BANDITS ACROSS AMERICA - 2001

Suzuki Bandit 1200S

(sorry, there are no pictures on this page)

2 AUGUST

We awoke sore, very sore, and Jason's mild concussion has left him with a lingering migraine. Sometime during the night my road rash began to ooze and I was stuck to the sheets. I got in the wheelchair-accessible shower and let hot water pound on my aching and bruised back for as long as I could take it, maybe 20 or 25 minutes. The sheet came unstuck.

Once Jason got up we started trying to figure out our way home.

How To Get Home When Wrecked on the Other Side of the Goddam Country:
1. fix the bikes in Medford and ride home. Abandoned this idea because it would take to long with insurance companies and sourcing parts.
2. rent a U-Haul and drive home. Seemed good in spite of the $1900 quote we got for a 1-way rental on a 14' truck. Frontrunner idea to the end.
3. ship the bikes home and fly back. Through some machinations, this, combined with #2 is what we'll do.

Jason & I spent all day on the phone, talking to family, insurance companies, and various merchants. Jason found a place that would crate our bikes for $250 each and ship them for $825 each. At $2150, only a bit more than the U-Haul, but no gas or lodging costs along the way. That doesn't get us home though. It seemed OK, just expensive.

We discussed where to take our bikes for repair once home - Extreme Powersport was a natural choice since Jason bought his bike there and I know both the GM (Rick) and his son Seth (the accessories/parts manager) from when I worked at Coleman before the old lady ran me over. I thought to call Seth/Rick and ask their advice. Seth proved to be THE MAN, as through their connections, they hooked us up with a freight company that will crate AND ship our bikes for $625 each. All we have to do is get them to Pro Caliber Motorsports near Portland, OR. Jason's dad is covering the shipping for us til we can pay him back.

For some reason, I was stricken with a horrible, spinning dizziness that won't go away. Jason got a wheelchair from the hospital (just down the hill) and got me down there; they checked me out and say I have a nasty case of vertigo, perhaps from the crash but perhaps from the medication. They recommended I stop taking it and just take aspirin or Aleve for my back pain. They gave me something to calm the nausea (every time I opened my eyes I would puke) and tame the spins a bit, but it really, really sucks. The anti-nausea/anti-spin med makes me very sleepy.

Gas Log - 13 July - 14 July - 15 July - 17 July
18 July - 19 July - 20 July - 21 July - 22 July
23 July - 24 July - 26 July - 27 July - 28 July
29 July - 30 July - 31 July - 1 Aug - 2 Aug
3 Aug - 7 Aug - Wrapup

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