Hi everyone!

It’s taken me some time to sit down and put “pen to paper” on the Parts Canada Superbike opener at Mont Tremblant May 31-June 3. As some of you have probably heard by now, I suffered a rather nasty crash going into Turn One at Le Circuit Mont Tremblant during Friday morning practice- a crash that sent me to the hospital with a Grade 3 concussion and a separated shoulder. It’s taken a while but I am finally starting to heal up and am well enough to write a little about the weekend’s events.

A word about practice….

Mont Tremblant has to be one of my all-time favourite Canadian racetracks! It’s got the perfect mix of swooping highspeed corners, long and fast straightaways, and some good elevation changes….all held together by some of the finest pavement I’ve seen anywhere in Canada!

Needless to say, when Friday morning practice came around me and my Kahuna Kawasaki ZX-6R were dialed in and ready to go! I had spent some time on Thursday afternoon getting myself re-acquainted with the racetrack and by Friday morning I was ready to start working on some fine-tuning. Things were rolling along real well…my laptimes were showing some of my best laps to date….with times in the 1:50 to 1:52 ranges! Amazing! I felt absolutely unstoppable! I was flying along catching some real fast riders and I had the world at my fingertips! I was having so much fun and riding so well that when the checkered flag came out to indicate the end of the practice session, I didn’t even realize our practice time was up. Little did I know what was about to happen next would mean my racing for the weekend was also up.

Turn One- Le Circuit Mont Tremblant

From what witnesses tell me, it seems as though the checkered flag caught me by surprise, and while I lost focus for less than 1/10 of a second, it was just enough time to lose my line going into the all important and challenging turn one.  The next thing I knew I found myself going in too hot (too fast) to make the turn—my immediate reaction was “No problem..I can save it!”  Somewhere between coming up with my grand plan to save it and trying to execute my plan, things went wrong real fast. The next thing I know I am waking up to several people staring at me and poking around at my body…evidently I came off the bike and landed straight into the airfence, which was protecting me from a rather nasty concrete wall. Of course, before hitting the airfence I managed to roll several times across the grass and the pit road, not before smacking my head right onto the pavement after coming off my motorcycle  at some 200km/hour++. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on whom you talk to,  my motorcycle did not hit the airfence, but instead climbed some 12-15 feet in the air before landing nose-first right next to my unconscious body.

Corner workers, medical staff and Parts Canada officials were on the scene within seconds.

I was eventually transported to the local hospital via ambulance and on a rather uncomfortable backboard. I spent the better part of Friday in the hospital getting all sorts of tests and x-rays. Eventually I was released with a Grade 3 concussion and separated shoulder. I was not to ride again all weekend….nor for atleast another 2 weeks for that matter until my brain was strong enough to resist any further impacts should they occur.

The Medical Staff and Corner Workers were Amazing!

Once I returned to the racetrack late on Friday evening I had some time to reflect upon how amazing the medical staff, corners workers and Parts Canada Superbike staff were during my incident. While racing without a doubt can be a risky sport, these folks are so professional and do everything to ensure that safety is the NUMBER ONE priority! Several volunteers put in countless hours to build, maintain and disassemble the airfence that ultimately saved me from running into a concrete wall. The corners workers did not hesitate to throw out the red flag and call ambulance personnel immediately. Even the managers and series race Directors were on the scene to help. It was so comforting to have a familiar face next to me when my world was turned upside down!

So many of the Parts Canada staff and medical crew came to visit me the rest of the weekend. They were all genuinely concerned about how I was doing and offered any assistance.

I also have to say a very special thanks to my good friend and fellow racer, Steve “Doc” Walker who insisted upon cross-examining me upon my return from the hospital, and who has been nothing but a phone call away for the past month. This guy is a professional medical doctor, but he is also a racer….I cannot believe how many times he has put his own racing schedule on hold to provide guidance and support to injured racers. The racetrack would not be the same without him!  Thanks Doc!

And to my man Dave—you deserve big kudos for having to witness the entire incident and yet managed to remain composed enough to get all of my paperwork in order and accompany to the hospital…and to be right there every second of the way, even if it meant running to the other side of the hospital to the cafeteria for me atleast a dozen times!

Special thanks as well to Brad, Sean and Kenny for getting my bike back to the pits and getting things organized in the pits while I was being tended to at the hospital!

My Sponsors have been incredible!

I am so fortunate to have some incredible sponsors that support and understand the sport and stand behind me in my efforts!  Not only are these folks in the business, but they are also dedicated enthusiasts! I was so pleased to see that so many of them made the long trip to Tremblant to catch my racing—Joe Linardi, President of Kahuna Kawasaki came out all the way from Woodbridge, Ontario;  Goro Takahashi, President of Canadian Kawasaki Motors (CKM), himself was also out to catch the action! Bob Calwell, of CKM was also on hand, as was my good friend Todd Ruston, President of Performance Under Gear. 

Left to Right: Joe Linardi (Kahuna Kawasaki), Dave Shirley, Goro Takahashi (CKM), Vicki, Brad Clarke 

I am disappointed that the guys from Kahuna Kawasaki and from CKM did not get to see me race, but I am pleased that I had the opportunity to spend some time with all of them over the course of the weekend. They all wished me the best for a speedy recovery and continue to remind me that everyone’s first priority—including theirs—is to see me 100% healthy again before I rush back out onto a motorcycle.

As for my safety, I am ever so glad I’ve got Bell helmets protecting my head and Komodo leathers protecting my body! Things could have been a whole lot worse had I not been wearing top of the line equipment!

While I have been spending the last month at home trying to recover, the team at Kahuna Kawasaki and Canadian Kawasaki Motors, along with my mechanic Brad Clarke and suspension tuner John Sharrard, have been working away to piece my ZX-6R back together again. All of these people have gone above and beyond anything I would ever expect of them and I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such wonderful people and organizations!

Finally, an update on my health….

Now that a month has come and gone, I guess the next magic question is “When will Vicki Schouten” board her Kahuna Kawasaki ZX-6R again? Well, let me tell you a little bit about what I have learned in the last month—I have learned that concussions are very strange, and they can affect everyone differently. I have learned that a Grade 3 concussion, the highest form of concussion, which takes place when any loss of consciousness occurred at the scene, needs a minimum of two weeks to heal before returning to physical activity…longer if you have had multiple concussions. I have learned that while a person suffering from a concussion may appear to be perfectly “normal” on the surface to both strangers and even to people they live with, what people do not see is the “feeling of fog”, the headaches, the dizzy spells, the tiredness, the lack of concentration, and other symptoms experienced by people with concussions.  Simple day-to-day activities like walking your dog or driving your car become severely difficult, if not impossible, and you simply need to listen to your body and allow your head to heal.

In terms of my return to racing, I have had several follow-up visits with doctors on a regular basis in the last month. My CT scan showed up normal, which is a good thing—it tells us that there is no further damage to my brain. However, after 4 weeks I am still suffering some of the effects of my concussion and am only last week able to return to “light” exercise. For me “light exercise” means a 30-45 minute bicycle ride or a 3-5 mile walk with my dog…however after attempting to get back on the bicycle, I am quickly learning that “light exercise” might mean more like a 10 minute bicycle ride or a one mile walk.  It is incredible how much the control the brain has over our daily functions, and how difficult it is to rehabilitate…. it’s not exactly like you can go out and do active “physio” for your brain…or that you can swallow some ibuprofen and suck up the pain…nope…if your brain is not happy it will tell you..it will slow you down and remind you that you need to slow down until it is repaired.

My shoulder is also still sore and seperated but that will heal soon enough, and is nothing a little healthy dose of physio and time won't resolve.

On that note, while I am on the road to recovery, my brain must be completely healed before I can race again. There is no time limit on recovery--- some people take only days…others take weeks, some can take months. I do know this much--  roadracing is an amazing and wonderful sport, and with the help of all of my friends, family and loyal sponsors my recovery is being made easier and my ZX-6R’s will be waiting for me as soon as I am ready and able; and I will no doubt be back out there with more focus, energy and enthusiasm than ever before!

See you all at the racetrack real soon!