(Warning: Morbid) Cycling in Thailand Part II
03-29-08 | 07:48 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,155
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From: Atlanta
Bikes: Zeus (Razesa) tarck, Giant TCR road, Eddy Merckx road, Fuji Touring Series IV for everything else
(Warning: Morbid) Cycling in Thailand Part II
The full story.
(It's a Myspace blog, sorry.)
The rundown (no pun intended):
-Hit from behind by a dump truck on a sunny clear day with little traffic.
-The driver had probably been drinking and fled the scene.
-The impact ripped the bumper off the truck, leaving the license plate at the scene.
-Didn't lose consciousness. Didn't hit my head.
-I've got a compression fracture in my spine and lots of fun road rash.
-A week flat on my back in the hospital and several months in a back brace will see me mostly back to normal. (maybe)
-The driver was questioned by police but has not yet been arrested.
-I may get $500 for the bike if I can find receipts for the frame.
-They told me that the only time I cried was when I started talking about my bike.
-I am very lucky
My new bike.
05 January 2008:
22 March 2008:
Thanks to Gene Spicer. The wheel he built for me helped cushion the blow.
The offender:
The path he took to hit me. He bumped against a parked truck (1) and rebounded to hit me. The circle (2) marks the skid mark my rear wheel made when it got hit. I have no idea how fast he was going but there is no evidence of skid marks from the truck.
Me
(It's a Myspace blog, sorry.)
The rundown (no pun intended):
-Hit from behind by a dump truck on a sunny clear day with little traffic.
-The driver had probably been drinking and fled the scene.
-The impact ripped the bumper off the truck, leaving the license plate at the scene.
-Didn't lose consciousness. Didn't hit my head.
-I've got a compression fracture in my spine and lots of fun road rash.
-A week flat on my back in the hospital and several months in a back brace will see me mostly back to normal. (maybe)
-The driver was questioned by police but has not yet been arrested.
-I may get $500 for the bike if I can find receipts for the frame.
-They told me that the only time I cried was when I started talking about my bike.
-I am very lucky
My new bike.
05 January 2008:
22 March 2008:
Thanks to Gene Spicer. The wheel he built for me helped cushion the blow.
The offender:
The path he took to hit me. He bumped against a parked truck (1) and rebounded to hit me. The circle (2) marks the skid mark my rear wheel made when it got hit. I have no idea how fast he was going but there is no evidence of skid marks from the truck.
Me
Last edited by TimArchy; 04-03-08 at 03:23 AM.
03-29-08 | 07:57 AM
#4
partly metal, partly real
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,597
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From: Philadelphia.
Bikes: Hummer H2
i don't know you (irl), but after an assult like that i'm glad to know you're alive, and can only hope you're not in any pain (or at least have adequate meds to help with it).
what do you think the likelyhood is of the driver being convicted of criminal charges? I don't know anything about the law there, but wish you the best of luck with that and (most importantly) your recovery.
There will be a bikefund, don't worry.
what do you think the likelyhood is of the driver being convicted of criminal charges? I don't know anything about the law there, but wish you the best of luck with that and (most importantly) your recovery.
There will be a bikefund, don't worry.
03-29-08 | 08:01 AM
#5
In the words of Bill & Ted "Whoa"
__________________
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
This is Africa, 1943. War spits out its violence overhead and the sandy graveyard swallows it up. Her name is King Nine, B-25, medium bomber, Twelfth Air Force. On a hot, still morning she took off from Tunisia to bomb the southern tip of Italy. An errant piece of flak tore a hole in a wing tank and, like a wounded bird, this is where she landed, not to return on this day, or any other day.
03-29-08 | 08:16 AM
#7
K2ProFlex baby!
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 6,134
Likes: 59
From: My response would have been something along the lines of: "Does your bike have computer controlled suspension? Then shut your piehole, this baby is from the future!"
Bikes: to many to list
Im glad to hear your alive and recovering, that compound fracture wont be to bad as long as you stay slim, I had an accident that involved a very similiar injury but I was a tad bit over weight at the time and it made everything worse! after about a year of the pain not going anywhere I slowly lost weight and the pain all but disappeared 
so stay safe and stay slim and you should be fine
so stay safe and stay slim and you should be fine
__________________
You see, their morals, their code...it's a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these...These "civilized" people...they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve
You see, their morals, their code...it's a bad joke, dropped at the first sign of trouble. They're only as good as the world allows them to be. I'll show you. When the chips are down, these...These "civilized" people...they'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve
03-29-08 | 08:29 AM
#8
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 9,168
Likes: 5,351
From: SF Bay Area, East bay
Bikes: Miyata 618 GT, Marinoni, Kestral 200, Soma double cross 2002 Trek 5200, KHS Flite, Koga Miyata, Schwinn Spitfire 5, Mondia Special, Univega Alpina, Miyata team Ti, Santa Cruz Highball, Waterford rs11
Not good. Hope your rehab goes well. I've been there.
03-29-08 | 08:56 AM
#10
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 1,572
Likes: 7
From: SF
Bikes: 1972 Paramount Track, 1972 Paramount P13 Road, 1972 Paramount Tandem, 1986 Paramount Road, Merckx MXL, Gunnar Cross Hairs, Samson Illusion NJS, KHS Aero Track, Titus Racer X 29er, Tom Palermo Custom Touring
Glad you survived.
03-29-08 | 09:48 AM
#15
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,155
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From: Atlanta
Bikes: Zeus (Razesa) tarck, Giant TCR road, Eddy Merckx road, Fuji Touring Series IV for everything else
Don't know much about the law here. I do know that the guy is still out for now. The owner of the school is helping me out with the law stuff.
There is definitely plenty of pain. It took the hospital a few days to get me drugs to adequately take care of it, but it's much better now. I didn't sleep for the first two days. Now I'm fine unless I decide to something stupid like move.
I got out today and I'm laid up in a hotel for a while. Only difference from the hospital is that the food is better here and there are english channels on the TV. I'm skipping work for another week and then I'm lucky enough to have a two week holiday. I mentioned to the nurse that I was planning on going back to work this week. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me I wouldn't be able to teach for at least a month. This was all before I tried to stand up for the first time. I understand what she meant now.
Not a fan of the "turd world" reference, but getting injured in a place where you're an outsider and don't know the language is scarry as hell. I can imagine it's the same for any immigrants in the US. Though in the end their bill would probably be 10x what mine is.
6 days in the hospital, x-rays, MRI, drugs, ambulance: 55,000 Baht = $1,700 (covered by insurance)
There is definitely plenty of pain. It took the hospital a few days to get me drugs to adequately take care of it, but it's much better now. I didn't sleep for the first two days. Now I'm fine unless I decide to something stupid like move.
I got out today and I'm laid up in a hotel for a while. Only difference from the hospital is that the food is better here and there are english channels on the TV. I'm skipping work for another week and then I'm lucky enough to have a two week holiday. I mentioned to the nurse that I was planning on going back to work this week. She looked at me like I was crazy and told me I wouldn't be able to teach for at least a month. This was all before I tried to stand up for the first time. I understand what she meant now.
Not a fan of the "turd world" reference, but getting injured in a place where you're an outsider and don't know the language is scarry as hell. I can imagine it's the same for any immigrants in the US. Though in the end their bill would probably be 10x what mine is.
6 days in the hospital, x-rays, MRI, drugs, ambulance: 55,000 Baht = $1,700 (covered by insurance)
03-29-08 | 09:49 AM
#16
TARCK BIKE DOT COM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,018
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From: 610 tarck bike city
Bikes: your mother on wheeeeeelz
03-29-08 | 09:50 AM
#17
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 1,155
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From: Atlanta
Bikes: Zeus (Razesa) tarck, Giant TCR road, Eddy Merckx road, Fuji Touring Series IV for everything else
Thanks for the sentiment, but brakes don't help so much when you get hit from behind.
03-29-08 | 09:56 AM
#19
Bad News
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 397
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it scared the jesus out of me
oh yeah, sorry
03-29-08 | 10:03 AM
#22
TARCK BIKE DOT COM
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 1,018
Likes: 0
From: 610 tarck bike city
Bikes: your mother on wheeeeeelz
03-29-08 | 10:05 AM
#23
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 98
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From: Central NC
Bikes: Giant NRS1, CdaleR400, Surly S-Roller & Fuji Track
Amazing in that this ordeal was documented as it was & that you got to make that call.
TimArchy - I hope you get good, fast. I think you're very lucky in that you never went under carriage and in the area that the fractures were. If that ***h*le was bouncing off of parked cars, I'm sure he didn't immediately notice what he had done. Scary as all hell when I think this can happen ANYWHERE, ANYTIME to ANY of us - and it does.
Godspeed to getting back on top of things again.
Just a sugg. You could take one of your seat stays and drive it deep into this guy's back one day if life doesn't serve him justly by then.
TimArchy - I hope you get good, fast. I think you're very lucky in that you never went under carriage and in the area that the fractures were. If that ***h*le was bouncing off of parked cars, I'm sure he didn't immediately notice what he had done. Scary as all hell when I think this can happen ANYWHERE, ANYTIME to ANY of us - and it does.
Godspeed to getting back on top of things again.
Just a sugg. You could take one of your seat stays and drive it deep into this guy's back one day if life doesn't serve him justly by then.
Last edited by LurkasauresRex; 03-29-08 at 10:22 AM. Reason: read the myspace blog
(on my road of course i got brakes)