When I last provided an update, there were three weeks left until I participated in the Scooter Cannonball. I did participate but did not complete it (on two wheels). I DNF’d on the third day.

Why did you withdraw?

I get this question a lot. People who could see me had a general idea. However, those following me online had questions as to why I had ‘WITHDRAWN’ next to my name on the third day.

The first day was great. It started a little wet when I left Seaside at 4:30am but dried out after a while. I arrived in Pendleton at a decent hour and hung out while waiting for the support van (driven by my wife) arrive with food, clothes and everything else.

*Photo taken before leaving for Seaside. I had no idea what was ahead.*

Day two started normal. I left with my teammate before dawn and hit the road. Frustrations began when he left me in the dust. We were both riding 2023 Trail125s but I could not keep up with him. Booger was not running great. Things just got worse from there. From a six-mile detour to being held up at a dam crossing by a rather salty dam operator, progress was slow and I kept falling further behind. After a very long day covering over 531 miles, I arrived in McCall, Idaho.

Then the real problems began.

That evening, I didn’t have a clue why Booger was running so poorly and slow. It has never been an issue before. Weight wasn’t an issue. I was under 185lbs and with fuel and everything I was around 250, a normal weight I’ve run many times. Without really having any idea what to do, I changed the oil and hoped.

The following morning, it was incredibly cold. I met my teammate in the parking lot and with the intent of leaving around 5am. The temperature was in the upper 30s and it was very damp from the fog. I had all of my layers on but was freezing on the bike. My only hope was that the route was descending elevation and it would warm up once the sun rose and I was on roads at lower elevation. This was true and I was beginning to warm up when my wife called.

*Pre-dawn the morning of day 2 in Pendleton before things started going downhill.*

Redundancy is essential in preventing failure at critical moments. I brought two sets of keys for Booger and two sets for the van. Not marking which set of keys is which turned out to be my downfall.

My wife, apologizing for bothering me when I answered the call, told me she couldn’t find the key for the van. I had taken a key to get what I needed and loading my teammate’s luggage in the van without waking her. What I didn’t realize is that I already had a key on me. I had both sets of keys for the van leaving my wife stranded at the hotel.

I was two hours away.

I pulled over to confirm I had both sets of keys (I did). Taking a deep breath to compose myself, I turned around to head back to the hotel. Riding uphill, into the cold, I passed the vast majority of cannonballers who left after me and were enjoying the sunshine. I waved, hoping they couldn’t see the embarrassment on my face. There were some other Trail125 riders at the gas station I pulled into right before getting back to the hotel. I told them the story and they told me about their late start being caused by having to rebuild an engine in the parking lot the previous night. We parted ways and I went back to the hotel.

My wife greeted me at the door to our room and I started grabbing luggage. She saw how cold and tired I was and recommended I strip down and jump in the shower to warm up. I declined. Having already been on the road more than four hours and a ‘short’ 430 mile day ahead of me, I just wanted to get back on the road. As it was, I was already not going to get into that night’s stop in Pocatello until 7pm or later.

I should have listened to my wife. After carrying the luggage down the the van, took another starting picture of the hotel entrance and hit the road. Less than 10 miles down the road, I ended my journey on two wheels.

I was cold, frustrated and my reaction time was not what it is normally. When the brake lights of the car I was behind illuminated, I applied my own brakes. Booger’s rear wheel locked up and I didn’t have the ability to get my foot off of it in time. I was thrown from the bike and landed in the middle of the road on my right side. My memory is blank from the time the brake locked up to the time people were surrounding me in the road.

My trip was over

*Poor Aerostich. It kept my skin on my body, though.*

By the time my memory resumed, 911 had already been called. I remember somebody going up to Booger and hitting the kill switch and being helped up. Police and medics came. They were incredibly friendly. They thanked me for wearing full gear. When the call was made, they were told it was a motorcycle accident and they were prepared for the worst. The officer also said they had received a lot of calls for scooters, as well. People were complaining that they were impeding traffic by going too slow.

The officer took my license and did what he had to do while the medics checked me over. There was definitely something wrong with my right arm. They were not able to determine what was wrong and said I needed to go to the hospital. Since we were not that far away and my wife had since arrived to the scene, I declined a ride on the ambulance and had my wife take me.

*Booger sat in the van broken the remainder of the trip*

The medics were so nice, they loaded Booger into the van for me and strapped him down. My wife gave them some cash from our emergency fund for breakfast as a thank you. They really didn’t have to do that. We tried to give the officer some cash but I guess he wasn’t allowed to take it.

We hopped in the van and went to the emergency room. It was a fairly new facility and I had almost no wait time. Stripping down, the nurse laughed when I told them I had to remove my catheter. They needed some comedic relief in their day.

*X-Ray from June 24, 2025. That bone ain’t right.*

After several hours, some tests and X-Rays, I was diagnosed with a broken clavicle and some deep bruises but no other damage. I asked if I needed surgery and they weren’t sure. They suggested I see an orthopedic surgeon when I got home. We swung by the pharmacy to collect my prescribed opiods and left town, bound for Pocatello. We still needed to go to Texas to support my teammate.

On to Texas

*Not the way I expected to travel to Texas*

The trip had not turned out the way I had been planning for a year. My wife drove me from hotel to hotel listening to audiobooks (Wicked twice), helped me shower and dress. I hung out in hotel parking lots talking to people about what happened and helping out where I could. I donated a front sprocket retainer clip to someone whose experimental belt drive had grenaded and sold a tire or two from my stash. I mostly just hung out chatting because I didn’t want to sit around moping in my room while there was cannonball stuff going on. If I couldn’t participate, at least I could be around it.

*Still upbeat at the finish. Reality that I had failed hadn’t quite sunken in yet.*

We arrived in South Padre ahead of my teammate. I communicated weather reports and other information to be as helpful as possible. My wife made a poster for him and we were there waiting at the finish when he arrived.

Right up until the party/dinner that officially concluded the event, I was generally upbeat and positive to the point people would comment that I was taking my DNF really well and they would not be in such a good mood. The dinner changed that. The weight of not being able to complete what I had spent so much time and effort planning and failing so early in the event was heavy. Still, the food was good as was the company.

My wife went to the airport to fly home the next day and my teammate and I hit the road back to California the morning after that.

A long road to recovery

As I write this, it has been nearly 8 months since my accident. Orthopedic surgeon #1 said I likely didn’t need surgery and the bone would heal on its own, though my right shoulder would be 1” shorter than my left. Months of physical therapy later and I still had pain and limited range of motion with my right arm.

I was sent to a second surgeon last month who thinks my problems can be solved by re-breaking the bone and setting it with plates and screws. I had an MRI done and am waiting for my follow-up next week to confirm there is no other damage before we schedule surgery.

*Tacos overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. I thought I would be recovered by now.*

I haven’t been on two wheels since June 24, 2025. Booger still sits where my teammate left it in my garage almost a year ago. Damage has still not been fully determined. If I’m lucky, I will get surgery in the next month or so and will be able to work on the bike and get back on two wheels by late Summer.

My headspace hasn’t been the greatest since the accident. I, like many, use time on two wheels as a form of therapy. Without that, I’ve been a bit mopey. I haven’t done much as far as hobbies and have been putting off writing this story or filming my cannonball YouTube video summary that I keep promising to release. I did pick up journaling in October, a hobby that doesn’t lend itself to publishable content. It does let me indulge in one of my other nerdy interests of fountain pens.

What happens now?

The idea behind IRONBEARD was to ride Booger 1000 miles in 24 hours. Booger is broken as am I. A promise was made to make the attempt when I became monetized on YouTube. It wouldn’t be the first time a YouTuber reneged on a commitment and I fully intended to attempt it. It still might happen. If Booger is salvageable and my physical health improves, it is entirely possible to do make an attempt next year.

I had fully intended on participating in the 2027 Scooter Cannonball but, the more I think about it, the more that decision is up in the air. There are so many other things I want to do and cannonball takes up an insane amount of time and resources. My wife and I want to travel internationally and we’re also toying with the idea of buying a couple identical scooters and doing our own personal cannonballs.

There is some level of doubt as to whether the event will even occur in ‘27. To date, no one has taken up the mantle to plan it. I don’t blame them. It is a lot of work and there are a lot of strong personalities with strong opinions who will never be happy no matter what the event turns out to be.

The Future

I don’t know when I will be able to ride again or what I will be doing with this site or my YouTube channel. I think some evolution of one or both is in order. I enjoy making content but my motorcycle material is quite thin these days. Who knows what I’ll be doing in the future.

The Road to IRONBEARD: Part 7