Revisiting Risk: The Accident

This post is about my friend John and the accident he was part of when his BMW motorcycle hit the side of a garbage truck one morning on the way to work. This happened a long time ago now --- in October of 2007. The circumstances of the crash don’t matter.

Physically the accident was a tragedy. John suffered severe trauma to his right leg as a result of the collision and after 14 months of surgical and medical combat a life threatening infection led to an amputation. He's now moving towards acquiring his first prosthetic leg.

A simple question comes to me from time to time as I think about John and his journey. He has remained pretty optimistic most of the time and seems to plan ahead to new adventures. It would be easy to take another path in this situation.

What would I do if I was involved in an accident?

A recent ride home from work. I’m traveling 50 mph in the right-hand lane of a four-lane road. A silver Dodge minivan is slowly passing me on the left. Ahead and to my right at a stop sign is an SUV waiting for a chance to cross both lanes and turn left to head back into town. My eyes scan the road ahead, the van to my left, the front wheels of the SUV. My head is calculating options. The SUV driver is watching the approaching traffic waiting for the precise moment to move their foot from the brake to the accelerator. I can see their face, their eyes. We are all involved in a complex dance of behavior, choices and decisions. Options fade quickly as we reach the point of no return. The moment when there are no options should anyone fail to do their part. It’s a moments like these that I think about my friend John.

I don’t think about motorcycle or scooter accidents a lot. I know they can happen and I know that risk can be managed to a great extent. Responsibility falls squarely on my shoulders in taking and managing them.

Back to my question. What would I do if I were in a bad accident? I’ve talked to others who have given up riding after a near miss let alone a collision. Would I do that? There really is no way to tell for sure what I would do but I have to say John’s experience has been instructional in a way I would not have thought back when it first began.

John Rides Again

John was not a recreational rider. Riding was part of his life and who he is. He wrestled with the question himself and yesterday boarded a plane for Florida to pick up a motorcycle and ride it back to Pennsylvania. That’s quite a ride for the first ride after an accident, minus one leg, and no prosthetic leg yet. I talked with John last week and he told me that all the amputee support groups and counselors advise he continue on with his life like nothing happened.

His decision did not sit well with everyone. His minister said in a letter that John shared that his decision to ride again amounted to nothing more than a big “fuck you” to everyone who cared about him through these past months. I asked John what his wife thought about a new motorcycle (she is an MSF instructor) and he told me that she said he would be one with the bike by the time he got home. John took that as an affirmative response.

In case you are wondering what motorcycle he is going to get and how he is going to manage it sans right leg it is a 1983 BMW R100 RS with a sidecar. A big ugly side car. But as John said to me one big enough to hold his wheelchair.

He had a friend make him something that will allow him to operate the foot brake with what's left of his leg. Looks like something a BMW rider would think of.

On Tuesday morning he is planning to begin his trip north with trips to Deals Gap and along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I would not be surprised if he changes his plans and makes the first ride another Iron Butt Ride. He’s done two now I think. Those BMW riders are, what’s the word, CRAZY, yeah, that’s it.

But again, the question: Would I ride again after a serious accident? I would like to think I would. I think riding occupies a place in my life that is important in a manner that probably only other riders might understand. I don’t dwell on this but I have been thinking of it lately. I don’t believe that accidents are inevitable or even likely. I believe a lot of risk can be managed to make riding safer.

Anyways, I wanted to share what I thought was a courageous decision on John’s part amidst a bad situation. But he seems to have found his rhythm again.

Join me in wishing him good luck and safe riding.

The (Potential) High Cost of Riding

Various views of John's skull

My friend John underwent another surgery on his leg yesterday, a bone graft to fill a piece of bone that was missing as a result of his motorcycle accident last October. The surgery went well and to his surprise was an outpatient procedure. John's recovery has been slow and frustrating at times but he is coming around. I know a lot of you have asked or wondered how he has been doing and when a recent dispatch arrived from John the other day I thought it would be a good time to share it. All the pictures displayed in this post are courtesy of John.

I also thought it serves as a good reminder to anyone venturing out on two wheels to do so with open eyes and be aware of the potential risk and that each of us should do what we can to manage them. And accidents are just that -- accidents.

John is a serious rider putting thousands of miles on his BMW. He's seen below just before departing for New Mexico on an Iron Butt ride.


Always the comedian he is pictured below with his new ride.


Anyways, if you want to read John's latest dispatch that he prepared and distributed in a Microsoft Word document you can download it HERE.

I must warn you that it is graphic in its display of his injuries. John retells the medical story of his stubborn leg wounds and treatment complete with color photos, X-rays, the works. But mixed in throughout the story is his humor and indomitable spirit.

Two-Lane Blacktop

A colleague at work recently began riding. About the same time he spread his blogging wings and has slowly been moving forward on both fronts. Jonathan is riding a vintage BMW R75/7 airhead in wonderful condition. I'm not sure the precise year but it is definitely a fine looking machine. Jonathan shows all the makings of a serious rider and blogger but as those of you already involved in this type of enterprise know it is a struggle sometimes to figure out how to fit it into an already busy life.

So I thought I would introduce his blog, Two-Lane Blacktop, to everyone so you can perhaps watch it develop from infancy. I am always curious about the directions taken by riders and writers both in the world and in a blog.

Jonathan and I have not ridden together but if I can coax him out onto the road this winter you may see that black BMW in pictures with the Vespa GTS.

Update on John's Surgery

I spoke with John on the phone a few minutes ago and he is in good spirits and all signs are positive concerning today's graft surgery. Surgeons drilled into the bone and saw blood indicating that the bone was alive and well, skin was grafted over the exposed bone and if it takes he could be back home, or at least at a facility in town by Christmas.

We talked a bit about his future on two wheels but I will leave it to him to comment in that area. He may post here or send me something. We both agreed that it is a personal decision that no one else can make.

A Prayer for John

Riders everywhere often feel some level of connection to other riders when an accident occurs. My friend John will be undergoing surgery this Friday and I ask that you consider taking a moment to say a prayer for him. Even if this is not something you do or believe perhaps you would pretend this once. What could it hurt to add to the positive feelings in the world...

John sent the letter below to friends and family to let us know what was in store. I hope none of you ever have to send such a letter.


Dear All,

The surgeons haven’t made a final decision on the procedure yet—either a major skin graft, a muscle graft from above the knee, or else attempt another flap using part of the gastroc (calf) muscle. They will confer on the approach and let me know, but we got a green flag from infectious disease, whom the plastic surgeons thought would be very conservative and make us wait two weeks. The ID doc said, “Now or never. It doesn’t make any sense to wait; if they can do this next Friday, that would be fine.”

So, apparently the infection is down enough that it won’t harm the graft – they weren’t sure whether the dying graft caused the infection, or the infection killed off part of the graft. But the wound is now very clean, and the infection is diminished, so here we go.

All the doctors are saying they want to avoid the free flap surgery, which takes muscle from the stomach, and then they microsurgically attach healthy arteries and veins in the leg to the transplanted muscle. Dr. Bitterly says that procedure has about a 70% success rate, and he would only do it if it were “4th and 99, and we’re not there yet.”

He also said that sometimes the patient and surgeons reach a mutual point of frustration, where it’s just not worth it to go on. He says we’re not there yet either. His colleague, Dr. Harter, who did all the orthopedic work, is fond of saying, “Save the leg, lose the soul.” In other words, the leg can really take over the focus of one’s life. But we still have two arrows in the quiver—this Friday’s graft, and the free flap, should that become an option.

So, positive attitudes, thoughts and prayers everybody. It’s kinda like a televised World Series—they always take it to Game Seven. Well, that’s enough sports metaphors. I hope this finds you well, and that things go smoothly this Friday and after. Will keep you posted, and thanks for all your kind thoughts, prayers and support all along.

More later – love, John

Looking Down the Road at Risk and Regret

I’ve not posted in over ten days and I have been avoiding this one for over a month – from the time my friend John rode his BMW into a garbage truck on the way to work. The Pennsylvania State Police cited him for riding too fast for conditions. As John commented “You should be able to stop for something as large as a garbage truck.”


His well ridden (Iron Butt rider) motorcycle won’t see any further service and sets in pieces at his home. And physically the future is cloudy.

His injuries were severe with a month in intensive care and weeks more in acute care. Dozens of medical procedures, operations, and hundreds of thousands of dollars later he’s still in medical limbo on whether he’ll be able to keep his right leg.


Multiple compound fractures, infection, and failed muscle grafts have created a ponderous challenge for John and the medical team. The hospital he's being treated in has wireless internet access so John has sent numerous dispatches in the way of images, PDF files, and PowerPoint presentations.


I've included a few to give you an idea of the physical nature of his injuries. I've not included the more graphic ones from early in the process.

For the past few weeks I’ve noticed the accident is present while riding. Situations appear while riding that requires consideration and assessment. That process has come to include a scenario for catastrophe – a direct result of thoughts about John’s accident. I’ve always been aware of the risk that comes with riding but I have begun to wonder about regret.

Like pilots who don’t talk about crashes I question my own mental turning of this subject. For good or ill it is the way my mind works and I don’t easily let stuff like this pass. No matter who or what is at fault in an accident a person is left with their own situation. And I suppose everyone would regret an accident, a bad decision, an unfortunate circumstance. I ask myself thought would I regret ever having gotten on the Vespa if I found myself in John’s situation. If I was spending time looking at an injured leg not in control or sure of what was going to happen. Would I? Would you?


Weighed against those thoughts is the question asked at the end of my life “Would I regret it if I stopped riding or never rode at all?” That answer would be different for everyone and dependant on what place riding occupies in a person’s life. For me, riding is more than transportation and it surpasses recreation. It touches something spiritually fundamental in me the same way photography and writing has. I would be diminished if I stopped riding.

Many riders do stop after an accident. I’ve not considered stopping nor have I become fearful on the road but something has changed. Perhaps I’ve matured. John and I have not talked of regrets but he has said the accident has put him at a major life crossroad. He’s not sure if he’ll be able or willing to ride again.


Surgeons have attached a vacuum pump to the severe wound on his leg in hopes of eventually making it ready for a muscle graft to allow the leg to finally heal and save his leg. It’s a day-by-day assessment.

So I continue to ride to work and make the occasional trip through the countryside with my camera. Riding down the road I’m aware that I am solely responsible for anything that happens to me. I’m not talking about legal responsibility but actual responsibility for living. It’s not a matter of right and wrong. I am the one who has to live in the circumstances I find thinking about this stuff has taken a bit of the luster from the road.

NO Scooter in the Sticks

Six hundred miles from home and the world seems a bit different. Alligators, live oaks, and birds I’ve not seen before. This is a No Scooter in the Sticks entry though. The Vespa is home resting while my daughter and I visit relatives in Georgetown, South Carolina.

The ride down did give me ideas of excellent rides--- the Blue Ridge Parkway being just one. I’ve seen lots of scooters down this way. More than I ever see in Pennsylvania.

Not much time to write and things to do but just wanted to say hello and give a brief update on my friend John. Surgeons put his knee and femur back together and repaired the damage to his face. They still have to repair his lower leg but the swelling is still an issue so that will wait a bit longer. He has been moved out of ICU and into a wing for special injuries so that’s a good sign. He’s in good spirits and everything is looking good.

Trauma 13

While I was on my way to work under clear skies farther south in another valley my friend John was riding his BMW R100 to work in fog along a main artery for commuters. Shortly after 7AM his motorcycle slammed into a garbage truck that pulled into the road as he passed.

Emergency responders came to his aid quickly and took him to a local airport where he was flown to a trauma center. Upon arrival he was designated Trauma 13. Seeing that there is no room 13 in the Intensive Care Unit is was odd that there would be a patient designated Trauma 13.

John’s wife is an instructor for the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. She told me the visor of his helmet was completely covered with blood on the inside. You couldn’t see in. She arrived on the scene minutes after the accident. They didn’t know the rider’s identity but she recognized the pieces of his BMW. And the helmet. As I talked with her at the hospital she told me that she would be planning a funeral if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet.

The oral and maxillofacial surgeon showed us 3D images of his skull. As he manipulated the images to explain the damages it was unnerving to see how fragile everything looked. John was fortunate that the damage was minor. A black eye, a few hairline fractures, and only one small displacement in the bottom of the ocular socket.

John is a lifelong rider. He’s done the Iron Butt and cross country rider. He’s a daily commuter and wears all the gear. While the gear won’t prevent a collision it will help minimize potential damage. He was in and out of sleep when I visited and at one point he asked me where he was and if there was an accident. After briefly explaining the circumstances I told them they had to cut off his new Revit jacket. He responded with “Aww f**k!!!”. While the doctors already confirmed it I knew there were no brain injuries.

The worst damage occurred to John’s right leg that hit the truck door. Since the truck was pulling out into traffic to move to the next pickup he probably hit at a deflected angle which helped minimize damage but his femur was still in pieces and the patella shattered. Looking at the x-rays I thought about former Washington Redskin's quarterback Joe Theismann's leg break during a game with the New York Giants.

An orthopedic team will begin reconstruction Friday morning if the swelling has diminished. Their biggest concern at this point is infection since the bones breached the skin. The armored pants helped keep road dirt and grime on the outside. A pair of jeans would have things dragging through the dirt.

It’s sobering to visit a friend and fellow rider in a hospital. It’s hard not to switch places. It had me reassessing the risk. I haven’t ridden since but only because work has kept me in need of my Ford Ranger. I’ve thought a lot about being Trauma 13. And I know I’ll continue to ride.

John has a long recovery ahead but I suspect he’s already thinking about what to ride next.

Godspeed John.

A Deer and Riding Story

Morning Fall

Since my Vespa is still in my garage as I narrow down the potential problems I wanted to share this video with you. The landscape reminds me a a forested area near here that I ride through and has many deer. While I slow to almost a crawl I have seen groups of riders fly through the area seemingly indifferent to any danger the deer pose. This film is a reminder for the need to make good decisions while riding.

The film, Morning Fall, was written and directed by Edward McGinty and submitted to the Moving Pictures Short Film Contest.