How to Cowboy up when you go down....hard.
 

So yesterday a couple of buddies invited me out to the AZ desert outside of Phoenix to ride dirt bikes.

it was a blast although with my limited skill level I was kept on a pit bike of 125cc caliber.

the day was a blast as I rode quads and some full size bikes although I had no safety gear so other than a few bursts of speed i kept it tame. But on the pit bike I was a demon pulling wheelies and doing jumps etc.

As the day came to a close I shot down the dirt road for one last ride and thought lets see what this little bugger can do!

At approx 45 mile per hour I lost control and the bike slid out from under me as I did my best superman impression ever.:yep:

It was like sliding into home plate at 45 miles an hour from 4 feet up!

Needless to say my chin was now opened like roast beef, my hands were de-skinned, and somehow I managed to fracture a bone in my left elbow!

So being the country boy I am you will all be glad to know that 13 stitches and an arm sling later I left straight from the Hospital to have some drinks with my buddies.

Never ride without safety gear even if like me your John Wayne.:arrgh!:

I did something oddly just like that....once (maybe twice, the roads are rather hard up here in NW Illinois) actually, twice, now I remember. I just didn't bust anything in my elbow....and I couldn't get drinks. My wrists though took the brunt of it, I did a number on my chin and the wrists were rather beat up. (I shielded my face, in a moment of stark intelligence) couldn't afford a doctor though so we had to make due with gauze and medical tape.

on the country boy thing, I'm right there with ya. All my relatives in Connecticut stare agape when I walk barefoot on gravel.

Ouch! Take it easy there Road Warrior. ;) They won't need auditions for crazed bikers for a while yet.

http://www.davidbordwell.net/blog/wp...-in-cu-350.jpg

Ouch! Yeah, always wear a helmet.

Learned the hard way, but hey, ya learned.:yeah:

Oh yea I did learn buddy.:damn: The hard way as usual!

Another dirt bike crash survivor. I hit a tree on mine and was lucky to escape with a broken collarbone and sprained ankle.

But hey, barely avoiding death or crippling injury while pushing the envelope is pretty much a rite of passage for young folks. It's all a part of growing up.

You'll be telling this story for the next 50 years.

When I was about 10-11 years old, I was riding a small dirtbike up this hill. Was only going about 5-10 mph when the bike dumped sideways on me. I fell with all my weight on my right hand... on the exhaust! Because I was falling my hand stayed on hot muffler for about 2-3 seconds before I could get it off.

Was I wearing gloves? of course not! :damn::damn::damn:

Getting second degree burns on your hand when you are a thousand miles from anywhere is a good object lesson.

Pain is an excellent teacher.
Scars are an excellent reminder.

It is truly amazing that some of us actually survived kid-hood. :88)

Never had a problem on a dirt bike. On my street bikes though, I have done what every other rider sooner or later has or will do - and thats the asphalt slide.

Early in my riding years, my state put in place a helmet law. I bought a quarter helmet, strapped it to my shoulder, and got pulled a half dozen times for it easy. Every time I got a ticket, fought it and won - the law said you had to wear a NCDOT helmet - it never said you had to wear it ON YOUR HEAD! To date, the law still reads the same. Now - I wouldnt ride without a full face helmet, along with leathers and most of the time, gauntlet gloves. I have the scars from not only a few asphalt slides, but I went into (and nearly all the way through) a car's back window once.

Its not that we are stupid when we are young, we just don't realize that it CAN happen to us.....

Ny parents always said I'd get myself killed - I always figured I would be immortal till something killed me outright. Thankfully that never happened.
Now as long as the chute doesn't tangle too awful bad next time I jump.....:rock:

Beautiful streamer
Open for me
Blue skies above
But no canopy.......

Gory, gory what a helluva way to die!

:yeah:

Well done!!

Yelling that song at the top of your voice along with 60 other Paratroopers in the belly of a C-130 flying nap of the earth on the way out to the DZ is one heck of an experience.

C-130 rolling down the strip
Recon Rangers gonna take a little trip
Stand up hook up shuffle to the door
Take a step and count to four
If your chute won't open wide
You have another one by your side
If that one won't open wide
You are gonna have a hell of a ride

:arrgh!:

If I die on the old drop zone
Box me up and ship me home
Pin my wings upon my chest
and tell my girl I done my best :salute:

There was blood upon the risers
There were brains on his chute
His intestines were hanging from his Paratrooper Suit
He was a mess, they picked him up, and poured him from his boots
And he ain't gonna jump no more

(there is a lot more but I can't remember all the verses)

Here's an oldie-moldy that our Team Sergeant used to sing when he had a few. I had to google the lyrics because I could only remember bits and pieces:


Friendly FAC, friendly FAC, this is Green Beret
We see you flying high above, out of danger's way.
If you can spare a moment to help your fellow man,
I wish you'd try to find me, and tell me where I am.

Green Beret, oh, Green Beret, this is your friendly FAC
You see me flying overhead while you're still in the sack.
But still I'll try to find you, and set you people straight
But hurry, 'cause it's steak night, and I don't want to be late.

Friendly FAC, friendly FAC, this is Green Beret
We appreciate your helping send us on our way;
But I really wish you'd think of danger on the ground
Tromping through the jungle, while you just FAC around.

Green Beret, oh, Green Beret, this is your friendly FAC
If you no longer need me, I'm gonna head on back;
I'll settle for a souvenir, whatever you can bag
An AK-47 or a bloodstained VC flag.

Friendly FAC, oh friendly FAC, we've just come under fire!
And if you cannot help us, we'll join the angel's choir.
Automatic weapons, we're really getting hit
So hurry with the fighters, 'cause we are in deep ****!

Green Beret, you were cut out, I read you "numbah ten,"
The C Team's telling dirty jokes, so please transmit again;
You've got Charlie cornered? Please don't let him get away
I've sent a call for fighters, but it may take all day.

Friendly FAC, oh friendly FAC, please get your finger out,
We've tangled with a regiment, of that there is no no doubt;
If you can get us out of Charlie's fearful deadly grip
We'll give you FACs a grateful square in our comic strip.

Green Beret, oh, Green Beret, this is your friendly FAC
Let me take some photographs, in case you don't get back.
Turn this way a little. Hold it. That's the style
You're on Candid Camera, so let me see you smile.

Green Beret! Hey, Green Beret! They're shooting at this FAC!
I hear the bullets whistling by, I hear the rifles' crack.
I'm missing my siesta; I need a taste of rum,
If you no longer need me, I think I'll head for home.

Oh, thank God! Our fighters now are circling overhead
Charlie's going to wish that he had stayed at home in bed.
He's going to meet his maker in the Land that is to be
We're going to blow his body up and set his spirit free.

Friendly Fac and fighters, I hope you see our smoke;
That first strike came too close to us, it really was no joke!
Green Beret, we're holding high. The FAC, he got it wrong
He thought that you were marking the position of the Cong.

Fighters, this is friendly FAC, please hold it high and dry,
We can get this straightened out, if we all really try.
It really doesn't matter if I mark the friend or foe
'Cause you can't hit a cows rear end, no matter where you go.

Fighters, you're cleared in again, just do the best you can
The situation's all fouled up, beyond the help of man.
Just bomb the general area, and when the smoke clears out,
Well, we'll just count the bodies, and let God sort 'em out.

Now most of us are safe at home, we beat the dreaded Cong,
We simply let it all hang out, to help the war along.
Friendly FAC and fighters will always save the day,
Killing off the Charlies, to the last damned Green Beret.

You win! :salute:

The only one I can still remember is one we used to sing while running

I don't go out with girls any more
I live a life of danger
I stay in the woods and play with myself
Wee, I'm a Ranger

We were, of course, careful not to sing that when passing the Ranger areas, for obvious reasons. LoL.

Gosh this brought back memories. All the good ole days, boy they sucked! :D

Yeah but we were young and the world was our oyster.

Those pit bikes are a good way to get some permanent injury.