Hubby was on the mountain today, and he went down.  OK here’s what happened.  He went riding with a few guys this morning.  They were planning on riding 178 to 64 then back down on 130, but there was a road check on 178, so they decided to ditch it.  They turned around and road back down to 130 planning to ride up to 64 then turn around.  Hubby got about 4 miles from 64 and hit rain.

He was near Lake Jocassee, and they get pop up storms up there all the time.  A few months back a 3 year old drowned because he was on a boat with his dad, and a storm came up so quickly they couldn’t get back to land.  Unfortunately it happens all the time up there, and they put out warnings for the lake because of it.

Anyways, hubby wanted to turn around to head back down the mountain, but his gas light had been on for a good 15 miles.  The only gas station in the area is at the intersection where 130 meets 64, so he had no choice but to keep riding through the rain.  Hubby rides in the rain all the time, and he’s very experience with it.  The rain normally isn’t an issue.  The issue is that there’s a rock quarry on the top end of 130, and the road is badly rutted out from dump trucks.

When hubby got to this section there was so much water standing on the road that he hydroplaned.  He couldn’t hold it, and the bike just slid out from under him.  He’s very lucky it did.  Hubby spun down the road on his back for about 100 ft then his feet hit the guardrail and stopped him.  When he hit the guard rail his shoes came off.

Now this is where I get to yell at him.  I always give him hell about riding in full gear at all times.  He was wearing his helmet, jacket, and gloves, but he was in jeans and tennis shoes.  If he’d had on his riding boots his feet would be ok.  As for the jeans, he’s lucky they didn’t get ripped off.   He’s even luckier that he got out of the way.  There was a truck pulling a trailer full of Harleys behind him.  The bike bounced off that truck’s tire, and prevented the guy from running over hubby.

I’m thankful that guy is a rider, and he was the only person to stop to help hubby other than the guys who he was riding with.  The guys he was with found his shoes, and got the bike out of the road, and then the guy with the Harleys took hubby up to the store where he could call me.  There’s no cell phone signal on the mountain.  By the time I got to the store (45 minutes from our house), hubby couldn’t walk.  We rushed him to the ER while another friend of ours loaded up the bike.

OK here’s the damage.  Hubby’s left foot is fractured right down the middle.  He’ll be in a boot for at least a month.  His right foot is OK, but his right leg is pretty banged up from hitting the guardrail.  He’s got a hole in his shin about 1/4″ deep.  Other than that he’s a little sore.  He’s damn lucky!  As for the bike, there’s cosmetic damage, but the only thing that worries me is the front stay is bent in from the bike smacking the ground.  No, he didn’t have his frame sliders on, so the left fairing took most of the beating.

The bike is at our bike mechanic friend’s house, so I won’t get to inspect the damage more closely until tomorrow, but it looks like everything is easily replaceable.  The crank case cover is busted open, but there’s nothing leaking.  That’s a good sign.  We’ll have to remove it to see if there’s any damage, but it doesn’t look like there is.  There’s a gash in the leather on the passenger handle, but it’s not very noticeable.  The front cowl is busted around the headlight.

As for his riding gear, there’s not a scuff mark anywhere.  His helmet never hit the ground, so it won’t need replacing.  I’m still going to take it to the dealership to run it through their inspection program anyway.