The 110.

Cracks & Filler.
The 110 Posted by Nicky Smith Sun, May 22, 2016 17:54:38
I was a bit selfish this morning I have to admit. After all of the hard work over the last couple of months I decided that seeing as Wifey along with my daughter were out until 5pm I decided that I would head off to a car boot sale to look at buying nothing in particular then go for a bit of a hike around Matlock/Matlock Bath over the tors and through the woods on the hillside.
Along with finding my youngest daughter a possible weekend job I took the time to stop and breath in the high views along with the ever increasing leaves growing well in the woodland.


I love being out and about surrounded in nature it relaxes me as well as letting my mind just...flow.
It always amazes me though that some folks are not quite sure how to dress when out and about. I saw many cracks today mainly in the rocks that make up the Tors but by far the biggest crack I saw today was on a chap in his late twenties who was lying down on his side taking in the majestic views with his girlfriend sat by his side.
Problem was that the view he was giving everyone else behind him was rather less than pleasing. With the crack of his backside hanging out of his trousers somehow sideways that was big enough to park a bike in. Honestly you would have thought his arse ended halfway up his back!
Sadly this was not the only bike park I saw out for the sunshine today in fact I saw another three that I really could of done without I mean how can folk not know that their bums are hanging out? Do they not feel the breeze?
Maybe I am old fashioned because I like to keep my bum covered up but hey I prefer to keep it warm, that and I don't fancy someone trying to stick a front wheel in it!

Still it didn't ruin my hike and I was home soon enough to finish off the trimming of driveway matting then popping the Land Rovers back to where they are supposed to live.


I then dug out the filler I had bought earlier in the day to do the odd patch or two on the 110.


I then smiled to myself as I realised I could of offered some unexpected help to those folk that I came across today with a bit of crack filling!

Wifey was then home soon enough putting yet another motor on my freshly laid gravel!


I mean it's like she thinks it is there for the sole purpose of parking cars on it!
Hopefully just hopefully I will now get a bit of extra time to get stuck into the 110 a bit more over the next few weeks.

www.nickysmith.me

Looking very nice with the gravel in front of the house. It is puzzling that the previous inhabitants didn't do something like that - it would have made it much easier to sell. Makes the whole place look much more attractive.

Certainly adds to the kerb appeal doesn't it!

Sickening Slide.
Posted by Nicky Smith Tue, May 24, 2016 19:52:17
Obviously I am ok. I don't mean a happy fit cheerful skipping on a summers afternoon type of ok but a "Anyone you can hobble away from" sort of ok. I hurt like hell all down my right side but there is nothing broken and the bruising will only get worse over the next few days I have been told. Some time off of work along with good rest will see me right over the next few weeks.

I got knocked off of my motorbike on a roundabout on the way home from work last night.

That's as much as I can say about the actual crash as it's all being dealt with by the insurance companies etc so I will start just after the sickening crunch of car into bike with me then heading towards the tarmac still attached to the motorbike, somehow having enough time to think "Jesus this is going to hurt"

And it did.

I hit the tarmac hard on my right side with the bike somehow instantaneously pinning my right leg from the hip down under it and began the road gravel shuffle in earnest for somewhere between 20 to 30 feet. Toward the end of the slide all of my body managed to flip onto the left side apart from my right foot that was still stuck under the bike but somehow facing in the opposite direction from the rest of me as we drew on up to a grinding halt.
Now that ankle really hurt and I somehow managed to reach down along my body and with one hand lift the whole bike upward freeing my foot completely. Realising that I could only be doing that running on complete adrenaline I stopped myself from moving any more because who knows what could be broken and the way my entire right side was shouting it literally could be just about anything.

The shock kicked in quicker and harder than I thought that it could and all of a sudden there was another biker parked up in front of me then peering into my visor asking "How you doing rider?"
"Oh you know, had better trips home"
"Don't move mate the ambulance is on it's way do you want me to call anyone for you?"
"Yea you had better ring Wifey her number is in my mobile under ICE"
(Listen up folks an ICE number stands for In Case of Emergency and is a pretty good thing to have stored in your phone)
"Where's your mobile then?"
"Oh that's in my right front pocket which means you will have to reach down my trousers for it but don't be getting any ideas chap you are not my type"
"I prefer my lovers without beards mate so no worries there"
"Make sure you tell her not to worry and that I am alright. Just meet me at the hospital"

All through this conversation I am aware that the shakes are starting and I am feeling sick. The pain is really quite up there now but what can you do but wait on the Paramedics to arrive and hopefully sort you out.
They didn't take long to turn up. Straight in they were and they were superb, calming caring and all whilst expertly assessing your situation, injuries along with the next course of action to take.
The Police were not far behind and again were spot on. I am getting old though because everyone looks so damned young!!
Still not to complain and I am not they were fantastic!
Time for the rest of the evening sort of went odd passing in fits and starts but I was scooped up off of the road complete with a full neck brace attached then popped into the ambulance where two young ladies proceeded to cut off my trousers!
No it's not a start to a bad 70's adult film (not that I know what those would be like of course) my outer bike trousers had to bite the dust for a more thorough check over of my limbs the immediate pain was coming from.

Happy there was nothing I was going to clock out of this mortal coil on I was whisked away to the Hospital and handed over to another pair of nurses to have a full assessment done.
At this point and for the next four or five hours I could only look up at the ceiling but a better view appeared as I was rolled into the hospital of Wifey peering over saying
"Hey honey what have you been doing now then?"
She was indeed a sight for sore eyes and I felt much more relived to have her there by my side.
This is where I said goodbye to the rest of my bike gear. I am so damned glad I spent a bit of extra cash and bought some half decent stuff because it did it's job protecting my body as best it could when I hot the ground sliding.
The nurse apologised just before he started to cut the kit off and was a tad surprised when I said
"Don't worry about it you are just doing your job"
"Most people moan when we do this, how come you are so calm?"
"The gear has done it's job and now you are doing yours so no worries carry on!"

With a bit of a grin he set too with a little too much gusto hacking my coat off but I think it was just the fact he did not have to worry that relaxed him. I mean how can you actually cut off a coat nicely?

A consultant was soon in giving me a top to toe check deciding after lots of prodding poking and "Does this hurt" twisting in a "Will it hurt if I slap you in the face" way. It was decided that I needed a CT scan of several body parts an a few x-rays of more body parts.
Fair enough what needs to be done must be done but I was initially wheeled into another assessment area to wait for these to be done being informed they were really busy in the hospital today.

Wifey works for the same NHS Trust and knew that it had been a ridiculously busy weekend for the hospital with around 500 admissions!
After a short time a Nurse turned up with some welcomed drugs to numb the pain apologising that we had to wait to which we replied not to apologise we could see they were crazy busy and doing a great job coping with it all!

It was about now that I noticed I could really do with a wee. No problem it could wait.

After some time had passed I had some more clothing removed and bagged up which was promptly handed over to my poor long suffering Wife to add to the two bags of bits and a hacked up rucksack to carry! I was wheeled into the CT scanner room where several rather young and attractive women who all looked at me like I was their Dad transferred me onto the scanning machine bed after even more hacking of biker clothing zips that could be reached.
I was informed they would be injecting me with a dye so as to better see my insides with. This dye had a few side effects such as giving you hot flushes, a metallic taste in the mouth and making you feel like you have wet yourself.

Now I only thought it fair at this point to mention that I was quite a way past my holding my pee in point so the feeling like I had wet myself side effect could in fact make a real appearance and could the dye have that unfortunate influence?

I was informed it couldn't and the scan went ahead. What a strange experience that was being slid forward and backward through a rather large doughnut with a built in light show for good measure.
That done I was manhandled (not in a fun way) back onto my trolley still looking at the ceiling tiles and wheeled back to the assessment area.

Things were starting to get a bit desperate now in the water holding department so I asked Wifey to let the staff know. Into a curtained cubicle on my trolley we went where I was handed a cardboard pee funnel jug thing and told to carry on when ready.

Now I looked at this jug thing thinking that will not hold all of what I need to pass here I have been holding it for hours! The Mrs grabbed a second one as back up just in case.
I need to point out here that I have never in our seventeen years together ever peed in front of my Wife. It's just not something we do and certainly not in bed!

Have you ever tried to pee lying down...in bed....on purpose...into what constitutes a cardboard bottle? No? Me neither it was indeed a new experience that does not need to be repeated ever again especially after trying to get on with it with kidney near to exploding along with my back teeth floating only to get stage fright for a few minutes to boot!

With that embarrassment over and the warm bottle handed over it was time to head off to have the x-rays.
How anyone can complain about our NHS is beyond me the service I got was fantastic and the care even better. I was given some more painkillers whilst the results were being sent back to the consultant who was in soon enough to remove the neck brace and to inform me that nothing was broken.

Good news indeed!

He did inform me though that he was writing a prescription for some pretty good painkillers because if I thought I was hurting now the pain would be much much worse over the next few days as all of the severe bruising etc would develop rather nicely from the impact of the accident.
He was not wrong there let me tell you!
He did say all of this with a grin on his face but in all fairness we had been having the odd joke or two as the evening was going along.

I was then sent a nurse to help me get up off of my back in stages along with a quick walking/limping lesson to get me moving very very slowly again.

As I said at the start anyone you can walk away from with no broken bones or worse is a good one. I don't bear the other driver any malice I mean what's the point accidents happen. (Just keep an eye out for bikers folks)

And once again I want to say thank you to our emergency services along with all of the hospital staff who were fantastic from the beginning to the end. Where else can you get all of that hard work put into checking your health and making sure you are not going to suffer for no apparent reason and normally make a start on getting you better all in the space of 5 or 6 hours?
These folks do an incredible job and we should all be thankful for those that willingly put themselves through the stress of such roles all for the benefit of strangers they do not know on a daily basis.
Thank you folks you were superb...

How's the bike? (seeing you're sort of OK).
Rest up and don't rush it, our heads tell us we fix up as quick as a 17.year old...here's the rub.....we don't. Chin up!!

lol we don't indeed!
As for the bike...I have no idea! Didn't really see it after we parted company but the insurance folks will let me know soon enough I expect.

Glad to hear your OK (kinda). I had a mate killed by an oncoming driver a few years back. Never much liked bikes since then.

Get well soon.

Thank you Alibro. I have lost a couple of friends over the years as well. Luckily for me there is nothing more than some discomfort for a couple of weeks...

Takes longer to heal has you get older! SORRY been there done that !
Get well soon & get some more done to the landy

Steve

You are not wrong Steve! I am sat here hurting like hell and feeling rough as a badgers backside to boot!

I am glad you have come away relatively ok! I really admire your attitude to the other driver and wish you a speedy recovery. As already said above, dont rush it!
Take it easy. Everything else can wait!
Maybe order some flowers online for your wife! She sounds like a good 'un!
Take care
Rich

Careful there Rich she might read this and ask where her flowers are!
Yea she is a good 'un in fact too good for me!
Hopefully heal soon enough...

OK then I know it's not about the 110 and it is the last post about the bike accident. Thought I would post it anyway as the follow up then move onwards!
Good news on the 110 though is that I now have the new window channels needed along with the new strike plates so the latches will work. Need to pick up the bolt things that hold the whole door lock/latch in the door though but struggling to figure out exactly what I need there...

Hurting & Healing.
MusingsPosted by Nicky Smith Thu, May 26, 2016 10:00:20
OK then this is not a post about me moaning or looking for sympathy it is a post about how you can feel in the after mouth of a bike accident.

Yes I am hurting, really hurting but there is nothing broken so it is all bruising and even though the Consultant warned me the pain would increase over the following days from the accident I thought I was a big strong man so it wouldn't be that bad.
Oh bugger that it is bad it hurts like hell. If I am a bit girly for admitting that then so be it!
The day after the crash I was quite sore but nothing too bad if I am honest and I thought to myself that if this was it pain wise it was going to be a breeze.
Well that changed by the time I awoke yesterday. The pain was this dull constant all consuming weird pounding (obviously all of the deep bruising really coming out) so I thought a nice warm bath should be on the cards because lets face it a nice long soak makes anyone feel better.
Nope. It was nice at the time but as soon as I got out of it I felt as sick as a pig for hours but I expect this was just a combination of the painkillers bruising etc. Didn't want to eat, slept for hours on end in fact so much that I thought I would not be able to sleep at night but I was wrong there again as my body decided I was quite wrong and knocked me out for nearly twelve hours straight.

Now I don't normally sleep a great deal in fact six to seven hours is always more than enough much to Wifey's annoyance when I wake her up early with a "GOOD MORNING WORLD!!" and a cup of tea, so twelve hours is somewhat out of the norm!

The pain had changed this morning though after my mammoth sleeping session. It is more of a sharp constant now that is more localised to the areas that are damaged and is much more controllable. Thankfully I have not had to pee in my bed again with the much preferred one step at a time old man shuffle taking place up and down the stairs to the toilet instead!

My biggest issue though I want to address head on. The accident has freaked me out a fair bit. It could have been worse of that there is no doubt and I am thankful that it was not after all there are many people out there in the big wide world that are far far worse off than me.
What concerns me is the fact that I am a driver trainer. I teach out the best ways to avoid these sort of situations including advanced instruction on collision avoidance and I do not doubt for one moment that if I did not do this for a living the outcome would have been very different indeed because my warning of what was to come came from me spotting the front wheels of the car changing direction.
I know there was nothing more to be done than what I did but getting back behind the wheel has been freaking me out a little for the past few days.

I need to get back into the saddle as quickly as possible and get riding again just in case I loose the bottle to do it at all. In fact this morning when I hobbled downstairs I saw there were some letters that needed posting so before I took any more of my strong trip you out happy painkillers I grabbed the keys to the Discovery to drive to the post box and back covering a couple of miles.
Once sitting in the Disco I took a deep breath to help ease my apprehension and turned the keys in the ignition.
Literally as soon as the wheels started to turn the dread disappeared and I relaxed straight into the drive with no problems at all as I plodded along even when a tool came rushing out of a side road cutting me up a touch. My training sat true and I had already seen the issue developing so just eased off the gas letting him race away.

Getting back behind the wheel was the best thing I could of done this morning effectively stopping the driving issue becoming bigger in my mind. I still feel a little apprehensive about riding again but that is to be expected I suppose as you are far more exposed but as soon as the opportunity arises and my body lets me I will be riding once again.

I am stubborn hard headed and pretty impatient. I am not the type to sit around doing nothing life is far too short for that so this enforced resting is a new experience for me! Wifey wanted a new kitchen fitting next week we shall see how far we get with that. I am not going to try and run before I can walk because if I put myself back into this forced rest thing again I would be more than a little peeved!

Glad to hear you're still mobile after all that. Probably won't be doing much landscape gardening for a few weeks though. Hope the process of dealing with insurance companies isn't too depressing.

Sorry to read about the RTC. Glad you're OK, though obviously more than a little beaten up.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Thanks folks it will mend in time as for the insurance companies they can fight amoungst themselves

What Wheel Colour?
The 110 Posted by Nicky Smith Thu, May 26, 2016 14:05:06
Seeing as I cant do much of bugger all at the moment my mind turned to what wheel colour I want on the 110. I already have a set of G90's on standard rims ready to fit but haven't got around to choosing a colour yet.
I am not even sure if I want to fit the G90's yet if I am honest I mean I like the look of them but they may be a little harsh for everyday driving so maybe I will end up getting myself another set of wheels with something a little more sympathetic to the road yet.

Cash is tight though I will work with what I have for now but the rims are just sat in undercoat awaiting my final choice. I flicked through some magazines again and had a bit of a play online peering closely on the screen like I had some sort of fetish at other peoples wheel choices.
Still undecided I limped off into the garage just to get some air and whilst loitering around in there with my dog following me around closely keeping an eye on me because she knows I am not at my best and no doubt under orders form the Wife as well, I noticed the can of silver spray among the chaos that still is my garage since our house move so I thought "What the hell" I will pop a quick coat on the knackered tyres and rims that the 110 is sitting on to see what it would look like.

After admitting to myself that I won't be doing more than five minutes of pottering at a time at the moment without a twenty minute break I was quite pleased with the results!



I really like the way the silver sits on the wheels there so it is decided...silver wheels they will be. The only problem is that was my only can of silver spray but my middle daughter is on route to see me today passing through Nottingham City Center so a quick phone call and picture message of what I want will see her collecting five new cans of poundland specials for me.
I do have a can of lacquer here to top all of the wheels off when painted so happy days another little decision has been made on how my little project will go forward has been made...

If your looking for more lacquer I can recommend this stuff. Best rattle can lacquer I've used so far and I've tried a few.
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/pa...t-decorative-paints/halfords-bodyshop-lacquer

That's the stuff I have in the garage!
Sorry for all of teh "yets" in the last post I had not long taken my painkillers before starting to write...probably not a good idea and I am quite impressed it was all coherent!

Hot bath, big no no with bruising etc I'm afraid mate as it increases the circulation and lets them bleed from any damaged areas ( may well be why you felt like **** , imagine putting a hot towel on a black eye), what you really need is as cold as you can stand for a few days to let them heal up without the pressure and then when they've healed somewhat warm it up a bit to encourage the blood flow back to the area.
I bet you're glad you got the gravel drive sorted before your spill.
Good luck mate, hope you are feeling better soon.