Lost with Mike
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        • Day 6: Antigonish, NS to Meat Cove, NS
        • Day 7: Meat Cove, NS to Port Aux Basques, NFL
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        • Day 6: Hogan’s Lake to Catfish Lake
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      • Trip Preparation
      • Day 1: (Sept 3, 2010)
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      • Day 3: (Sept 5, 2010)
      • Day 4: (Sept 6, 2010)
      • Day 5: (Sept 7, 2010)
      • Day 6: (Sept 8, 2010)
      • Day 7: (Sept 9, 2010)
      • Day 8: (Sept 10, 2010)
      • Day 9: (Sept 11, 2010)
      • Day 10: (Sept 12, 2010)
      • Day 11: (Sept 13, 2010)
      • Day 12: (Sept 14, 2010)
      • Day 13: (Sept 15, 2010)
      • Day 14: (Sept 16, 2010)
      • Day 15: (Sept 17, 2010)
      • Day 16: (Sept 18, 2010)
      • Day 17: (Sept 19, 2010)
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69'000 miles on a      Honda Ruckus named
La Tortuga

Taken down by Isis in NC

4/13/2018

6 Comments

 
 As far as riding days go, it didn't get much better than the sunny and mid-60's weather of March in NC.  Departing Charlotte toward Hanging Rock area in north-central NC, I stuck mostly to back roads and avoided Hwy 29 when possible.  The GPS was set to bicycling mode which often takes shorter routes or those with less of an elevation change.  It was this rerouting that let me down N. Yadkin Ave in the small town of Spencer, NC.  The 20 mph residential street was busy with a car stopping to talk to the neighbor. Slowing, I was waved past the car and then continuing uphill at about 20mph.  I see two women talking in the driveway ahead on the right.  As I'm coming to the corner of the sidewalk in this shot, I see movement and notice two dogs running toward me out the opened gate of the driveway.  In less than 15 feet, the larger of the two dogs, a stocky pitbul named Isis, ran perpendicular from the driveway toward my front wheel.  The enlarged eyes, snarling jaws and deep barking grew ever larger as the vicious dog charged at my front wheel. Before I had any opportunity to veer left or slow down, for speeding up is not an option going uphill on a loaded Ruckus, a solid thud rocked the front of the bike.  In a fraction of a second, my front wheel struggled to roll over the meat and bones and I can still hear the squeal and whine of the dog lodging between the front wheel and frame.
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So forceful was the initial impact that I later found dog excrement exploded on the front of my floorboard.
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The front wheel immediately was butted to the left by the impact of the hefty dog.  When the back wheel hit the body, it stopped the bike cold and I was catapulted forward over the handlebars.  Leading with my head, the right side of my helmet impacted the ground as my shoulder slammed into the mirror and bent over the windshield. My next memory is laying on my back in the street with the blue sky overhead and music still playing in my headphones. Reaching up with my right hand to turn it off, I noticed I couldn't get the hand up to the helmet. I reached down with the arm to lift myself up but had no support and a searing pain in my shoulder. OUCH!  I rolled forward and looked for traffic before notcing the two women who had been in the driveway running toward me in shock.

They helped me lift the bike up, something I quickly realized I could no longer do without the use of my right arm.  Lifting the bags from the roadway brought intense pain so I unzipped my Aerostich jacket and felt my collarbone.  Pointy and nearly sticking through the skin. Not good.
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I knew I was in shock but I had to let that pass before I could assess the level of trauma and damage.  In the mean time I had a casual conversation with the two women while reattaching luggage and single-handedly repairing broken mounts with zip ties and gorilla tape. Ever try to tear Gorilla Tape with one hand? Ha! They suggested I go to the hosptial and not ride away on the bike so I assured them that was where I was going. 

The pitbull I hit was nowhere to be found.  When I questioned the home owner as to whose dog that was, she claimed she had never seen it before and didn't know where it belonged to. Maybe the neighbors up the hill?  I noted the house number, took a picture of the sign and intersection but without the dog around, there wasn't much else for me to do here.  I soon learned that riding with a broken collarbone is no walk in the park. Easier than riding with broken ribs but painful nonetheless.  It was somewhere around the city line that I realized I should head back to get the name and phone number of the home owner just in case. Returning, I knocked a few times before a younger woman answered the door, the grand daughter of the home owner who had helped me back to my feet earlier.  When asked about the pitbull, she seemed crestfallen and admitted that the dog was named Isis and it was her pitbull.   It hadn't returned yet and we all feared for the worse.  I handed her my journal full of travel stories and on a blank page she reluctantly wrote down her and her mother's name and number.  With great difficulty I remounted La Tortuga, found a level of blissful paint tolerance and cranked out another 2.5 hours of riding 55 miles to my friend Jay's house.  

The only text I had sent was to my buddy Matt to mention I had the wreck.  I'd wait to alert the folks once I knew how bad it was.  Pulling up at Jay's, he and his wife, Alli immedaitely came outside. It was clear Matt had texted them.  Once I stood up, my slumped right shoulder was an easy tell that I had broken my collarbone.  The bone nearly poking through the skin was the confirmation.  I slumped into the bolstered bucket seats of Jay's BMW 328is for a twisty ride to the E.R.  Alli's background in radiology meant I had another professional eye on the whole image but even a child could see that my clavicle was fractured.
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Non-union fracture with butterfly fragments
I left La Tortuga in Jay's basement at his homestead and was fortunate my parents could drive down from VA the following day and snatch me up.  All this before an impending snow storm pressing down from the great lakes may blanket the region in snow.  Between snow events, I made it over to the UVA Medical Center in Charlottesville. On Mar 23 I underwent surgery to install a stainless steel plate and titanium screws into the bone and fragments to reposition and support the clavicle. An hour and half of surgery and 26 staples later, I came to from anesthesia and was released to go home.
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Recovery time is approximately 3-6 months with no lifting and limited mobility of the right arm for the first month.  The return to Virginia was something I had been looking forward to for quite some time but this is not what I had imagined.  The next few months of recovery and healing will offer opportunity to visit with old friends and hike with my parents around the Shenandoah Valley.   The 2018 Ohio River -> Gulf kayak trip will be moved back to July sometime if my shoulder is ready.
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Thank you for all the support and kindness over the course of my Ruckus travels. The bike will be taking a parked role for the upcoming year or so while I focus on kayaking more. There will be an update to the website bringing it into WordPress and I'm not sure what the future of this blog will be exactly.  I'll keep it interesting...stay tuned!
6 Comments
Sam Howell
4/14/2018 02:56:26 pm

Geezzzz Mike! Your crash with the bulldog will make an exciting entry in the book. Glad it wasn't worse. I'm sure the accident will slow you down, but I know it will not stop you. Lucky you were relatively close to home.
I paddled a section on the Locust Fork Friday with some biologist from Auburn. They were impressed with the stories of the wayward traveler Mike Saunders I was sharing. You know I am very envious when I share tales of your journey.
Enjoy the R&R.
Sam.

Reply
John Bradley
4/15/2018 11:25:51 am

Been following your travels for years, recover quickly. I met a friend of yours at Morton's open house yesterday, did not catch his name but he gave me a decal of a moose head. Looking forward to reading more of your adventures soon.

Reply
Mike (pnoman) link
4/15/2018 06:05:31 pm

Dang, Mike! Sorry to hear about your accident. Praying for a quick and thorough recovery.

Reply
Todd Haulter
4/21/2018 01:48:42 pm

Wow, you and Stephanie (250ccsuperhero) taken out by similar injuries. I wish you both speedy recoveries!

Reply
Jim Haugan
9/22/2018 07:02:12 am

Hope your recovery has gone well and we get a chance to see you when you are in town. I must say UVA did a good job on you :-)
I got a (new to me) touring bike last summer and think of your adventures often. Stay healthy & safe.

Reply
Jim Griffin
5/2/2019 01:09:08 am

Just read about your accident. Hope you have full movement and paddling strong a year later.
I camped with you on Duese Lake in BC. Really enjoyed meeting you.
Jim

Reply



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    Where is Mike?

    Mike Saunders

    In May 2014 I quit my job to ride a Honda Ruckus over 69'000 mi and counting. Wild camping most nights and cooking most of my own meals, I keep the costs low and the landscape changing. 

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  • Scoot
  • Paddle
  • Pedal
  • Moto
    • The South >
      • Merchant's Millpond State Park, NC
      • BRP and a visit to Charlotte, NC
      • South Carolina and Back on my GS (2011)
      • Jaw-ja Trip #1 - Visiting my Nephew
      • Jaw-ja Trip #2 - Cousin's Wedding
      • "You rode 1300 miles for BBQ?!?" (2010)
    • Canada (eh) >
      • 2012 - Beards to Canada >
        • Day 1: Arlington, VA > Arlington, VT
        • Day 1-2 (Continued) Back to VA!!!
        • Day 3: Newburyport, NH > Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 4: Loafing around "The Neck"
        • Day 5: Sandy Cove, NS to Antigonish, NS
        • Day 6: Antigonish, NS to Meat Cove, NS
        • Day 7: Meat Cove, NS to Port Aux Basques, NFL
        • Day 8: Port Aux Basques to Port Saunders
        • Day 9: Port Saunders to Big Brook
        • Day 10: Big Brook, NL to Trans Lab Hwy
        • Day 11: Trans Lab Hwy to Pinware River
        • Day 12: Pinware River, LAB to Norris Point, NL
        • Day 13: Norris Point to Blue Beach
        • Day 14: Blue Beach, NL to Port Aux Basques Ferry
        • Day 15: Sydney, NS to Sandy Cove, NS
        • Day 16: Chillin on the Digby Neck
        • Day 17: Sandy Cove, NS to No. Sandwich, NH
        • Day 18: Sandiwch, NH to Arlington, VA (Home)
      • Algonquin Park 2013 >
        • Day 1: Home to New York
        • Day 2: Chataugay State Forest to Brent, ON
        • Day 3: Brent, ON to Nipissing River Portage at Nadine Lake
        • Day 4: Nipissing River @ Nadine Lake Portage to first island in Red Pine Bay
        • Day 5: Red Pine Bay to Hogan’s Lake
        • Day 6: Hogan’s Lake to Catfish Lake
        • Day 7: Catfish Lake to Cedar Lake to Fredonia, NY
        • Day 8: Fredonia, NY to Brookville, PA
        • Day 9: Brookville, PA to Alexandria, VA
      • Think I'll ride to Montreal this weekend...
      • Ontario on a Whim
    • Maryland >
      • How to Hit a Tree, By ME!
      • Ruckus Stealth Camping in MD
      • Ruck'n around Southern MD
      • White's Ferry and some Maryland Backroads
      • 1000mi right near da' beach (2010)
    • New York >
      • Cornell, Niagara Falls and PA Coal Country (2012)
      • Finger Lakes trip to NY (2011)
      • New York City Trip (2011)
    • Pennsylvania >
      • Early Spring in PA
      • Michaux Camping
      • From a Wedding to "Where-da-fugawi?"
      • Pennsylvania Leaf Peeping (2012)
      • First Big Trip to PA (2010)
    • Virginia >
      • From the Mountains to the Sea in Ol' Virginny'
      • What the Fog? (Northern Neck, VA - 2013)
      • Uncle Bucks Ride to Eat and Snowy SNP
      • Charlottesville Area Ride
      • Serious Helmet Time in VA (2011)
      • Ruck'n Across Virginia (2010)
      • Impromptu Camping with 'DC Rider' (2010)
    • West Virginia >
      • Rella-Vous and Skippii Rescue
      • New River Gorge Ghost Town Exploration (2011)
      • Five States from Laurel Fork (Spring 2013)
      • A Little Dirt, A Little Clouds, A lotta Fun, WV (2012)
      • GS and an NSX? (2012)
      • Seneca Rocks Camping Two-Up (2011)
      • Panniers Only Club at Seneca Rocks, WV (2010)
      • Laurel Fork Fall 2010 on the Honda Ruckus 50cc (2010)
      • Dog Days Rally and Rella's Gift (2010)
      • Pops and Richmonders in WV (2010)
      • Rocket Boys (2010)
      • New River Gorge and Rella's (2010)
    • Cross Country 2009 >
      • Trip Preparation
      • Day 1: (Sept 3, 2010)
      • Day 2: (Sept 4, 2010)
      • Day 3: (Sept 5, 2010)
      • Day 4: (Sept 6, 2010)
      • Day 5: (Sept 7, 2010)
      • Day 6: (Sept 8, 2010)
      • Day 7: (Sept 9, 2010)
      • Day 8: (Sept 10, 2010)
      • Day 9: (Sept 11, 2010)
      • Day 10: (Sept 12, 2010)
      • Day 11: (Sept 13, 2010)
      • Day 12: (Sept 14, 2010)
      • Day 13: (Sept 15, 2010)
      • Day 14: (Sept 16, 2010)
      • Day 15: (Sept 17, 2010)
      • Day 16: (Sept 18, 2010)
      • Day 17: (Sept 19, 2010)
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