Rebuilding The Man and The Machine.

[TRAX]

The Man - On Tuesday, November 8th 2011, I was struck by a car while riding my motorized bicycle. Coasting down hill on a 20 mile ride to the bookstore, I was struck by a car that crossed traffic without warning and ran into me like I was not even there. Both my legs (femurs) and three ribs were broken, my shoulder was jacked up and then there were the contusions and lacerations.

I had a DOT helmet on so thankfully no head injury. I'm told it most likely saved my life. I was taken by helicopter to the trauma center. they put me back together as best they could.


I was a month in bed and 3 months in a wheel chair I started learning to walk again about five months ago. Now I'm back on a pedal bike and am riding that to build strength in my legs . Lisa would not let me near a bike till I was well enough. she said I can't ride again or that she won't ride with me just that I had to get well first. We went on my first MB ride a few weeks ago and I have to say it felt great and scary at the same time. I got a bit freaked out being back on the road again, I had only been peddling on trails up till then, but it passed quickly.

Had my last post-op follow up on the Sept 13th 2012. The Pictures are encouraging the fractures have all healed I have a lot of new bone growth and am getting stronger. I'm still having a lot of pain in my rt knee and they think it may be that a few of the screws that hold my knee together are causing it so I we are looking at options for removing them.



After the Doctors rebuilt my legs 10 months ago I have been working hard everyday to strengthen and rebuild the damaged muscle and tissue injured in the accident. Through all this, beside the Lord, my wife Lisa has been my greatest blessing. She has been so supportive and took care of me while I was bed bond, Wheel Chair bound, house bound, She helped me progress from bed, to chair to walker, then crunches, cane and now walking unassisted. Her love and kindness, great care and devotion, inspired me to go further than I was told I might go. As I continue, with the support of my God, My wife, family, and friends, I am getting better, slowly, but surely better bit by bit. I still can not run (the Doctors say I may never run again) but that's my goal when I can run again, in my mind my rebuild will be complete. I'll post my progress as I continue to work on The Rebuilding of the Man

 

[TRAX]

The Machine - Now that I am walking and able to ride a bike again, I have started looking at my wrecked bike and seeing what I can salvage. I have been sourcing parts to rebuild the bike back to how it was before the accident and I will be chronicling that process here too.

I tore it down and because I was hit from the side (T-Boned) the frame is shot, bent in a V from the seat tube. The forks are mangled and the front t wheel is a taco so I stripped the frame bare and kept the working parts for the rebuild. The good news is my 48cc Round Head Raw engine only suffered minor damage and should be salvageable. I tore it down and while I had the jug off took the opportunity to match the ports. I need a new plug and wire, the cid is cracked but serviceable.

The Pasta Tin Tank Mark II -

The copper tank started life as a pasta tin and was wrecked during the accident.

After months of searching good will, savers and SA thrift stores I finally found another one. The only thing is the new one was missing a lid. and you can see by the pictures that the lid end was badly dented. I looked and looked but could not find another so i thought I'd try and rehabilitate the old one first I de-soldered it and then using a small anvil and hammer worked out the creases. I think it came out pretty good.

The new tank will have a brass bung and filler cap the old chrome one was cool but I like the look of the new one better. on this shot you can also see whats left of the main crease on the top of the lid

 

[TRAX]

On to the frame...

The old base bike started life as a 1988 Specialized Hardrock mountain bike that I converted for the road then added the helper motor and the copper bits over time.

While it was badly damaged in the accident, considering the force of the impact actually I'm amazed that it held up so well. I attribute that to the Steel frame of this bike and I must say that I always felt safe on that bike when i was peddling over logs in the woods or motoring down the road it always felt solid as..... well.... a Rock. I scowered the internet and managed to find the same vintage hard rock in almost new condition and had it shipped form Oregon. it came in last week and I took it for a ride with Lisa in the woods to try it out and it felt like old times. Rock solid, I just love the geometry of these old hard rocks no other bike I have ridden has suited me as well so I was thrilled to find one.

One difference is that the one I found was sized correctly for me, that is, it has a bit smaller frame than my original but given my stand-over height I like the smaller frame so I went with it and I do like peddling it, but, It will take a bit of fabrication work on the motor to get it to fit and clear the carb. I think having the smaller size frame is better in the long run. Here is a mockup of the build. copper tank and tailpipe.

The saddle is an old (50's) stretched leather saddle I got off an old frame that I picked up at a tag sale. I bought it for the saddle for 5 bucks. still working on the intake, the motor mounts the hanger for the pipe. I have a new monarch fork with disc break adapter on the way as well as new wheels/tires and rotor/caliper. I'm going to use a Pirate Cycle hub/sprocket adapter and a 36 tooth rear sprocket. I plan on rebuilding the copper rack for the back, but with some modifications. and yes I will have a horn "of sorts" for a tailpipe. This Re-build is going to take a long time and may change but that's the basic plan

 

[goog]

Good to see your doing better and had folks there for you.Looks like your taking good care of your build also.Nice !

 

[Ludwig II]

About the screws hurting the scar tissue in your leg, I still have a titanium rod in my right tibia (do not try to unscrew your foot, it doesn't work) and I had 2 screws taken out of the ankle end, leaving the ones at the top still in place. This had to be done because healthy bones have a tiny bit of give in them and iron bars don't. Every time I stepped down on the bad leg without being careful, well, the world found out a lot of the words I know. It's much better now.

 

[TRAX]

Good to see your doing better and had folks there for you.Looks like your taking good care of your build also.Nice !

Thanks goog, will keep posting as it progresses

 

[TRAX]

About the screws hurting the scar tissue in your leg, I still have a titanium rod in my right tibia (do not try to unscrew your foot, it doesn't work) and I had 2 screws taken out of the ankle end, leaving the ones at the top still in place. This had to be done because healthy bones have a tiny bit of give in them and iron bars don't. Every time I stepped down on the bad leg without being careful, well, the world found out a lot of the words I know. It's much better now.

Hey Ludwig, my knee was still hurting a lot but only during certain movements. So I had a follow up with the Knee specialist and it turns out that some of the screws that were holding my knee together while the bone was healing are now tearing my good cartilage up and grinding on the patella (knee cap) every time I would bend and or load it certain way like going down stairs. BTW - I did try unscrewing my kneecap before seeing the specialist, it didn't work either. (wish I had read your post first lol)

The doctors said I should have the screws out and because the plate was causing me pain as well, that I should have the plate taken out too. So Wednesday morning I went in for a hardware removal. They had to open my leg up again and I will have to be on crutches for a few weeks. But I did get to keep the plate. I'm thinking of making a chain tensioner out of it...

Needless to say this has put me back on the injured list so there will not any bike building going on for a few weeks at least. Need to concentrate on getting better, lots of ice and taking it easy for now. Will take time and use it to draw some plans for the rebuild. How long ago did you break your tibia?

 

[Ludwig II]

Classy. All I've got for my souvenir is a pair of stainless steel screws.

6th of May 2006. A charity moped race, some poor hopless noddy who looked like he'd never even ridden a bicycle before turned left straight in front of me, bike went down so fast I couldn't move my leg out of the way, and the foot got rotated. A shame really, because up until then, I'd been flying.

 

[killercanuck]

Aw man, that's brutal TRAX. Thank god you had a decent helmet on! Inspiring recovery story, you'll hit your goals with that great attitude

 

[Dan]

Oh man Trax!


If you need any thing, please don't hesitate to call. I mean it. Get a flat on the car, rain gutters.... what ever is needed Buddy.

 

[GearNut]

Thank you TRAX for doing such an excellent job on this thread.
I am sorry to hear that you went down, really hard too.
I hope that you heal up quickly and can get back on a bicycle soon, and back on an MB when the right time comes.
You are a real trooper! A lot of folks would have just given up, changed over to bird watching, stamp collecting or a similar non risk hobby.
I am glad to hear that you want to keep going at it!
Take care of yourself, and God bless you!

 

[jbcruisin]

Did the other person's insurance cover all your costs?

 

[dracothered]

Thank the Lord that he saw you through all of this and may God bless you and your family as you recover again from the hardware removal operation. The rebuild looks like it is coming along really good. By the way you did one bang up job on the new pasta tin tank.

 

[TRAX]

Aw man, that's brutal TRAX. Thank god you had a decent helmet on! Inspiring recovery story, you'll hit your goals with that great attitude

Thanks for the encouragement Killercanuck, it's very appreciated. And yes, can't say enough about wearing a good helmet.

Oh man Trax!


If you need any thing, please don't hesitate to call. I mean it. Get a flat on the car, rain gutters.... what ever is needed Buddy.

Dan, I'm blessed to have had such good support family and friends (like you) that have been there for me through all this. I know you mean it, I put your number in my cell phone "just in case"

Thank you TRAX for doing such an excellent job on this thread.
I am sorry to hear that you went down, really hard too.
I hope that you heal up quickly and can get back on a bicycle soon, and back on an MB when the right time comes.
You are a real trooper! A lot of folks would have just given up, changed over to bird watching, stamp collecting or a similar non risk hobby.
I am glad to hear that you want to keep going at it!
Take care of yourself, and God bless you!

Thanks GearNut, I appreciate it. As for giving up motorbiking for a “non risk” hobby, if done properly it's no more risky than regular cycling and hey, some of those birds are vicious and them stamp guys are always getting paper cuts lol. Giving up, it's just not my nature, (wife calls me stubborn sometimes pigheaded) to be honest, I think if If it had been caused by my own recklessness then I may have been more put off.


Way I look at it, I went down hard, but not out. The doctors tell me if I can make it through the recovery process that I should be able to make close to a full recovery. I work in a hospital and see lot's of people who if they could by working real hard, even if it meant suffering through incredible pain, they would stand again or walk again or run again. But they can't, because their injuries are just too bad, for them it's not an option. God has already blessed me to have not been so badly injured that I have the option. I'll do my part.

Thank the Lord that he saw you through all of this and may God bless you and your family as you recover again from the hardware removal operation.

The rebuild looks like it is coming along really good. By the way you did one bang up job on the new pasta tin tank.

Dracothered. Thank you for your well wishes, prayers (I thank him every day), and feedback on the build. I think the new tank is going to be better than the fist one when it's done.

Everyone – Thank you all, I still have a lot to do on the bike but for now I have to give 100% to getting well again and the bike will have to wait a few more weeks till I"m full weight bearing again. Right now the doctor has me using crutches and 1/2 weight on the right. I have a follow up appointment tomorrow. hoping to get released to go back to work next week. will let you know how it goes


TRAX

 

[Dave31]

This sux! but so glad you are healing TRAX. Your awesome attitude will help the healing even faster.

 

[RusticoRay]

Sitting here with JBCruisin making a pit stop in mass., He told me about your accident. Man im glad to here your doin better must of rocked your world for sure. I have a video of the last ride we were on gonna go get and watch it tonite. Dont lose the joy motoredbiking gives us and we will ride again. Say hi to the misses and take care Ray

 

[TRAX]

This sux! but so glad you are healing TRAX. Your awesome attitude will help the healing even faster.

Thanks for the well wishes Dave,they are appreciated.

Sitting here with JBCruisin making a pit stop in mass., He told me about your accident. Man im glad to here your doin better must of rocked your world for sure. I have a video of the last ride we were on gonna go get and watch it tonite. Dont lose the joy motoredbiking gives us and we will ride again. Say hi to the misses and take care Ray

Thanks Ray, the Joy is still alive, and can't wait to ride with you guys again. I have been watching all my old ride videos too. Lisa says hi, sends her best to you and yours.


TRAX

 

[TRAX]

Update:

Had my follow up today, had the stitches out and got to see the pictures of my knee without the hardware.

The plate and most of the screws, One full screw (through the knee) and 1/2 screw (in the thigh) stayed in because they were encased in the bone and not the ones bothering my knee so that's good. The recovery has been going well been doing my exercises so I'm able to bend my knee pretty well. seems to move much smoother and not so painful but hard to tell with the surgery being so recent. the doctor says I have to go a while longer on crutches just to be sure because he wants the bone to be strong where the screws were removed before I put full weight on it. he did clear me for work so that's great. looking forward to getting back on track with my recovery and being able to resume work on the bike.

 

[Dan]

Your a good Man Trax.

Airport security is not gonna be fun in the future.

 

[GearNut]

Excellent news, trax!
Pretty soon you'll be doing jumping jacks.
I bet Dan is right, TSA will have a fun time with your extra hardware.