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Well, time to let the cat out of the bag. Amanda and I were struck broadside on the 4th. We were heading to Muskie for a picnic lunch on the Goldwing. Somebody decided they wanted to pull into a driveway without slowing down or stopping first. We were both sent to the hospital in helicopters. I was treated for internal organ injuries and broken ribs. Amanda has a broken ankle, fibula and a gnarly set of laceration on her left thigh. We are both very grateful for the first responders, Dundee and Strasburg FD and LifeFlight/Cleveland Clinic teams for getting us to the hospital as quickly as they did. Several people stopped to help as they came upon the scene, but the only witness to the crash other than us and the minivan driver was a semi driver that didn't stop He was a contributing factor in the crash, as the driver's statement to the police was she didn't see us and was concerned the truck would run her over if she did stop before turning. The first thing I remember seeing is the semi on the van's tail very close and they were rolling very fast. The next thing I remember is the cab of the semi diving hard. I swerved right quickly to avoid the impending crash between the two vehicles only to be slammed into by the van in an instant after that maneuver. It was all over in a second. The crash scene investigators said the Goldwing left an 80' braking impression (not a skid mark, but powdered rubber) from the middle of the lane to about 24" to the fog line. They said if I hadn't changed my line I would have struck the van broadside in the right front fender and probably would be a completely different outcome. All of this was just reaction, as I literally had a second to make the move. 80' of tire mark is 1.07 seconds at 55mph. It was all over that fast. I went over the bars and through my windscreen. I landed on my face, left shoulder and chest. All of my damage occurred when I hit the pavement and slid. Amanda was pushed into the van, which caught her leg. It is presumed it was dislocated and broken at that point, which is why she wasn't sent airborne, but tumbled to a stop on the road. She didn't suffer any internal injuries, thankfully. Her left leg was black and blue from mid-thigh to her toes. She had two surgeries to treat and repair her ankle and a shitload of stitches in her thigh. The lacerations were 7-8" long and 4" wide, according to the trauma team. They believe she was pushed into whatever crash debris occurred from the initial impact that sent the bike rotating clockwise, which is why she was slammed into the van. Luckily she didn't take a direct hit. Neither of us did. The Goldwings flat-six took the punch since I was still in a very hard dive right, lifting the engine into the path of the van's front end. I am extremely grateful for that bike and how well it handled the impact. I believe I would have very serious damage to my left leg if I was riding the Voyager. It could have been worse. Our safety gear did it's job. My ribcage did it's job. I suffered a couple broken ribs, a bruised lung and a lacerated spleen. All of this will heal. Amanda's leg will heal. Honda makes new Goldwings every day. I made ALL of the right choices.... quality gear, quality bike, quality riding education/skills and I still got blasted by selfish individuals that just don't deserve to drive a vehicle on public roads. However, anger and resentment are poison that I just won't keep swallowing. She's home. I am home. She's safe and I am incredibly humbled to be alive and that Isaac doesn't have to bury his old man. We are already doing the work required to heal, build strength and the courage to climb back into the saddle. It will be different, now. That driver took something from us that we won't get back, but we are both determined to not let her selfish actions take away the joy of riding together. Amanda has been my stronghold when I started to go to dark places. She brought me back into the light several times and I have been by her side through all of this. We are stronger together now than I ever believed was possible before. She is amazing and I am in awe of her strength, spirit and capacity for love. Before I finish, I want to give a special acknowledgment to a couple people. First... @Tonik. Jim, you have been a far greater friend than I deserve. I look forward to getting back on the bike and finalizing those summer trip plans. It just probably won't happen this year. Please know you and Deb are on the very top of a short list of people I hold near and dear. If you ever need anything from us, consider it already done. @Blitz, you and Shannon are right next to them on that list. I can't wait to hug and kiss Shannon for the kindness she has offered. She brought a huge smile to Amanda's face with her surprise packages. She was genuinely moved and I was so grateful to see her smile because of it. @NinjaDoc, you are one of my absolute favorite human beings on this planet. Thank you for just being who you are. You helped me more than you know. I will catch you on a mountain pass sometime soon. @Skinny guy, Rick..... I am convinced the helmet you gifted me saved my life. I can't possibly put into words the gratitude I have for your lack of ego and immense quality of character. I hope you are doing well and I am very hopeful to chase that BMW of yours soon. To all the others that have been keeping in contact and sending their love and offerings of help... I love every one of you. I am grateful to know I have you all in my company of friends. I am surrounded by very fine individuals and it makes me proud to know that is also a reflection of my own character. I am humbled by the compassion and presence of each of you. It will be a while before I am climbing onto the BMW, but I will be back. I will just be blinding every one of you with 50k lumens of LED driving lights and wearing the latest and greatest in motorcycle safety gear available to mortals. Everything is different, now.... but it's always going to be about the ride. Catch you crazy kids down the road. Speed safe and take care of yourselves. I am going to attach some of the crash damage photos. They are just pictures of the Goldwing and our helmets. My Alpinestars jacket and her Atomic jacket were cut off of us at the crash site. All of our clothes were cut off of us, actually. Other than the dirt and grass that got jammed into the cylinder head when the bike finally fell over and the dirt on the fairings and pannier, all of the damage happened at the point of impact. The bike was vertical all the way until it fell over in the grass. We got blasted hard core and it just took the punch like a prize fighter. I am seriously impressed with that machine and just so glad it wasn't the Voyager.

Glad you guys are ok Pauly, that's a really lucky one to figuratively walk away from. Heal quickly.

Pauly, Not the best way to start the riding season. Wish the best for you and Amanda with your recovery. Get well soon and let us know if there is anything we can help with. B.

Holy crap! Wow ! Not sure if I can offer any help at this point, but if so, please let me know. Heal quickly my friend.

Wow man very glad you guys are still here with us!

Pauly, that's terrible this happened. Wish the best for you and Amanda

@Pauly sorry to hear about this. I’m glad you 2 are okay.

Was wondering if there was going to be a post about this. Glad you 2 are on the mend. Like I've told you many times since this happened, lmk if you or Amanda need anything, seriously.

Wow, yeah. That's a tremendous amount of force. Crashes like this make me consider wearing an airbag vest. I wonder how @Pauly would have fared with one on.. Once again though, I'm happy you're alive and well (relatively), and were wearing the gear you were..

Maybe not apparent in the pics or description, the side engine case is broken badly. Cam chain is loose so I would expect the valves slapped some pistons. It clearly happened during the initial impact as did all the left side front damage. When I took those pics I walked away believing she hit it right about where the mirror used to be. So it was a side impact due to Pauly's last second move. That created a far better out come here. Steering and front suspension are still perfectly operational and straight. I found that most amazing.

@Pauly Ho-lyeee shit. I'm glad you and yours' aren't in worse shape... Here's to a quick recovery, mate Cheers!

And thanks for the input What and Todd. Appreciate it.

So, 23 minutes of moaning sounds and kneecaps?

Putnam is an excellent first time track

I'd browse the WERA forums or N2 forums. http://forums.13x.com/index.php https://forum.n2td.org/index.php

@BudDaytonRat listen to Tonik. His routes have never disappointed. My buddy and I rode many routes near the dragon that he has posted on here. My buddy commented multiple times how his routes were top notch. I’m sure Tonik will be super humble about this compliment.