What should I do

slacktide said:
BTW, minor = getting T-Boned in a turn by a car doing ~30 MPH. Dislocated shoulder, broken femur, broken tibia, 2 broken cuboids, broken talus, broken calcaneus, and all 5 metatarsals broken. Plus the sole of her foot was ripped off from the ankle all the way to the ball of her foot and was hanging off like a flip-flop. And yes she was wearing propper riding boots. Alpinestars S-MX 5.
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There is a boat owned by an orthopedic surgeon that is named after your wife.

Glad to hear she is doing better.
 
dell30rb said:
Sorry to hear about your wife.

I raced motocross for years and the danger level was acceptable to me. Plenty of bumps and bruises and a few broken units but for the most part, racing was probably about as risky as football or hockey for me. That's because, like flying I knew my skill and what risks were acceptable to take. I quit when I was 22, all of my friends were getting out of the sport and I started riding less than once a week. Like flying you have to stay current. Well, I couldn't stay current and I had to ride more conservatively which took the fun out of things.

I'm about 4 years away from racing now and borrow a friend's street bike occasionally to get my fix. This thread had me looking at bikes on craigslist. Really tempting but as Ted mentioned, I think street riding everyday would seriously increase my chances of a bad accident, where flying or racing you actually become less likely to have an accident the more you ride/fly.

Still I miss riding and might buy something. The drive to the airport is 30 minutes and the last 20 is out in the country.
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When I lived in PA I rode more regularly, but I've gone through stints where I got out of riding for various reasons, mainly because I felt like it was dangerous for how I rode. I also mostly owned sportbikes and other motorcycles that invited speed. It was hard to ride my RC51 below 90. So I understand how riding conservatively takes the fun out as someone who loved riding fast.

Then I did something weird - I started riding Harleys. I don't know what it is that makes them different, but I'm just as happy riding my Ultra Classic at 55 than at 85. And I am happy doing it - I really don't miss the speed of the sport bikes. Same for my wife's Street Glide or the Sportster she used to have. In fact, I used the Sportster as a commuting bike to the airport for a bit and probably never rode it more than 5-10 above the posted limit. It was fun and happy, so was I.

So the benefit to me is that I'm happy riding my Harley slower and more conservatively, which ends up being inherently safer. I also forget what your traffic is like, and where you ride makes a difference. I'd miss it if I couldn't ride at all, but I think more likely my wife and I will do backroad trips in a few years.
 
I've heard people state that they've died laughing.

(How does that work?)
 
People shouldn't go to hospitals. Those buildings are deadly!
 
steingar said:
Did the deer shoot back?
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On of my favorite Far Sides:

birthmark.jpg



And when we're all together in the same fly in, remind me to tell the story of a buddy who took his Aggie wife on her first deer hunt.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
It was hard to ride my RC51 below 90. So I understand how riding conservatively takes the fun out as someone who loved riding fast.

Then I did something weird - I started riding Harleys. I don't know what it is that makes them different, but I'm just as happy riding my Ultra Classic at 55 than at 85. And I am happy doing it - I really don't miss the speed of the sport bikes. Same for my wife's Street Glide or the Sportster she used to have. In fact, I used the Sportster as a commuting bike to the airport for a bit and probably never rode it more than 5-10 above the posted limit. It was fun and happy, so was I.
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I'm not necessarily worried about going fast. I feel my chances of getting taken out by a car are about equal if i'm riding my friend's ducati or my uncle's shadow V-Twin. That's the problem. I can ride well within the limits of my skill and the bike but I could still get t-boned or rear ended at a stoplight.

Traffic is the big deal. My commute to work is a mad house. However the weekend ride out to the airport isn't so bad.
 
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Oh PS If I were to buy a street motorcycle I couldn't pick. I have equally as much fun on a big V-Twin as I do on a fast and nimble sport bike.
 
bluee said:
Mine too! He was 87.
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Mine died at 92 years old. He was shaving in the morning, had a stroke, and hit the floor. Doc said he was probably out before he hit the ground. Was pretty much sharp as a tack to the end (but he did tend to repeat his stories about Guadalcanal... and I wish I could hear them once more.) I last spoke to him a week before he passed, he was telling me how he had put an ad in the newspaper to sell his riding mower because he bought a push mower to to get more exercise. We should all be so lucky.
 
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weilke said:
There is a boat owned by an orthopedic surgeon that is named after your wife.

Glad to hear she is doing better.
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You'd be surprised. Being an engineer, I kept ridiculous records on this stuff. Out of the ~650K, physician's bills have been around ~78k. Of that, ~36k was paid to her orthopedic surgeon and other doctors on his direct team. Anesthesiologists received about the same amount, the balance of the 78k going to ER docs. By far, the largest % of the bills have been hospital charges, closely followed by diagnostic charges (radiography, MRI, lab tests) Very eye opening.

For anyone in the Pacific Northwest in need of orthopedic services, emergency or otherwise, I'd highly recommend Dr. Stephen Benirschke, affiliated with University of Washington at Harborview. Hard to beat a physician who has been continuously active in research and publication his entire career. http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen_Benirschke/publications/
 
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dell30rb said:
Oh PS If I were to buy a street motorcycle I couldn't pick. I have equally as much fun on a big V-Twin as I do on a fast and nimble sport bike.
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Sounds like you and I are in a pretty similar position. Traffic is the big deal. Deer and such don't bother me as much, I think the deer are more intelligent than most drivers. :)
 
slacktide said:
You'd be surprised. Being an engineer, I kept ridiculous records on this stuff. Out of the ~650K, physician's bills have been around ~78k. Of that, ~36k was paid to her orthopedic surgeon and other doctors on his direct team. Anesthesiologists received about the same amount, the balance of the 78k going to ER docs. By far, the largest % of the bills have been hospital charges, closely followed by diagnostic charges (radiography, MRI, lab tests) Very eye opening.
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Hospital charges tend to make up the bulk of accident bills. Btw. is 650k what your insurer paid or is it the 'funny money' you were billed ?

Anytime someone tells me that they are comfortable with the 100k sublimit on their aircraft insurance I tell them that that covers a couple of broken ribs and a broken ankle and everything else is their responsibility.
 
Most riders in the TX hill country use bike-mounted whistles. During the national Gold Wing convention in Kerrville we did a night ride to the hotel in Bandera and I got to see the reaction of several mini-herds. All of them turned back before reaching the roadway, which was nice to see even though I was in the back of the pack.

Ted DuPuis said:
Sounds like you and I are in a pretty similar position. Traffic is the big deal. Deer and such don't bother me as much, I think the deer are more intelligent than most drivers. :)
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wabower said:
Most riders in the TX hill country use bike-mounted whistles. During the national Gold Wing convention in Kerrville we did a night ride to the hotel in Bandera and I got to see the reaction of several mini-herds. All of them turned back before reaching the roadway, which was nice to see even though I was in the back of the pack.
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I never put whistles on any of my bikes, although probably should have and that sounds like a good idea. The motorcycles I've owned and ridden typically have a significant exhaust volume to their exhausts, which I've noticed also can spook them as well. Meanwhile, a Goldwing has a similar volume to my dishwasher. Might look for some whistles to add - we have a bunch of deer around here, although fewer than in PA.

What year is your 'Wing?
 
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It was a 1500, now long gone and don't remember the year. I saw a silver 1800 with a for sale sign just down the street from the airport yesterday and was sorely tempted to take a peek. Then I looked in the mirror and thought better of it.

Ted DuPuis said:
I never put whistles on any of my bikes, although probably should have and that sounds like a good idea. The motorcycles I've owned and ridden typically have a significant exhaust volume to their exhausts, which I've noticed also can spook them as well. Meanwhile, a Goldwing has a similar volume to my dishwasher. Might look for some whistles to add - we have a bunch of deer around here, although fewer than in PA.

What year is your 'Wing?
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wabower said:
It was a 1500, now long gone and don't remember the year. I saw a silver 1800 with a for sale sign just down the street from the airport yesterday and was sorely tempted to take a peek. Then I looked in the mirror and thought better of it.
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I never rode a 1500. I rode a 1200 and it was the most top-heavy bike I've ever ridden. Rode an 1800 and thought it was a wonderful blend of sportbike and touring bike.

They make trike versions, which I like quite a bit. The Harley TriGlide is frightening to ride (but has great luggage space). I suspect Honda did a better job. I figure when I get old enough to remember when dirt was invented I'll go for one.
 
dell30rb said:
Traffic is the big deal. My commute to work is a mad house. However the weekend ride out to the airport isn't so bad.
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I ride in an area that has the most witless drivers on the face of the planet. Between the undergraduates playing with their iThingies to their grandparents driving while ancient, everyone around here is distracted as can be. It is an unusual day when I don't have to initiate some sort of escape maneuver to save my six.

The sport bike excels at this. I can pretty easily ride it below 90 (though faster is good...) but it's real virtue lies in the unbelievable acceleration, amazing stopping power and athletic adroitness. It is less comfortable than some Medieval torture devices, but I'll not give it up any time soon. It keep me safe.

My '83 Goldwing, on the other hand, is a free-range comfort zone. But if Murphy hands me a crap sandwich on that bike I'm a passenger, it hasn't the power to get out of the way and turns like a pig.
 
I think trikes are the worst of all worlds.

Ted DuPuis said:
I never rode a 1500. I rode a 1200 and it was the most top-heavy bike I've ever ridden. Rode an 1800 and thought it was a wonderful blend of sportbike and touring bike.

They make trike versions, which I like quite a bit. The Harley TriGlide is frightening to ride (but has great luggage space). I suspect Honda did a better job. I figure when I get old enough to remember when dirt was invented I'll go for one.
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wabower said:
I think trikes are the worst of all worlds.
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Agreed, but when I saw a vietnam veteran with no legs driving a GL1800 trike having a blast I thought it was pretty cool.

Now that I'm an amputee, its probably the only way I would ever ride again.
 
wabower said:
I think trikes are the worst of all worlds.
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When I was in college, I was considering turning one of my bikes into a trike/training wheels. The motivation was to have a motorcycle I could ride in winter with extra stability on potentially icy roads. A side benefit would be getting 40 MPG on regular for the 750ish mile trips back and forth to home, which I was making in a vehicle that got half the mileage on premium.

A Corolla would've been a more logical option, but as you know my vehicular thoughts are often based more on what I like than what makes sense. Anyway the project never happened.
 
bnt83 said:
We all know that once an accident like this damages your body, you'll never be the same again and as they get older and older the scars become more apparent.

Goodluck to you and the misses Dan.
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Truth! We're still each paying for getting hit in December 1973. Best of luck.

slacktide said:
Thanks. She's starting to do pretty ok... bit of a limp but we've been on up to 2 mile walks. Fully aware that this is a lifetime condition which will change over time. She started flying with me again a couple months ago... would have gotten started earlier if I had a Cardinal but the Tiger is not as easy to get into for a gimp.

It's funny. We were talking about risky passtimes at work. People think I am some kind of nutcase because I fly in a small plane, but barely bat an eye at the motorcycle. One guy I work with asked if I was afraid of dying every time I flew. He commutes 10 miles a day on a bicycle on city streets. I'd be petrified. I've had 5 people I know die on bicycles, one on a motorcycle, 2 in car accidents and 2 in aircraft.

I do notice that I've become more conservative in my own riding since her accident.
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I hope the progress continues.

weilke said:
There is a boat owned by an orthopedic surgeon that is named after your wife.

Glad to hear she is doing better.
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The orthopedic surgeon who has worked on my wife 3 times thanks us for contributing to their family trust fund. :D He's also a neighbor, so we see him on social occations, as well.

slacktide said:
For anyone in the Pacific Northwest in need of orthopedic services, emergency or otherwise, I'd highly recommend Dr. Stephen Benirschke, affiliated with University of Washington at Harborview. Hard to beat a physician who has been continuously active in research and publication his entire career. http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen_Benirschke/publications/
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I've got one in Olympia who is darned good, too.
 
The thing about wearing helmets on a mountain bike or a motorcycle is that if you make the choice to wear one, then there is something worth protecting . . .
 
comanchepilot said:
The thing about wearing helmets on a mountain bike or a motorcycle is that if you make the choice to wear one, then there is something worth protecting . . .
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I wear one because I don't want to be responsible for the damage my head will do to the pavement.
 
EdFred said:
What compound interest? No one is paying anything guaranteed. In the 80s and 90s you could get interest rates over 5%, now no one is paying anything (except limited time promotional) with the prime being ~3%
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Well, you can get into a decent mutual fund (I presume you're not rich enough for a hedge fund or we would not have this conversation).
 
DavidWhite said:
I asked for specific advice and then got told basically I was dumb - advice not even close to pertaining to the original question.
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So you're going to build that RV now, I can just see it ^_^
 
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steingar said:
All the disadvantages of a car and motorcycle all rolled into one. I wouldn't sneeze at a side-car rig though, they're cool.
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From long discussions with a former bike racer who shattered himself so badly he has to ride a sidecar-equipped BMW now... There's some significant negative learning that takes place that has to be unlearned for most bike riders when they attach a sidecar.

I (and really more he...) recommends pro training from someone who really knows sidecars if someone is making that switch.

He's been sidecaring it now for 15 or more years and out of dumb luck (I knew him from ham radio) was a neighbor one block away at our old place.

His bike accident also dropped him from his shot (pun intended) at one of the 70's or 80' Olympic air pistol teams. He was (and still is) a really damn good shot. Had a range in his basement (one benefit of match style air pistols for sure) and kept in practice all these years, but he lost a lot of mobility in his arm on his strong side and struggled with pain for over a decade.

Going to miss having him as a neighbor. If the weather was good, I'd see him and the BMW out tooling around at the grocery store, etc. If bad, he'd be in his black 4Runner. One of those folks that massive injuries never really could stop him, just slow him down a bit.
 
zaitcev said:
Well, you can get into a decent mutual fund (I presume you're not rich enough for a hedge fund or we would not have this conversation).
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How much are they paying that is guaranteed?
 
Ted DuPuis said:
Dan,

Sorry to read this as well. As someone who rides, the other cars are always my concern. That's also why I prefer flying to riding from a safety perspective: when flying if I die, it's probably because I screwed up! On a motorcycle it will probably be because someone else screwed up.

I've stopped riding to work because of this concern. The drivers around here are complete idiots and there are a number of very bad interchanges that invite crashes. Combine that with the little baby and my wife and I can't get away for a pleasure ride on backroads we're more comfortable with. So, the Harleys sit and look pretty in the garage for the time being.

Hope she's able to get back on the saddle soon.
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Ditto. Sold my GSXR last winter. Too scared of traffic to ride it to work. Too old and fat (me not the bike) to be competitive on the track any longer.
 
weilke said:
Hospital charges tend to make up the bulk of accident bills. Btw. is 650k what your insurer paid or is it the 'funny money' you were billed ?
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I believe that is what was actually paid to the various billers... I compiled the data from our blue cross / blue shield claims paid info.

Ambulances alone were $6000... $3000 for a 10 mile trip from accident site to our local hospital, and the same for the 30 mile trip from the local hospital to the level 1 trauma center.

Not that I can complain, as we learned after the accident, Harborview is the only level 1 trauma center for all of Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. Imagine THAT ride if you needed it.
 
slacktide said:
Not that I can complain, as we learned after the accident, Harborview is the only level 1 trauma center for all of Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. Imagine THAT ride if you needed it.
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Well, one of three things happen:
- you will be treated at one of the level II trauma centers in those states and stay there
- you are treated at a local facility (leveled or not) and shipped to harborview after initial stabilization
- you take a loong ride in a helicopter or a combination of ground ambulance and fixed wing.


I work at a level II facility. Similar to the situation with harborview, the next level I facility is another 185nm east of us. Now, if something happens between us and the level I facility, the patients of course go east. If something happens west of our location, it would be very uncommon for a patient to bypass us for another hour and something worth of helicopter ride just to go to the higher level facility. Occasionally, patients get transferred out for burn-care or to get their pelvis put back together.

Our hospital is scheduled to go from II to I next year. Mostly a difference in the amount of money committed to research and the depth of staffing in the surgical departments. It's mostly something the marketing folks can use to put on the billboards.
 
slacktide said:
I believe that is what was actually paid to the various billers... I compiled the data from our blue cross / blue shield claims paid info.

Ambulances alone were $6000... $3000 for a 10 mile trip from accident site to our local hospital, and the same for the 30 mile trip from the local hospital to the level 1 trauma center.

Not that I can complain, as we learned after the accident, Harborview is the only level 1 trauma center for all of Washington, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. Imagine THAT ride if you needed it.
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How can ambulances cost $6000? That's ridiculous.
 
bluee said:
How can ambulances cost $6000? That's ridiculous.
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The promise that "government" provides ambulances is as bogus as the government providing ATC services at Oshkosh.

Most municipalities charge you / your insurance a significant dollar amount. They're not a true government service anymore.

In some municipalities you get charged more if you're not a resident. Personally I think anyplace that does that, the surrounding municipalities should reciprocate only for the residents of the place doing it, just to make it slightly more fair.

Dad's ambulance ride the day he passed away was about a mile and a half with Advanced Life Support in the South Metro Fire Rescue District which basically covers almost all of the South Denver Suburban area. Bill was about $3K. South Metro has some of the best budget around, very new gear, and is doing quite well. They just know they can do even better if they charge out the wazoo.

I suspect there's folk who are poor enough they're paying off ambulance rides on high-interest credit from their collections agency over many months.

Ambulance rides haven't been paid for as part of "government" here for a long time. The only protection we do have here is a 911 call gets whoever the dispatcher has available. In a non-emergency you can call any of three or four private ambulance companies if you don't want to use the city/county/district ones.

Not many people do that. But they can. There's competition but you have to be aware. 911 sometimes uses the private companies as overflow also. Most of the private companies stay busy and in business transporting nursing home patients, and other patients around under contracts.

It's a strange little business. Not cheap either. I love the response times but the property taxes going to South Metro are pretty high for something you have to add $2K per mile or two (in the suburbs) to make up their shortfall. They're not really lining their pockets either. They do equip well compared to some districts, but not overly so.

They're latest gadget is a digital voice for dispatch. That is interesting. No more medical dispatch by human voices. The computer does the talking after the dispatcher hits send. The system also transfers the address/location to the laptop in the ambulance and displays a map for the driver. Pretty fancy.
 
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