2013-08 - Lost and Found
The 2009 IBR Story, with some info on the crash
CRASH story, with pics and some UGLY DEAD DEAR PICS and a more information
During the 2009 Ironbutt Rally, north of Cowdry Colorado, I hit a Mule Deer while on my Harley. The resulting slide down the road ended in what is often called a Rummage Sale. My stuff was scattered all over the place. Some folks that stopped helped me gather my stuff. The only real injury was one over-extended muscle in my leg. We were able to gather everything, all electronics, all cloths, everything. EXCEPT ... my bag with toiletries, most important of which was my Ibuprofin. I would have killed for that Ibuprofin. The other thing was a rather expensive radar detector. This was on a magnetic mount, which I suspect helped launch it into space.
This past summer (August 2013) 4 years almost to the day, I was headed right past the location of the crash, so I decided to stop and look around. I wanted to see if my memory of the crash was true. We can't really trust our memories in an event like this. Everything was just as I remember. The brushy area the dear came from, the area where the bike finally came to rest, all of it. Even after 4 years there was still evidence of the crash in the dirt. Dry areas like this don't change much over time.
Then I saw it. My toiletries bag. Just sitting there, partially zipped open.
The toothpaste was still good, I used it the rest of the trip. Same with the sunscreen. The razor was not quite prime, so I dumped that, along with the moldy ear plugs. Everything was covered in a white powder due to the Rolaids disintegrating. The lighter still worked well. And my Swiss Army Knife was still sharp. The lip balm and deoderant had melted, but the lip balm in the sealed containers was still good. The only thing I can think of is that the bag was under the bike when it was sitting there, and was left when the tow truck pulled the bike up. The bag was sitting in the open maybe 5 feet from where the bike was laying.
The Screaming Meanie still functioned once I put a new battery in it. Somewhat. The Extra Loud setting was not very loud, and the display did not display completely, but it worked.
These were the only parts I could find of the bike. I think that blue rubber band was one of the ones I used to keep the radar detector from rattling.
THEN I FOUND IT. There, in the bag, my small bottle of Ibuprofin. After the accident, all I really wanted was this bottle. It was the most valuable part of my kit. The day after the accident, at my girlfreinds insistance, I went to the hospital to be checked out. I was fine. I ended up paying $20 per pill for the Ibuprofin they gave me. Well, the insurance company did. The pills in this bottle still looked like pills. Not like anything you would put in your mouth, but they were still intact.
