Inzane surprises

[f6john]

Second leg of my Inzane journey was not what I expected. It was rather cool beginning early Sunday morning on the way to Memphis to meet up with fellow travelers at 9:00 AM  at the Pyramid site. As the day wore on it did get hotter, but I didn't think it was too bad, certainly not unbearable. 125 miles +/- we had a breakdown on David's trailer that required immediate attention and we had stopped at a Citicorp gas station. No welders anywhere to be found but David and some locals scrounged around and found enough materials to get the trailer back on the road. I had consumed a bottle of grape soda that I thought would suffice for hydration and some glucose injection as I had not eaten or drank anything else that day.

So we are back on the road and within 20 minutes or so I'm not feeling at mu best. I'm riding along and being with 9 other guys well into a long day, I'm asking myself if I can make it to Eureka Springs with the group. We were 30 some odd miles from the next town which I had about convinced myself would have to become a layover for me and we couldn't have gotten there soon enough for me. Things went downhill from there. I'm just a few bikes back from the lead bike and I notice brake lights coming on, then I see a stop sign in the distance. By this time I know I'm really in trouble. Before we get to the intersection I have put on my turn signal and Joe, who was staggered next behind me sees my intention and gives me room. I and the bike make it to the shoulder without incident but I am finished. I was able to get the kickstand down and then I literally collapsed on the bike. I didn't have enough strength to hold my upper body up and I was sure I couldn't stand up.


Fortunately there was a gravel lane and some trees just across the road and all the guys agreed I needed to be in the shade ASAP! Now what is amazing to me, even though I was still on the bike and really didn't understand who was who I did hear their voices and they decided to roll me and the bike across the pavement to the shaded area. I'm 205 pounds plus a fully loaded Goldwing being moved on uneven ground and they managed to pull this feat off without dumping me and the bike on the ground. But I still on the bike but as best I can recall I had been and continued to be doused with cold water and wet rags. I did manage to gather enough strength to help the two guys get me off the bike by standing up with their support, but then my greatest fear was realized! I was about to take a dump in my jeans while two guys were holding me trying to get me to a safe spot to do my business,,, too late. So now I had two innocent fellow riders steadfastly help me balance myself while I undid my belt, squatted and completed my job. More cold water and rags were applied and while all this is happening, a Fish and Wildlife officer has miraculously arrived on the scene and he is assisting and has called for an ambulance to come and check me out. Another miraculous intervention is that an ambulance is in the area and arrives before I have even finished with my "business"! The guys helping me out even acquire some medical scissors and cut my briefs off because I certainly wasn't going to be pulling them back up. So once I clean myself up as good as possible I pull up my slightly soiled jeans and am escorted to the gurney while the ambulance crew do a few checks on me, and they conclude that I need to go to the hospital for fluids which was 30 miles away. By this time, I'm regaining some of my senses and analyzing my situation. I even asked if I could just go somewhere and rehydrate myself in a cool spot and drink my fluids. They ambulance crew said we won't try to force you to go with us but they were skeptical of my success. I realized what ever decision I made was impacting the group (10 riders) and it was then I decided to go with the ambulance to the hospital.

I also recognized that this threw all the responsibility for my bike and my gear onto someone else. But I had no fear as Rams, Ron Blackwell was there and no matter the inconvenience, all would be taken care of. At this point I'm just at the mercy of my circumstances and while I'm feeling so much better I know I'm not out of the woods as the memory of what had just transpired was still fresh on my mind.

To shorten up the hospital story, I'll just relate I was given two liters of saline fluid as fast as it would drip in the IV, I was hooked up to a heart monitor since I have had bypass surgery in the past. The doctor comes in to tell me they want to look at my results from a blood sample they had taken and then he asked, how are you getting out of here when you are released? We don't have uber or any of that stuff! Well, I already suspected that. I had my travel bags with me and my phone but that was it. I had been there long enough that the first bag of saline was in and here came Ron Blackwell walking in the room. I will tell you that I wasn't surprised but very thankful as it took away all the uncertainty about what's next.

Ron walked up and threw my bike keys on the table beside me. He had convinced a Sheriff's dept employee to escort him to the hospital while he rode my Goldwing to drop it off, so the deputy could take him back to his sidecar rig, which he in turn  would then make a second 30 mile trek back to the hospital to help me.

Time is a blur for me regarding what happened when and how long this ordeal lasted but it was at least 5 hours or more. Once released from the hospital, we decided to carry on with our trip. It wasn't fun because we were 200 miles from Eureka Springs in it was late in the day Sunday. Battery chargers for our phones weren't working as designed and Mapquest was somewhat of a joke. But at least for me I was feeling tired but somewhat refreshed from my earlier situation, I can't speak for Ron but it seemed he had gotten a second wind too. But he and I were both ecstatic to get off our bikes around 1:30 AM Monday morning and get in our rooms.

There's much more to this saga, much of which I don't know or remember and anyone who wants to add details from their perspective please feel free. I'm blessed in more ways than I can count, and my sincere thanks to everyone that was subjected to this episode on what was a trying and tiring day to begin with. I'm honored to associated with each and everyone of you.

[Serk]

Oh wow! I had no idea you'd just gone through this when we had dinner last night!

I'm glad you made it, and I'm glad @Rams was there to be your guardian angel! He doesn't like to admit it, but he's really good people... More than once I've seen it mentioned someone needed help, could anyone go assist, and he was volunteering before the query even finished.

(Including when Kali had her spill in WV during the Athens Ohio Inzane, him and Psycho came to our rescue.)

[f6john]

Agreed, I was there that year in my Corvette as I currently didn't have a functioning motorcycle. He convinced me to come and brought a second bike in his trailer so I could make a couple of rides while there. A lot of special showed up on that ride Sunday and I'm glad they did. Ron was the icing on the cake to make sure we got to Inzane.

[Jersey mike]

Holy cr@p, no pun intended that's quite an ordeal, so glad you were with a group and not solo or at highway speeds when everything went sour.

You certainly had lots of angels watching over with the officers and ambulance crews in the vicinity as well.

[f6john]

Couldn't agree more. My plan was to use this week to relax and unwind some. 800 miles to get here seems to have satisfied my in the wind needs. I'm still unwinding!

[Jersey mike]

Get all the rest, food and drinks you need to get back up to normal.