Hit and Run

This posting is coming to you from a beautiful ranch house about 20 miles from Colorado Springs. Sadly we don’t expect we’ll be lightening your spirits much from our last posting as our trip has taken a serious turn for the worse. We suppose the best place to start would be where we left off in Lamar when we were dealing with Zach’s problematic back tire.

We were on our way to Wal-Mart when we saw a small ammunition shop on the side of the road. Seeing as we were going to Wal-Mart to pick up co2 cartridges to refill our tires should the need arise, we thought it might be a good idea to pick up what we needed there. The owner of the establishment was a man named Mike, and he had over 20 years experience working on motorcycles and as it turned out he also had a small garage in the back of his ammunition shop. We gratefully accepted his offer to look at Zach’s bike, as we were baffled as to how we would get to La Junta to a bike shop where someone qualified could correctly diagnose the cause of 6 blown tubes.

In no time at all we discovered that a piece of protective tape covering the where the spokes connect to the rim had moved, which was causing our tubes to work themselves into a series of sharp depressions within the rim of the tire. It was a simple fix and by early afternoon we were back on the road and on our way to Las Animas.

35 miles later we enjoyed a small Mexican lunch and made our way to the local coin laundry to wash our dirty clothes and avoid a vicious thunderstorm which had followed us into town. At the laundromat we had the pleasure of meeting Dr. James Miller and Dr. Barbara Pivonka. We sat around and shot the breeze while our laundry finished drying and we folded our clothes. By the time it was time to leave both of these kind souls had donated 50 dollars to our cause and filled us with enough good will to last us for the next hundred miles at least.

We left Las Animas for an RV park 20 miles down the road in La Junta around 6:30 or so. The storm had passed us over and our exit from town was complimented by the most beautiful sunset we’ve had the privilege to enjoy yet. The storm was about 30 miles off into the distance and we could still see the lightening dancing between the clouds and ground. The only thing more spectacular than the electricity skipping through the air was the sun was shining through a large hole between the storm and the ground, highlighting the clouds and skirting the reeds at our feet as we made our way between cities.

There was no warning from the Semi-Truck which hit us from behind, and everything happened so quickly that it is difficult to recount exactly what happened. Zach lost consciousness immediately so the best we can do is tell this from Anthony’s perspective, which thankfully is still at best incomplete.

At what seemed like exactly same instant I heard a loud crash and felt a blow to my left side which I can only compare to being struck by an enormous hammer. The impact was with such force that I was immediately thrown from my bike into the air. The only image I can recall is being surrounded by debris. I suppose that my years practicing martial arts contributed to a sort of instinctual reflex to tuck and role, as I found myself tumbling through the weeds and dirt in something close to the fetal position before finally coming to rest in the dirt beside the highway.

The next thing I remember is Zach calling our my name.

“Anthony, Dude are you ok?”

It took me a moment to process this question. I imagine I was in shock but had the presence of mind to look around. Zach was about 20 feet from me lying on his back half on the road, there was pieces of bike lying across the road and on the shoulder, and about 15 feet in front of me was what was left of my bike. The trailer I was dragging was little other than a twisted piece of metal, the back wheel was completely destroyed, the and the seat was ripped from the frame. A dull but searing pain ripped its way up my left side and I checked all my limbs to see if they still worked. A moment later I had confirmed that I still had control over my motor functions, and finally was able to respond.

“Yeah… Are you alright?”

Zach waited a moment before responding between grunts.

“I think so.”

Numerous cars passed us by as we struggled to keep our wits. Moments later I found myself on the phone with 911 and paramedics were on the scene within minutes. I cant recall much that happened between the ground of the accident and La Junta hospital other than being swarmed by mosquitoes and the ceiling of the ambulance, but within a few hours we were being x-rayed and treated by La Junta’s finest.

By some miracle we both escaped with little more than superficial injuries. Zach is now enjoying 4 staples in his left arm, which broke his fall, a very badly bruised leg, and a mild concussion. I on the other hand do not have a visible scratch on me, but the left side of my body is suffering from what the doctors as the hospital called one of the worst contusions they’ve ever seen. No broken bones across the board and thankfully, we are both alive.

The story the police gave us at the hospital went a little something like this: A witness saw a large silver semi hit us both. Zach was traveling behind and based on his injuries it seems that it only clipped his bike sending him through the air for about 20 feet where his arm broke his fall. Based on my injuries and the condition of my bike we expect the wheel well of the semi then hit me on the left side, sending me into the air until I came to rest about 45 feet from impact. The driver did not stop and the police were unable to acquire a suspect. To be honest we will never really know what happed in any more detail than what you’ve read here, but we are left humbled and grateful to be alive as most accidents involving bicyclers and semi’s do not have the same outcome…

Greg Phelps and his wife Melissa once again came to our rescue after the hospital discharged us this morning. With our limited medical insurance they refused to keep us overnight, but it seems extra attention to our injuries would have proved to be unnecessary. We spent the night at a nearby holiday inn and have since been picked up by the Phelps and driven to a ranch north of Colorado Springs where we are enjoying the same warm hospitality that we were spoiled with in Wichita. Both of us have quite a hard time walking but are expected to make full recoveries without too much of a delay. Zach’s bike was salvageable and we took what we could from mine, but we are unsure what this will mean for the rest of the trip. For the time being we plan to recover in Colorado Springs and see how we feel in a few days. We have not yet given up hope that the trip may yet be completed, but we’ll wait to make any further plans until the time is right.

We’ve heard that in experiences such as this one may do a degree of re evaluating of one’s priorities. I don’t know if this is true for everyone but I can say that it is true for me. I want to take a moment to say that I have no regrets for going on this trip thus far and if I could do it again I would do it the same without hesitation. Being dosed with a sense of your own mortality makes it painfully clear that life is far too short to be worried about money or pain or those who have wronged you. What’s important are the lives you touch and the ones by whom you are touched. I am grateful for the luck to be born into a loving family, for the pleasure of knowing all of my friends back in Pittsburgh, for the privilege of being given the opportunity to see the world through the kindness of others, and the honor of standing beside the friends who are truly there for you. If this experience can inspire any one of you readers to take a moment to consider that which is important in your own life and let go of that which binds you, then I consider it paid in full.

We wish all of you the best, and will be in touch. Thank you for all of your continued support.