IT started fun, but......

[Bill]

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8AaNHLhy2bOX3Q
Pictures
http://www.e-foerster.com/Mike.htm The story line

My ride started in McAllen then a 345 mile to Sealy where I met up with Lewis. We then rode out to Mike Callas Shop “RENNSPORT” where he builds, tunes and maintains Porsche Racing cars. His shop is spotless with cars of all description and all stages of development hang out. A couple of pictures attached. Mike’s racing team won the 24 Hour Daytona Race in 2001. You might say he is one hell of a PORSCHE WRENCH.

Have you ever been to a high school football game in a small town where there was only parking along the two lane road side? Well last night Mike Callas and wife MC took Lewis and I (Bill Foerster) to a Catfish feed at a Beer Joint called CROSS ROAD TAVERN in Cat Spring, Texas. What we found was a Riot (Cars parked all over the place, Defense attorneys, Preachers and Mothers without Partners all stuffed in a 1920’s era filling station, bar and restaurant that might pass the fire code for 20 people). The place was divided in the bar area, 100 people standing on each other all with long necks, the outside smoking area with babes and guys all shivering cold with sticks in their mouths and the dining area where 20 or so park benches all filled with wealthy Texans filling their guts with mouth watering catfish, slaw and hushpuppies. Lewis just had to have a piece of the Coconut Cream Pie. All in all Brian you missed one hell of a feed!

Saturday started with breakfast in Sealy where Mike, Brian and his friend Dick met us. A quick breakfast then a ride in the country, great two lane roads through the country. Every thing went ok for about 25 miles and as usual Bill was bringing up the rear even with his new bike. I was rounding a sharp curve when I thought I spotted a bike in the ditch, just told myself it‘s not one of ours, the BMW thing U know..But it was and then I knew it must have been Mike’s as he is riding a dark grey RT, but is it was Dick. I was first on the scene and Dick was lying on his back, I could see his eyes and he looked stunned but alive. I ask if he was hurt and he responded then said he thinks his ankle might be broke. We called EMS, Sheriff was first on the scene, then DPS and bringing up the rear was the EMS.. Dick was transported to Columbus hospital and put through the paces. X-rays said no broken bones, then more X-rays and as it turns out he has a broken ankle and also a cracked rib. He will be spending the night in the hospital and we all hope he heals soon. His wife responded “I hope this doesn’t turn him off motorcycles as he loves it so. His ride a 2002 R1150R is probably totaled. Dick is a 70s fellow with thousands of miles to his credit. Guys be safe out there, it’s not a RACE.

Bill Foerster, Lewis RT, Mike Callas, Brian

[BobFV1]

Hey Bill,

Thanks for sharing the post. First let me say, we must add "chubacabra" to our tagline:

A merry band of peckerheads, carpetbaggers, scallywags, roadsters, miscreants, chupacabras, and friends - who enjoy motorcycles...

Any idea what caused the crash? Road conditions? More speed than skill? Tires? Suspension? It's always a combination of factors, but just wondered what caused the little Beakster to want to "spread its wings" like that.

Bob

[DJ Down Under]

Thanks for the post...tell your friend Dick that I hope he heals up quick and gets that nice black RR all fixed up and back on the road soon..

Bummer about the crash...glad he's ok....it's never good to see a bike upside down like that...expecally a BMW.

DJ

http://www.e-foerster.com/BIKES/DSC02199-600.JPG

[BobFV1]

Never good to see a rider on his back with his ankle turned around at a goonish angle either:104: :104: :104: :

http://r1150r.smugmug.com/photos/55196634-M.jpg

[jamming]

Bill, I'm sorry to hear about the crash. You tell Dick he has a whole merry band of nutty motorcycilst's pulling for him to get well and get back up.
Roger

[geechie]

Bill, Thanks for the post and pics. Glad Dick wasn't hurt worse. That's why we wear the gear, isn't it. BTW, the Porsche pics were cool too!

George

[Brakecheck]

Thanks for the post, I will keep it in mind during my ride today. Tell Dick to get well and that I'm glad he missed that wire fence - way too close!

[Acacia]

I have not heard how Dick is doing today - I expect Ruth will call me later.

Dick lives down the road from me and is one of my riding buddies. We were planning to swap out his rear tire today after yesterdays ride. He is a very experienced rider - his 02 50R has close to 60K on it already. Prior to that he has many tens of thousands of miles on Valkaries, HD's Kawasaki's etc througouht the US, Mexico and Central America. I am familiar with his bike and there was nothing mecahnically that I was aware with that could have contributed.

The left hand corner was a slow one - probably 20mph rated. Dick rides his own pace, which could be quick but not reckless and is not likely to have been pressured to over do it. We have ridden many hundreds of miles of twisties together. Mike and I were ahead - I did not notice anything in the main surface of the corner that could have contributed. Dick said he did not notice anything either. It appears just after the apex the bike straightened out and left the road. The bike appears to have fallen 1st to the left down into the culvert, then onto its right side into the fence. Finally coming rest facing back up towards the corner.

Dick's left ankle was dislocated - it can be seen in the picture - worse when the boot was taken off. Half way up his shin is a bruise on the inside. If his left foot had gone down, this pressure point would have twisted his ankle. Although not obvious, 6 hours later he began to complain that his right ankle was sore - it too was found to be broken - I am not sure where. He was found to have a cracked rib too - also found much later at a second Xray. A small rural hospital with staff that listens to the vistims. He has small scratches on his left cheek. We are not sure from what. He was using a full face flip front helmet. I did not get to look at it in detail.

Dick was wearing a full suit of Aerostich wear. The top is torn up accross the chest and right side from the barbed wire fence. The pants are also ripped around the right knee. These obviously saved him from being torn up.

Dick was well protected in terms of standard riding gear. From above the ankle boots to gloves. As a 73 year old - he said his last get off was more than 50 years ago.

The bike? Screen gone. Bags stressed and broken off. The left and right steering stops broken off. Two dents in the tank consistant with the stops being broken off. His GPS was found down the road - might be some damage to it. Mud in the right bars and cylinder fins. Rear right indicator broken off.

We might never know what actually hapenned in those split seconds at the critical entry to the corner.

What needs to be spoken to is the admirable commitment of riding buddy's shown by Mike, Bill and Lewis. Mike arranged for a friend to pick up the bike -who arrived at about the same time as the EMS - it is safe and locked in this friends garage. Despite that they could do nothing but wait at the hospital, the three would not leave the hospital until Dick's wife arrived at about 4pm. now as for Lewis and Bill - they continued to mercilessly harras Mike, and to a lesser extent -me.

[arkline]

Hope Dick is doing well. Hope I'm still in the saddle @ 73! Ya'll take care.

[Lewis' RT]

Any idea what caused the crash? Road conditions? More speed than skill? Tires? Suspension? It's always a combination of factors, but just wondered what caused the little Beakster to want to "spread its wings" like that.
Bob

Bob,
I was the only rider to witness Dick's crash. Our group had just turned off a FM road on to a narrow asphalt Ranch Road with open drainage ditches and slow sweeping cambered turns. Mike (#1) and Brian (#2) were ahead of us about a quarter of a mile blowing the carbon out of their pipes.

I (#3) entered the turn at about 40 and half way into the turn saw that the road tighten up at a turnoff to a rancher's gravel road. Loose gravel was along the high side of the road and the balance of the turn was blind. I was able to drop low enough to avoid the loose gravel and complete the turn. I straighten out and glanced at my mirror and saw Dick's (#4) rear wheel sideslip for an instance in the gravel. He instantly got it back up but had lost his line through the turn. His bike dropped into the drainage ditch at a 45 angle and the front tire buried itself into the other side of the ditch. Dick went over the handle bars, through the windscreen, hit the top two strans of barbed wire of the fence, the wire capapulted him back into the ditch (backwards) which likely caused his ankel injuries. The rest you can see from Bill's pics.

I believe Dick is a very compentant and safe rider with many years and many thousands of miles on his motorcycle(s), and I look forward to riding with him again. I would not begin to speculate what may have been the underlining cause of this accident.

It has been my experience that many bike accidents happen to new (new to a group) riders' first rides. When riding with new friends we all feel a lot of pressure to ride well, keep up, and push ourselves a little harder. Most of the time we get away with it . . . sometimes we don't.

Thank you all for your kind words for Dick . . . ride safe, Lewis

[Promethean]

Whew. I was hoping that we wouldn't hear about getoffs such as this on our board. In any case, I'm glad that Dick's injuries were limited. I hope he heals well and gets back on the bike soon.

[Bones]

Guys,
First, I am very glad to hear that Dick is OK. Second, thank you for sharing the whole incident and in such detail. Clearly, a bunch of capable and thoughtful riders. The "debriefing" of the incident, as morbid as it may be in ways, may well save someone else's hide at some time. I find that reading the details of these things makes me think about each and every ride differently.

Also, having experienced a get off on the track in October, I can attest to the value of having friends there to help out afterwards. Aside from the logistics (like what to do with the bike and gear), it really helps to know that someone is going to keep an eye on you when you are vulnerable.

Small acts of kindness are so powerful.

One member of this board took the time to call me at home a while after hearing about my incident. We ended up speaking for well over an hour about lots of things, some of them motorcycling and some of them not. You have no idea how meaningful that one conversation was.

Good wishes to Dick for full speedy recovery and thanks again for sharing a tough situation. I, too, hope to even want to ride at 73!

Jeff

[socalrob]

Bill,

Thanks for the ride report. Sure hope Dick heals up as good as new, he sounds like a rider's rider. I'm sure he was thankful to have some friends along to help.

Its always good to remember to be careful & slow down. A lesson we can all use and be reminded of frequently. Hopefully Dick will have another 50 years before a gitoff.

[geechie]

While this indeed may not have been a factor in this instance,...

It has been my experience that many bike accidents happen to new (new to a group) riders' first rides. When riding with new friends we all feel a lot of pressure to ride well, keep up, and push ourselves a little harder. Most of the time we get away with it . . . sometimes we don't.

... it's also the reason I don't try harder to find people to ride with around here. I'm a show off. And it's gotten me in trouble before.

George

P.S. And probably will again.

G

[DarthRider]

Wow! Thanks to all for the good reports & follow-ups. I hope Dick recovers fully & quickly and is able to continue riding, obviously his passion, as it is ours.

I wouldn't speculate on the cause(s) of the crash either, but as Doc Bones said, the post-crash analysis is always very important for both the rider involved and others who are smart enough to apply it to themselves.

After all the pain, healing, "replaying the tape" a thousand times, and repairing the bike, all that is left is the learning.

Someone please tell Dick he is not alone and is getting healing vibes from us all. The old(er) riders are always my heroes.

"We don't quit riding because we get old,
We get old because we quit riding."

Dave

[Acacia]

As of last night, Monday, Dick was still in hospital. As he and his wife were there, communication was not possible.

His daughter said that they were going to transport him the 60 odd miles to Houston, possibly today. He is very sore - the stiffness from the fall having set in. The last count was his dislocated left ankle, right ankle a crack somewhere, another crack in his right knee, cracked rib, and possibly some internal bruising.

Will update all when I have more data.

[BobFV1]

Man, that sucks!

Get well soon, bro! And ask for lots of exotic pain medicine! And squeeze the nurse's boob and blame it of the pain medicine!

[fganger]

I was sorry to hear about Dick, and his accident. I hope he rebounds back quickly, and does not let this sour him on riding. The way you describe him, he does not sound like the type of person who would let one incident stop him.:eusa_clap:

Frank

[Acacia]

Got to visit with Dick last night. He has been transferred to Houston. They have found several more cracked ribs. Seems he might be discharged in the next day or two.

The big story is that he is ready to get on with life outside of a hospital bed, has his sense of humor back ( painfull to say the least when 'cracking' jokes) and cant wait to get on line to thank all for their thoughts and wishes.

He, and his wife Ruth, are very gratefull for the care and support offerred by all those riding with him last Saturday - Lewis, Mike and Bill as well as Mike's friends from Columbus and Sealy.

[DarthRider]

Great news!
Well...bad news for sure followed by good news that Ol' Dick is doing relatively well, has his sense of humor intact and is ready to get on with it!
Give 'em hell Dick...

Dave

[arkline]

"The big story is that he is ready to get on with life outside of a hospital bed..."

This is usually the sign that things are bound to get better. Wanting to leave a hospital is the first indication that there are other, better places to be. Good on him. My best.

[DJ Down Under]

Yeah..give the cute nurse a slap on the bum for me....:003:

Some one should buy you the new 3 disc 'Long Way Round' to watch once you get out.

DJ

[socalrob]

Can't believe we made it 3 pages here on this board with absolutely no references to Dick being stiff. Opps, guess not.

Dick, best wishes & take it easy at home. Hope your back on the old or a nice new bike soon. Ride Safe.

[Acacia]

I have visited Dick several times.
He is doing well and might go home this week. He is not supposed to put any weight on his feet for 6-8 weeks, and with 6 odd cracked ribs he is, with rehab., managing to move off the bed etc unaided now.

I have conveyed all your best wishes to him. I am sure he will respond as soon as he gets home. He has all the home mods worked out so that he can get himself about. Also, who he will corner to do/make the mods, I might add too.

I told him about DJ's suggestion of patting a nurse on the 'bum' - he laughed before he realized its impact on his ribs! That reduces the laughter to a splutter.

Anyone wishing to call him - pm me and I will give you the number.

[Moose]

media.putfile.com/MotoGP-Animals Dick, here is link to a motovational video. Should make you feel better, or at least forget the pain for a short while.

[Bill]

Subject: Re: Dick, this is a link to THIS IS YOUR LIFE

Bill
I am finally home and able to get to a computer.
First,and most importantly I want to thank you and the guys for getting me out of trouble and sticking by me in the hospital. Lewis came to see me and Brian has visited a lot and been a great friend. If you would forward my thanks to all the well wishes on your web site, I would appreciate it..As far as the accident goes, I don't remember whole lot of it. Lewis and you know more about than I do.
All I remember is going into the turn with no concerns and then the bike kicked to the right. Even then I did not have the "oh shit" factor and thought I could save it. I "think" I was drifting, still thinking could save it when I think I hit soft stuff and hi sided. Most of this is a guess.
If it was not for my Aero Stitch, I would have been cut to Doo Doo from the barbed wire.
Again, thanks.
It was very humiliating after riding over 52 wreck free years and then dump it front of my first ride with you guys.
As far as my bones go, I have torn ligaments from the dislocated left foot, A breaker in the upper and lower tibia in the right leg, and 3 broken ribs under my left shoulder blade.
I have a boot to the knee on my left leg and a hi tech boot from my right foot all the way up to the top of my right leg. I cant put any weight on ether leg yet. I go to the Ortho Doc tomorrow.
I can get from the bed to the wheel chair, the commode and the dinner table my myself. My neighbor built a ramp for me to get out side when I can bend the rt leg.
Some how I cant find Lewis Email address in the mess on my desk that I cant reach, so if you forward this I would appreciate it.
Again many thanks. I will keep you posted.
Dick - rwantonius@alltel.net
Richard W. Antonius [rwantonius@alltel.net]

[Acacia]

As you can see Dick is doing well - except for the frustration of limited mobility!

He had his Garmin on track during the ride. Although the antenna was stressed and probably has now compromised its weatherproofness - he turned it on recently from his bed. It tracks the course he took that day from my house, to breakfast, along the ride and then its own solo course while flying down the road after he a Dick parted the bike. It shows where I picked it up in the grass verge down the road and brought it back to him.

His wife Ruth, and friends, have all visited our site to view the picks and enjoy the commentary.