Far from home: incident, mishap, accident / What to do?

[Motofool]

I have been asked this question today, but I did not know the correct response.
This is something that has never happened to me.

Please, tell us about experiences, yours or of your friends or relatives, regarding any incident, mishap or accident that has happened far from home and how it has been solved.

For example, your bike or car gets disabled (by mechanical issue, or accident or vandalism) while being traveling unfamiliar territory, a couple of states away from home.

[Alex]

If one travels long distance frequently on a motorcycle, it may be worth it to carry Medjet insurance. It's required for folks running the IBR. I haven't had to use it myself (thankfully), but for the folks that have had the displeasure of being in accidents while far from home, they do have a reasonable reputation of getting things taken care of. They will get you back to a hospital near your home however appropriate, and will manage the transport of the motorcycle as well. They have a plan that is tailored for motorcycle riders:

https://medjetassist.com/personal-ai...cle-membership

It's not cheap, if I remember correctly it's around $250/yr. Getting a private jet flight back home along with motorcycle shipping is thousands of dollars though, so if you find yourself in that situation, $250 seems awfully cheap.

For everything else (vandalism, gear stolen, bike mechanical issues), it's what credit cards are for. Pay whatever it takes to get up and running to continue the trip, or cut bait by catching a flight and having the bike shipped. I do have friends who have taken in a poorly running or broken bike in for remote dealer service, and traded it in on the spot to continue the trip on a new bike. Some of them while still on the clock in the middle of a rally.

[fishdip]

Originally Posted by Motofool

I have been asked this question today, but I did not know the correct response.
This is something that has never happened to me.

Please, tell us about experiences, yours or of your friends or relatives, regarding any incident, mishap or accident that has happened far from home and how it has been solved.

For example, your bike or car gets disabled (by mechanical issue, or accident or vandalism) while being traveling unfamiliar territory, a couple of states away from home.

Well I have been broken down in Florida living in co. You know what has paid of the best is meeting good ppl in states I ride in. Long store short having a person who is willing to let you use there garage to fix the issue is far better then having to come up with the extra money to have a shop due it.

[MrAtom]

Medjet sounds like a good value. $250 a year is just over $20 a month. Heck, ive spent that much on stuff i dont need before. If i take a long trip, ill check it out!

[Sirref]

If I rode 300+mi away from home on a regular basis I'd get that insurance in a heartbeat

[verboten1]

Originally Posted by Alex

For everything else (vandalism, gear stolen, bike mechanical issues), it's what credit cards are for. Pay whatever it takes to get up and running to continue the trip.

This is my solution. When I was broke, I carried too many tools so I could fix things, I like to carry way less weight now, so I just have enough to get to easy stuff. And pay for the other stuff.

I don't worry about it any more, I'm on a trip to enjoy it, not worry.

[antiant]

It also helps to get something like SPOT or DELORME inReach, where you could be tracked and alert the medical community and your family, if you're in the right state of mind to do so. This has always been one of my biggest concerns of owning a motorcycle, especially since I'm not mechanically inclined (when it comes to bikes). I'm more of a solo rider/ride with bro when possible rider.

Make sure you have some form of ICE (in case of emergency) info too, in a location that is accessible, like the locked home screen on your phone (when traveling), on your person, and in your bags (if you carry them).

I know that if you live in the Bay Area in California (BARF forum) they kind of have some buddy system/on-call system, where local riders volunteer their time to help a rider out when they need it most. I think they make sure that someone has a truck or owns a truck, so they can be able to haul your bike too, if need be? I think that's pretty cool and I wish we had something like that here. Luckily, I've come to know one local guy who owns a shop and he seems to be able to help riders out, when they need it.

It's also good to tell who ever you can, your travel plans, so if something does go wrong, you left enough bread crumbs for people to find you. I agree with Alex on the credit card too, credit cards are good for temporary emergencies, among other things.

[Alex]

Agreed on all points. Some type of sat-tracking device provides peace of mind for not only the rider, but all of their friends and family. And if you're within reach of anyone you know with a truck, that's certainly the easiest solution. Still grateful for the friend of a friend who trucked all the way out over Mt. Hamilton two years ago to collect my broken bike, taking several hours of his own time to help out someone he barely knew.

[N-m]

I have been standing on the curb eight hours from the house, three years ago next month. I was not injured but there are things I never travel w/o now. The most valued things that come to mind are:

1. Patience;
2. Your wits;
3. Enough cash to fly home if that is worst case scenario;
4. A phone charger that works with both AC and DC.

[csmith12]

In my travels to tracks and such... I have;

AAA - Towing, discounts and other benefits ($50 a year)
Emergency Prepaid CC - $1000 balance
$200 - pocket cash

What works best for me is my ahead planning.
I prepay for as much as I can
I never leave without a gps, address and phone number of my destination
Plan the route carefully to not put yourself in places that are "questionable"
I never leave without telling someone my itinerary
I never stay out of contact very long while pounding pavement
I have family locator services on my cell phone enabled
I now share my waze route with a family member that stays behind. If I don't check in, they check the waze link. Any issues or question, they call me first. If I don't answer, they call the police
I rarely travel alone, I share my phone important contact numbers with my travel buddy in case we get spit up

[verboten1]

Originally Posted by csmith12

I now share my waze route with a family member that stays behind.

I'm going to try this out on my next Appalachian trip, first week of may.



I'm travelling with 2 SPOT users as well...

[csmith12]

Originally Posted by antiant

Make sure you have some form of ICE (in case of emergency) info too, in a location that is accessible, like the locked home screen on your phone (when traveling), on your person, and in your bags (if you carry them).

I know that if you live in the Bay Area in California (BARF forum) they kind of have some buddy system/on-call system, where local riders volunteer their time to help a rider out when they need it most. I think they make sure that someone has a truck or owns a truck, so they can be able to haul your bike too, if need be? I think that's pretty cool and I wish we had something like that here. Luckily, I've come to know one local guy who owns a shop and he seems to be able to help riders out, when they need it.

ICE and 2 guys and a Truck! Or Chris and Jade hahahahahah

ICE tag is on the bottom rim of my helmet and since I normally don't ride much street and live in the area where many riders come to ride. I am the "on-call" person. Been doing it for a couple of years now, I find it's very rewarding and I get to meet some cool people. Sometimes though... I only pick up the bike.

[spooph]

All this preparation talk is wonderful and really good!

Haha, on the first day out to the ninja rally in 2012 I lost a master link clip and fixed it with some wire and tools I purchased from a truck stop and had a lithium fire on the bike which consumed half my luggage from a laptop battery exploding.

I've never been too worried about things happening on the open road as that is what I call adventure. There is usually somebody to help, and as long as you stay calm it's pretty easy to figure out what the next step is.

[NevadaWolf]

"Far from home" may have different meanings to folks, so be aware of what medical services are where. Nevada has four trauma centers, 1 in Reno, 2 in Vegas, and 1 in Henderson, with a handful more over in the Salt Lake region. In the event of a serious motorcycle accident, it'll be a while before I get to the hospital that can treat me.

My local ambulances have membership programs, but only available to residents of that particular county. I looked instead at the local air transport, who cover 150 miles from their four bases (Reno, Minden, Truckee, and now Fallon!) so that alone made it worth signing up for the flight program, plus they are members of an association that may allow members of one program access to services in a partnering program.

Beyond 150 miles from my home, Medjet will arrange and pay for transport of me and my bike (different plans available based on where you will be riding) to get back.

Roadside issues, I joined AMA for their roadside assistance program along with having the tools and supplies in my tail bag to fix most minor issues (though need to add some spare chain, master links, and a battery jumper). Plus have one empty credit card that I just bumped the balance up on to use for emergency shop visits or flights.

I also carry two SPOTs, a RoadID, and a watertproof USB stick with my info in plain text or jpg format. Now I am thinking of adding a blinking near infrared light to aid helicopter searchers with night vision should I wreck in the dark.

Do I go overboard? Yeah. Does it give me a sense I've covered all the bases should I need help? Yeah.


Luckily, only once have I had to hit that ugly button on the Spot for another rider. Between that and us later flagging down a cop, the calvary arrived in force and the rider was whisked away to the nearest hospital. The cops called a tow truck to come retrieve the bike. I don't know the details beyond her leaving in the chopper.

[cbinker]

Truck broke down outside Lincoln, NE. I made a Facebook post asking for help from any Nebraska friends. Luckily I got some help from some track day friends whom let me use their truck the rest of the weekend. While my truck was towed to a dealership. I used my friends truck to pull my trailer to the track and enjoyed the weekend. Very important to have roadside assistance for your vehicle and it does not cost you anything for the tow.