Yep, she's in there for a few weeks. Had a bit of a spill up near the TN/NC border Monday night.
After a fun-filled week of riding topped off by the fantastic GA rally, I spent a full day Monday riding the back roads northeast of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. Planned on spending the night at the GSMNP campgrounds at Cosby, TN.
Right at the end of the Foothills Parkway, just a mile from my tent, I blacked out and left the road. Doctor said he thinks I had a 'little' stroke.
Since I was approaching the end of the road and on a sweeping gentle left curve, I was off the throttle. Laid it down in the grass and did minor damage to my bike. Broke the tibia? fibia? (little bone) in my left leg just above the ankle, clean break, no pins or surgery.
Weird thing is, as I left the road my mind flashed, "We're leaving the road." Yep, first-person plural, no emotion, just a statement of fact.
I did not ride it out like a regular accident, in slow motion, infinite detail. I saw myself, shoulders and helmet, from behind, like I was a passenger on the pillion. There were no physical sensations, like the bike bumping through the grass or the bars in my hands. (The nurse called it 'dettached'.) When I tried to pick up the bike I couldn't, unlike that accident in '82 when my bike felt like it weighed only 10 pounds with the adrenalin pumping.
I will be getting a battery of tests to figure out what's up. With my heart history, a stroke could be just another thing I have to deal with. Might end my motorcycling, though, since this is a factor I don't have control over and it is potentially pretty dangerous for myself and for others on the road.
For now, I'm feeling mighty lucky. If it had happened at almost any other time or place on the road than when it did, things could have gotten really ugly. As they say, someone was definitely looking out for me. Marlene and Kelly are awfully happy to see me back home and I'm glad I'm here, too.
