .I'll keep a coldy in the fridge for you when you can visit (buy car )

Holy sh1t!!

Hope you have a speedy recovery TOG. Dont worry about a walking stick holder - should be easy to make. One of my mates had a rifle holder on his GPZ900........it got plenty of attention from the boys in blue!!

TOG,

Thinking of you. Hope as each recovery day passes, you are feeling better body & mind. Stick to the positive thoughts, ditch the unhelpful (they don't serve) I look forward to seeing your stick holder.

Thanks for all the positive thoughts from everyone, it is appreciated. The following are extracted from another forum which is locally based in Brisbane:

I also take a serious part and involve myself in my recovery, making sure to remember to help with liaising between the teams to the point that Professor Daryl Wall, reputedly one of the best surgeons in Australia is taking a personal interest in me and has insisted I call him by first name, he is like the rock god of surgeons and always has an entourage around him when moving about the hospital. He is nothing short of impressed with the efforts I am going to to ensure nothing is missed or forgotten, that everyone is fully appraised of the other teams and their efforts and said to his students he actually considers me part of the team.

And the staff here are simply fantastic, they bend over backwards to make sure everything is right.

Anyway, you cannot keep a good man down, here's my two wheeling efforts from today Tuesday. Bear in mind I still have 5 broken ribs while I do all of this, I've gone from having around 12 different lines/tubes trailing of my body to only one. My belly is distended due to bloating and wind:

Laura the physio initially assisting me, she is fantastic and nothing is too much trouble.






You can see ThatOtheMotherInLaw in the right of this picture, well part of her anyway.


Me storming the wards trying to see what the max speed is. The chair needs a tune up, it pulls slightly to the left.


The line/tube coming from my stomach is a Vac dressing and the only tube I now have. In true style I was able to rig up a set up so I can attach the Vac pump to the wheel chair so I can be totally independent when rolling around, prior to that, someone had to carry the pump around following me. The Physio, Laura was very impressed with my setup. Basically the Vac pump is sucking out bad stuff from where the eColi infection was that had me staying in ICU for the extended period. It gets changed every three days. Now for those not squeamish I have photos of that wound, some of which I think do even show my intestines and the sutures in the abdomen muscles. If you’re squeamish, do not open the photo album. This is what impresses Daryl, I keep the camera handy so that if he is not present for something, I can show him pictures to keep him up to date with progress. As a sign of his class, in the second photo, you see his blue gloved hand unpacking the wound for the first Vac dressing, he's wearing a pin striped suit, cuff linked shirt while he works on me pulling out the dressing. There was about 20 registrars and residents around my bed in ICU for that session, he is a true gentlemen and a scholar. What he doesn't know is not worth knowing.

WARNING CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/104270840696369527324/albums/5836550614649366033/5836550615736641394

I am determined to be out of hospital for my daughter's 20th birthday, five days before mine in late February.

I'm also determined to leave using only crutches and not a wheel chair.

My next goal is to be able to become semi independent in traveliing to/from RBH for follow up sessions ie using public transport.

Then I want to be able to have all my health checks done to determine if there was a medical reason that was the root cause of this issue as potentially indicated to me by some doctors at the RBH (and some other issues that I have had). And if so get a plan in place to resolve them.

Finally my goal if I can resolve the above is to ride again, hopefully the mental hurdle is not insurmountable.

So today Thursday I went outside and rain on my face never felt so good. I had my RBH lunch first then TOGirl and myself went outside into the courtyard so she could have hers and we could have some time together outside enjoying some real air. Had some Sprite which I have been looking forward to since ICU ( I apparently snuck one sip in ICU but cannot remember that). Felt great to sip some fizzy lemonade and burp a lemonade burp, the simple things.

Ortho's have me down for surgery next Tuesday and barring a catastrophe I'm a lock as they have a consultant coming in to supervise the operation. That costs. The operation will have them remove a tendon from my left hamstring (there is apparently four so they are sacrificing one for my knee) and then use that to rebuild the knee ligaments in the right knee, a total reconstruction.

I feel lucky in so many ways. I was riding solo, ThatOtherGirl was not involved. Though my injuries are quite serious and extensive, I am determined to beat them down as much as possible. I decided to wear leathers instead of "casual" safety gear such as textile jacket and kevlar jeans, the leathers saved my left foot apparently due the compound fracture, foot may have actually been pulled off rather than just lower leg broken.

Thanks Sean for being so candid and open about what you are going through. It is a sobering thought to us all. Sorry I have not gotten in yet. The rain has come. and I will come over on the bike once it has cleared.

I was asked by one of my regular riding buddies if I minded doing this ie tracking my recovery and I honestly do not. If it helps someone in some way then its a positive thing.

great post TOG ..................the photos were a bit like a train wreck..............not sure if you want to see , but can't look away LOL.

hang in there buddy .

The surgeons really appreciate the photo updates I give them as they are not always here for dressing changes. Today the surgeon said the dressing is being changed tomorrow, I'm not rostered on, do I need to ask, course not I said.

Damn. At least you're still above ground and breathing naturally.

Did the driver of the 4WD get charged with anything?

Not the 4WD drivers fault, I crossed to wrong side after a black out. In fact the driver when he realised what was happening, started slowing down to a near stop and with my estimated speed of 40~60km/h means the eventual terminal speed was lower.

An update:

Surgery postponed. Had some random high temperatures last couple of days. Surgeons are just concerned if there is an infection it could transfer into the knee reconstruction. If that happened it would render their work as wasted and I would need a knee replacement to fix the resulting problem. I have to respect that. I don't want a replacement knee as they need changing every 10 years. Too young for that.

Do they know what caused the black out? I hope it's nothing serious.

My brother used to suffer from 'blackouts', turned out to be caused by sleep apnea. Since he started sleeping with the machine, and started watching what he ate and drank, he's been good.

I hope it all works out for you.

The surgeon who operated is a friend of a friend of a friend. When he (the surgeon) found out the link he did come to me privately to talk about causal issues and identified some things I should look into. At the time of treatment I had low blood sugar levels and the ambos were struggling to keep my heart beating over 25~30BPM. Also my wife's colleague alerted her to a few things his daughter suffers from. On researching this particular problem, its like a shopping list of unrelated complaints that I suffer from, nothing major on its own in each one, but each one together makes for a serious problem. I have been seeing my GP for quite some time trying to get all these separate complaints seen to as separate complaints. Now I have some clarity, I will be having these matters investigated with clear direction on finding a solution, holistically.

TOG its so impressive that you have such a positive attitude toward your situation, i hope that it all goes well and your up and riding again soon .

My only advice to you is stay away from doctor google as it will tell you are terminal and have 22 days to live

Stay strong

Thanks Jim. I figure I have two options and positive seems to be in general the better of them. It helps that I had lots of stuff sorted like income protection, loan insurance, a good strong wife and the like, so not having financial worries means I can just concentrate on recovery. Never under estimate getting your affairs sorted out.

Here's an update from the last day.

Woke up this morning with tears of joy in my eyes. Why you ask? It was the first solid 6 hours of sleep I have had in weeks. I was ecstatic, just to be able to sleep through has been fantastic, I feel rested, I feel relaxed, I feel ready for the day more than I ever have since being here.

So the day’s challenge today will be more physio and a chest X-ray.

But the one thing I am really looking forward to is seafood laksa for lunch. Its not on the hospital menu, its being brought in from the outside. You see usually a bunch of cycling mates and myself get together every Thursday lunchtime for chinese food at a place called Jackpot in the city. They (my mates) have graciously sacrificed some flexi-time to go and order takeaway and will bus it out to have lunch with me. I have already lined up the nurses to let us use the microwave to reheat the meals before we go outside and enjoy the messiness that is seafood laksa.

Its going to be a great day, I can feel it already.

PS. Spoke with the trauma rehab doctor in the evening last night and he is determined to find out what caused the accident. So while an inpatient, he is referring me to the various specialties for testing. He identified 4 possible causes including the one I had identified and he wants me to be tested for each of them in turn in the hope of identifying what the cause was and how I might manage it in the future. He doesn't want me back under these circumstances again and I do not want to be there.

I have compiled all of my posts into a Google doc journal so that friends who do not visit moto forums can keep up to date. The journal is here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PjGR4vFYPI5BDpYhJfLqx203fQiTHQ6V187IsYq55rA/edit

b12mick wrote:Do they know what caused the black out? I hope it's nothing serious.

My brother used to suffer from 'blackouts', turned out to be caused by sleep apnea. Since he started sleeping with the machine, and started watching what he ate and drank, he's been good.

I hope it all works out for you.

I have a problem with sleep apnea its not good, you feel tired and restless, you can black out during the day in a flash. They refer to this as a micro sleep. I have not had the full testing done or have a machine yet. I have been trying some other methods first. Keeping my weight down with food and exercise and sleeping with a mouthguard at night. The mouth guard actually pulls your lower jaw forward opening up the airway in the back of your throat. So far this has worked and for the small cost of having two mouth guards ($70) i am so far happy with the results and think i have put off the expense and discomfort of sleeping with a machine.

TOG you are an inspiration to us all your positivity is amazing and I wish you a speedy recovery. My best wishes to you and I hope they find out the cause soon and that it is treatable.

Thanks Mpottsy, as I say to everyone, I have two options and I choose positive. The alternative just doesn't seem to be an option for me.

Mpottsy wrote:

b12mick wrote:Do they know what caused the black out? I hope it's nothing serious.

My brother used to suffer from 'blackouts', turned out to be caused by sleep apnea. Since he started sleeping with the machine, and started watching what he ate and drank, he's been good.

I hope it all works out for you.

I have a problem with sleep apnea its not good, you feel tired and restless, you can black out during the day in a flash. They refer to this as a micro sleep. I have not had the full testing done or have a machine yet. I have been trying some other methods first. Keeping my weight down with food and exercise and sleeping with a mouthguard at night. The mouth guard actually pulls your lower jaw forward opening up the airway in the back of your throat. So far this has worked and for the small cost of having two mouth guards ($70) i am so far happy with the results and think i have put off the expense and discomfort of sleeping with a machine.

TOG you are an inspiration to us all your positivity is amazing and I wish you a speedy recovery. My best wishes to you and I hope they find out the cause soon and that it is treatable.

The machine is expensive yes, but my brother tells me it's not that uncomfortable, although he admits it does somewhat inhibit middle of the night shenanigans.

TOG, best of luck and keep that positive attitude.

Thanks b12mick, its not too hard when you have and keep positive people around you.

Thanks so much for sharing your story, reminds me that I am not 18yrs old and bullet proof, (something that seems to happen whenever I get on my bike). I've been wondering how long it will take until one of our mechanically minded forum members sends the hospital a wheelchair with a bandit heart to power it.

Please keep the updates coming, photos and all. All the best with your recovey, with your attidude I am sure you'll be back on the road in no time.

Yeah hope to be riding, but only when I know what caused the accident.

I had joked about strapping a Bandit engine into the wheel chair, that would be mean and fast. Probably wouldn't corner well though.

I was looking for something else and found this thread and thought I would post an update just in case anyone was interested.

Its been 7+ years since the accident. Around 15~16 operations to get me back to a new normal. I walk with a stick but not for long distances. I am classed as mobility disabled and have a permit.

I started riding again about 4 years ago, bought a Vstrom, it didn't really give me the buzz the Bandit did. As a joke last year a mate sent me a link to a Bandit for sale, I went, I saw, I traded. Its a 2012 model, about 70k on the clock, but its mine and has brought the enjoyment back. Installed a PVC walking stick holder on the Ventura rack where my disability parking permit also resides.

Riding has become one of my new sanity checks, with Covid-19 and being immuno compromised (asplenic from the accident), I work 100% from home now and hardly go out at all.