-32.937027,151.778033,Scenic or Strezie launch, Newcastle, NSW,
Australia

http://ozreport.com/18.020#4

Billo writes on Facebook:

Many thanks to all of you for your kind wishes, I'm out of
hospital and home now.

I was riding to work when the accident happened. I was knocked unconscious for
10~20 minutes and in fact I have no memory at all of the ride to work that
morning. I remember kissing Julie good bye and then I remember slowly waking up
thinking "I must get up for work". Then the pain set in and I slowly realised
the concerned people around seemed to be strangers and paramedics. I seemed to
be in a little pain (the paras had already hit me with dazzle juice) and I
seemed to be dressed in my riding clobber yet I am lying on the road.

As best I can put it together from the witnesses, the police and from what Matty
said the ambulance blokes told him later, it seems I had crossed a merge lane
and was clipped by a car who was over in the breakdown lane. I went down hard on
my left side and have ribs 2~7 broken, a punctured lung and a fractured scapula.

Despite my earnest desire to save money it does appear as though I will need to
purchase another helmet, since the one I was wearing is pretty much stuffed. It
was a hardshell skateboard helmet and the outer hardshell is cracked right
through for about 120mm on the back left, and it shows I hit and skidded down on
my left temple area. Two hits and a slide down the road. I will never wear
anything but a hard shell helmet-ever. I reckon that if I didn't have it on I'd
be dead or a vegetable. I reckon if it had been a soft shell the outcome
wouldn't have been so good either. You pays your money and you takes your
chances I guess.

My left boot has a good set of scuff marks from a rub down the road. Forensics
on the bike tell much the same story; all the damage is on the left side. And
that damage is pretty much confined to scuffed bar tape on the LH bar. Not even
the brake levers are bent, you could straddle it and ride it away no worries.

It'll be a little while before I will be able to straddle the bike again, maybe
6~8 weeks. It'll be at least 4 weeks before I'm back at work, maybe more. As far
as the car that got me, well, I can't remember a thing. I really wish I could
but nothings coming back there.

There's so little damage to the bike's right side that I'm just going to say
that they clipped me so slightly that they haven't noticed. There's no value in
wishing revenge, I'd just like to send out good Karma vibes, heal up and get on
with life.

As it is, I'll miss the Manilla comp (Splint has said he'd score) and the loop
the lake charity ride Thanks to all who have donated there, there's no real
chance I'll make the ride, but the rest of the team will and the donations are
still going to a very worthy cause. At the moment I'm thinking I should be OK
for towing and scoring the Dalby comp.