Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 IRON BUTT MAGAZINE | Winter 2014 times, landing  feet behind the thick sagebrush, almost completely hidden from the roadway. No one witnessed the crash and I lay broken, unconscious, and near death for five hours before being discovered. At : a.m., I- traffic was stopped to allow an emer- gency rescue helicopter to land on the highway. Still uncon- scious and in critical condition, I was air-evacuated to a hospital near Reno, Nevada. At : a.m., nine hours following my crash, I woke up in a surgical recovery room with a doctor leaning over my bed. He stated that their medical facility had never worked on a motorcyclist who had crashed at  mph and survived. The doctor went on to say that I was very lucky to be alive, but unfortunately, my life would never be the same again with the extent of all my injuries. He went on to emphasize that I would certainly never ride a motorcycle again. One hundred fifty x-rays showed I had broken my back in three places, fractured my collarbone in several places, shattered my left leg, broken every frontal rib and several rear ribs on my right side, fractured several fingers and finger joints, and finally, had broken one of my teeth. I also sustained extensive damage to my left shoulder, which was completely torn from the socket, severing or damaging nearly all of my cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. A CAT scan revealed that, miraculously, I somehow survived the crash without brain damage or hemorrhaging. ATGATT! What does it take to get mentally and physically motivated to ride a motorcycle again following a near-death collision? I’m aware that many other motorcycle crash victims walk away and never ride again.As I lay in critical condition in an ICU hospital bed more than , miles from my family, I promised myself that I would not become a victim, but rather a champion from my circumstances. I promised myself that within  months I would not only recover enough to lead a normal life, but that I would prove my doctors wrong by riding again. I simply asked each doctor to repair me the best they could and I would take care of the rest. Following the crash, I had at least four other medical spe- cialists inform me that I would never recover enough to ride a motorcycle again. I was repeatedly told that with three broken vertebrae, I’d be unable to endure the pain. Furthermore, I was reminded that the damage to my left shoulder would leave me with partial paralysis and in the best-case scenario, I would only regain about % mobility. Later I underwent six additional surgeries to mend my inju- ries. But the most difficult part of my recovery was the physi- cal therapy. Drawing strength from the support from my wife and sons, as well as from my parents and siblings, I worked seven days a week — starting at : a.m. every day — for nine months to regain my strength.My moti- vating force was my goal to not only ride a motorcycle again, but also to complete a /ths Challenge (ten ,-mile days in row). Thirteen months after my crash, I successfully completed this goal. Upon receiving my /ths certificate, I immedi- ately shared it with my doctors, on a motorcyclist who had crashed at  mph and survived. months to regain my strength.My moti- Thirteen months after my crash, I successfully completed this goal. Upon receiving my /ths certificate, I immedi- ately shared it with my doctors, CRASH RIDING AGAIN AFTER A