A Very Strange Wednesday.

I'll tell you it as I remember it. Gwen had dumped some of the horse's turnout rugs in the garage and they were stinking the place out. It was my job to take them to the saddlery in nearby East Kilbride to get them cleaned. I strapped one onto the back of my SV and set off. I was on the main road and just about to take a turn off then it happened. "It" being a bang followed by the bike skidding up the road with the rear wheel locked solid.

I would have been doing 50-60 mph when the skid started but I managed to hold on until the bike was going fairly slowly before I flew off. The next thing I remember was being in hospital getting moved between beds with a sharp pain in my shoulder. I think I must have landed on my head & shoulder. I was dazed but, I think, conscious I just can't remember anything. Turns out I have a broken collar bone and my helmet was split up the back indicating a fair blow was sustained. The ambulance crew came to see me and I thanked them but said I couldn't remember them. They said I was conscious but confused.

Due to the head injury I got a CT scan and something suspicious was found. I had bleeding or a bruise on the brain. I stayed in hospital for two days without really any treatment. The consultant said I was on observation but he didn't think I had a brain injury because I was not showing signs. They hoped for a MRI scan but that could not be arranged until Monday so I was sent home.

My bike was taken to a vehicle pound and they wouldn't release it until the cops have had a look at it.

So now I'm at home thinking about things.

Firstly "what happened?". At first I thought that the rug had slipped and jammed the wheel. But I've carried rugs many times without problems and, thinking back, there was a metallic "bang!" - so maybe the snapped chain? Gwen said that at location there was 60 feet of skid marks followed by 6 feet of scraping. If the bike was upright most of the time damage could be limited but a snapped chain can cause carnage itself.

Secondly "am I ok"? The collar bone is inconvenient and sore at times but not a concern. Do I have brain damage? I don't think so, the consultant said that the scan could have shown up old injuries dating back decades, he wasn't worried because I wasn't showing any signs. I did get a whack on the head bad enough to lose a few hours though. I just feel a bit tired but otherwise compos mentis. See, I'm using Latin, brain damaged folk don't do that, do they?

No doubt all will be revealed in the days to come.