Cody Schafer – Off-Road Racer with an Inspiring Story

Dale Spangler:

Welcome to Pit Pass Moto, the show that brings you deep dive interviews with the motorcycle industry insiders, racers, and regulars that make the sport move.

I'm your host Dale Spangler, and this week our guest is Cody Schafer, an aspiring off-road racer with an inspiring story to share after a racing accident nearly resulted in him losing the use of his left arm.

Cody will be on to share his story, which appears on the pages of the latest issue of VAHNA Magazine.

This episode of Pit Past Moto is brought to you by MotoAmerica. MotoAmerica's the home of AMA Superbike racing and is North America's premier motorcycle road racing series. Rewatch every round of the 2022 series and revisit all the action with the MotoAmerica Live Plus video-on-demand streaming service. Or visit the MotoAmerica YouTube channel for race highlights and original video content.

To view the complete 2023 MotoAmerica race schedule, head over to motoamerica.com and be sure to follow MotoAmerica on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for real-time series updates.

Let's get started. We'd like to welcome to Pit Pass Moto, off-road racer, Cody Schafer. Cody, welcome to Pit Pass Moto. How are you today?

Cody Schafer:

I'm doing great, Dale. Thanks for having me on.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. Well, first off, thanks for coming on and sharing your story. It's an amazing story out on video and in the pages of VAHNA Magazine.

So, let's begin with a little bit of background about yourself though. Tell me about how you and your family got into off-road racing, because it seems like you've been doing this for a long time. I know you and I met probably, gosh, it's got to be 10 plus years ago through our mutual friend Andrew Campo, one of the owners of VAHNA Magazine. And yeah, how did you get your start in off-road racing and let's hear a little bit about that.

Cody Schafer:

I guess the story starts with my parents. My dad actually didn't ride until my mom got him into it. So, that's kind of cool. My grandpa was always an outdoors dude and had four wheelers and dirt bikes and motorcycles and all that kind of good stuff.

So, she introduced my dad to it and then he actually hid his motorcycle at her house because his parents wouldn't let him have one. So, that's just kind of one of those funny things.

And then that started them going and doing Enduros and I was just a little kid along for the ride and from a little dude, that's what I've loved the most. So, it was just kind of natural to keep going and somehow, I ended up being pretty dang good at it.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. Like a lot of us, I think I saw where you started out, on a 50 or something like that. When was it that you just knew you were hooked? A lot of us, I just feel, once you do it a couple times, it's like nothing else. You're just genuinely hooked.

Cody Schafer:

I can't even remember; I was such a little guy. I was three and it was just, that was the thing that mattered the most. Nothing else added up to the feelings I got being on a bicycle or being on a dirt bike or anything like that. So, it's before I can have a great recollection of my ability to be hooked.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. I just remember 12-years-old and there was a Yz80 under the Christmas tree, and it was over after that. It seemed like there was no turning back.

But I think you had the same type of path. You progressed and got better and next thing you're an expert level off-road racer there in Colorado. And did you have this sort of long-term goal to be able to make a living on two wheels as a professional racer?

Cody Schafer:

Of course, that's every little kid that's doing it, I try to do everything I can to the highest level I'm doing it. So, through my early teens. And then, right really when I got out of high school, it was like I had the freedom to go and race and kind of give it a shot and got pretty far. And then just made some life choices to not travel as much and do that kind of stuff and I guess grow up and work and do all that kind of stuff.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. Adulting, right. That's no fun.

Cody Schafer:

Right.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. No, but you do have a list of achievements too, class 21 win at the Baja 1000. ISDE, International Six Days Enduro. And I think did you do that on a club team or were you part of the junior trophy team?

Cody Schafer:

So, I’ve done it three different times. First time was down in Mexico and that was a club team. And then the year following we're in Finland and I was on the junior trophy team and that was just a week from hell, we can get into it if we want. And then the last time I did it again was on a club team just more for fun, couple years later.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. So, you were definitely well on your way, at a high level in the off-road scene, rewind to September of 2019 and the crash. And so, go through that a little bit. I know you go through it in the video and then the article, but for our listeners out there, tell us about that day. I think every rider probably has this fear in some ways in the back of their mind of a head-on collision with another racer. And so, tell us about that day and how things went down.

Cody Schafer:

Well yeah, the crash. Just a day that changed my life a lot. I think you look back when you're going through things like this and you have a big life changing event and that sort of thing.

But picturing it and piecing it all together, there's so many little weird things that added up to how I got into this situation. And it is from simply as every one of these events I'd go to, I always made it a habit to be the first one out on practice. Just so I get the first look. I could sneak in an extra lap; I could do all this stuff and I was just breaking in a new bike, and I wasn't familiar with the settings, and I was going through kind of the process of that kind of stuff.

And I was just late, just running late. So, I started off mid-pack and so, that changes my day and just halfway through the first lap of what I was doing and don't know how I missed the course or missed the arrows I was supposed to be following. But somehow got off the course and then two guys already missed the course the same way I did. And they realized they were lost, and I just didn't know that I wasn't where I was supposed to be yet.

And just second gear probably wide open on a Forest Service Road, on the side of a ski resort. And just no reaction, nothing I could do and just head on with those guys coming back to the course and took a good nap on the side of the mountain. And yeah, from that point, my life has been a very different path than I thought I'd be going down.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. So, although it ended up not being life-threatening, it was certainly life-changing. From what I understand, you spent two weeks in the hospital, you had to be airlifted out of there. That's just every racer's nightmare in a way.

But it seems like you were lucky in that it wasn't life-threatening. You mentioned that the first few weeks were pretty fuzzy too. And this one really stands out to me because I have a few of these myself, the sound of the crash. You said that that's one of those things where you might have been fuzzy for the first couple weeks, but that's one of those things you'll never forget.

Cody Schafer:

Yeah. So, weird thing, as dirt bike racers we've hit our heads a lot and pretty used to the concussion thing. And I've lost days leading up to accidents and that kind of stuff.

But for some reason this accident and my concussion and all that kind of stuff I dealt with; I can remember that morning so good. I can remember everything up to the impact, I can remember all that stuff.

So, I kind of expected that to be taken away, but yeah, it's still very vivid and something never going away.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. I have like an auto crash that is kind of like that. So, I imagine it's very similar. I can still kind of hear that in my mind, that impact and so, gosh, like I said, that's just the worst case scenario head-oning with someone else on a dirt bike is just the worst thing that could happen.

But their list of injuries for you though is … man, it wasn't just your arm and your shoulder, but you had facial fractures, you had brain bleeding ligaments, broken wrist. But the main thing though and tell us a little bit about this because I just learned about this when I was doing the research, is this brachial plexus injury, essentially what you did is you severed the nerves from your C5 and C6 vertebrae.

Cody Schafer:

Yeah. That's, just like you're saying, I had no idea about this thing until I was living it. And actually, our friend Campo, he'd written a story in VAHNA a couple years earlier about Kiana Clay who, similar thing, brachial plexus injury.

And so, he actually diagnosed my injury before the doctors were able to figure out what was going on. So, we actually took it to them like, hey, my wife said, “I think he has a brachial plexus injury.” So, that was kind of our introduction to it.

And yeah, so it's basically a stretching injury and just from a forcedly impact, my neck and my shoulder were pulled so far in different directions that, nerves are only so long, so it ripped the nerves out of my C5 and C6.

And then the nerves out of the C7, C8 and T1 were also really stretched, but they weren't actually severed. So that, I think we'll get into it is how I have some life in the arm now. But yeah, it was a new thing to me and something — there's quite a few of us out there and actually most common injury for newborns coming out of the birth canal.

So, it was hard to find a doctor actually for adults because most of the doctors are actually fixing babies.

Dale Spangler:

Wow. That's incredible. And so, this injury, it literally almost makes it to where you can't feel it? Or is it just, you just don't have any movement at all? Or I guess both maybe?

Cody Schafer:

Yeah, all the above. I really have a very, very minimal feeling in my whole left arm and that's just kind of permanent and talking with … I guess I joined a broken dude category now where I can talk with people that have nerve injuries from spinal cord injuries and that kind of stuff.

As much as it sucks, the no feeling, there's always feeling, my arm is always burning, it's always has electrical shocks and has all this stuff just like phantom pains. But it's not able to move it. So, that's a mean joke to deal with.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. The amazing part of this whole story is that you sort of — and we will get into this, you kind of got lucky with finding this doctor and getting an appointment.

But initially, the doctors that you said diagnosed you, I believe it was New Mexico, they said you were never going to use this arm again. And so, that had to be just shocking for one. But it seemed like your response was, that's not acceptable. And you and your wife kind of went to work trying to find a way to fix this.

Cody Schafer:

I'm going to be really honest; it was acceptable to me. I was really drugged and really out of it, but also like, just kind of giving up, life was over the way I knew it and all this kind of stuff. And my wife was amazing about just searching and not accepting that there's nothing they could do.

I just went with the doctors there; they should know what they're doing. Yeah okay, this arm's just going to hang here forever, whatever. That's what I'm dealing with.

Dale Spangler:

So then, all of a sudden, Cody, you have this sort of chance encounter where you get connected with this doctor from out of state, a Dr. Susan Mackinnon. Tell us about that story. How did you end up getting connected with this person and just unbelievable amount of sort of luck involved in this whole thing happening?

Cody Schafer:

Yeah. My wife really just started searching for a doctor and found this doctor in St. Louis and she's actually the person who invented nerve transfer surgeries. So, she was kind of a big deal.

And I don't know how it happened, what lined up for me to be able to get in with her. But the doctor who was running tests on me here in Colorado actually ended up having the same name, same spelling, same everything as one of her grad students.

So, she told me like, “Oh yeah, how do you know my student?” We're like, “We don't, we just went to this doctor.” She's like, “Huh, I thought that was my old grad student.” Like, no. She's like, “Well, I only agreed to see you because I thought you were referred to me by one of my students.”

Dale Spangler:

Unreal. So, you get this connection and then, immediately you're like, “When can we get this done?” And what is it? So, like the next day you're like, “Let's do it, how about tomorrow?”

Cody Schafer:

Right. So yeah, we flew out there, what I thought was just for a consultation and they ran a whole bunch of series of tests. Again, they kind of figure out where there was still connection to my spinal cord and where there wasn't and all this kind of stuff.

And sitting there with her, I was being a smart ass because I just didn't think anybody could help or that my arm would just hang there forever. And I asked her, “When can you do the surgery?” And she said, “Does tomorrow work?”

I just kind of was blown away. I'm like, “Yeah, we weren't planning on that. Well, we’ll have to struggle figuring out insurance, figuring all this stuff,” but we moved mountains to be able to get in the next day to get sliced on and get hopefully on the road to some progress.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah. So, then I think what I read where you ended up having four total surgeries and was that over a period of time? I would assume.

Cody Schafer:

So, with what I was dealing with, there's a very short window that they have to operate on to be able to get the signals back to the muscles again before they just die, right?

Dale Spangler:

Okay, yep.

Cody Schafer:

So, that window is from three to six months post-accident. So, my accident was the end of September, so we flew out there for that consultation in the beginning of January. So, I had the four surgeries from January, February, and March. And that put me in the correct window for the nerve transfer surgeries.

Dale Spangler:

So, then you get these surgeries and you're like, “What's next?” Obviously, there's some recovery there. Fast forward, here we are in the present and you're able to ride your motorcycle again.

I think you started out on a mountain bike and then you progress to riding your motorcycle again, even though you don't have full use of your arm. It's a pretty incredible story. All these things that happens. If you wouldn't have connected with the doctor, who knows, where you'd be right now.

But all these things align for you. Here we are two, three years down the road from your accident and you're riding a motorcycle again. So, tell me about that experience. Is that way more than you probably expected? I assume.

Cody Schafer:

Totally. I had no thoughts that I'd ever be still partaking in this part of life, but actually it was three in the morning after one of my surgeries. I just slept all day from anesthesia, so I couldn't sleep and all that kind of stuff. And my friend sent me a video of a mountain biker in Great Britain who had a similar injury I had, and he was back on a bike.

He was riding good, he was ripping, but he was more messed up than I was. His hand didn't work at all, and my hand worked. So, that's how many steps ahead of what he was doing, and he was riding good. So, I just, in my head from that point, I was like, “Yeah, I can do this again.” It might not be the same. It might be harder; it might be more difficult. But yeah, I got back on a mountain bike about eight months after my accident, so May-ish of 2020.

Dale Spangler:

Wow.

Cody Schafer:

And then from there it's just like, okay, I can kind of do this. And then my speed just kept getting better. And my buddy that I'd always ride with, he was just kind of funny. He's like, “I faster than you again.” Just for me, it was like, “Yeah, you are, you are, you're good.”

And then, I started to get more comfortable and started to get fast and then he's like, “Dude, I can't keep up anymore.” And it's like, alright. So, it was just from that of just progressing forward and then getting better and then thinking, “I am riding a bicycle, why can't I get back on a dirt bike?”:

Like I said in that video, I saw the FCA was having a camp and the year before my brother helped out with it and I was just too busy. I was working, I didn't have time for that kind of thing. And then just I was like, “Oh, I can do this now. There's no reason why I can't be there and if I'm just going to be teaching some kids and doing that kind of stuff, I can start slow and kind of get a feel for it and see how it's going to go.

And it was perfect because I was walking through fundamental drills with them and just doing it myself. I'm like, “Oh, that worked. Oh, I could kind of do that. Oh, that's good.” And just picking up my pace and my comfort and my speed and just back on the bike. And it was a really awesome just week for me actually.

Dale Spangler:

So, how long was it then total before you actually, threw a leg back over a dirt bike again?

Cody Schafer:

I didn't get back on a dirt bike for a year and a half, almost two years from my accident.

Dale Spangler:

Wow. It's like a lifetime in our sport, isn't it?

Cody Schafer:

Yeah. And I was scared of them. The mountain biking was hard enough, and I thought being on bike that's now four times or five times as heavy as a bicycle, can my arm handle that? And just, I still have like fatigue issues and that kind of stuff. It can't do what it used to. Shoot, it's 80% paralyzed, so what do I expect out of it?

But it's good enough to hang on for a bit and get some of that enjoyment, the reason why we all started doing this.

Dale Spangler:

It's so inspirational. I'm curious to know if you were able to share your success story with Dr. Mackinnon. Have you been in touch with her?

Cody Schafer:

She's a busy lady. I go back there quite often, or I did, I haven't gone back for probably a year now, but I'd go see the physical therapist that she works hand in hand with and just get checkups of where I'm at and updated workouts and that kind of stuff.

So, she's kind of more in tune with what I have been doing. But yeah, with the VAHNA edition just coming out, I got a stack of those that I'm getting ready to send out and just kind of want to say a special thank you to her for being really good at what she's doing, so I can still do what I love to do.

Dale Spangler:

Before we finish today's episode, first we have a word from our sponsor.

You said, at one point, and this is something I feel like sadly, it's a cruel aspect of our sport. There's that saying you're only as good as your last race. Well, you mentioned that you kind of felt a little forgotten by the racing community there when you were kind of down and out there when this accident happened.

Kind of talk a bit a little bit about that because unfortunately that is a little bit of our sport. Sometimes when you're off the grid and you're out of sight, out of mind, it can be a little lonely.

Cody Schafer:

For sure. It's such a community of like, it's a family you go see once a month. Or for whatever series you're doing, how often they have races and then once you just drop off the face of the map, it's kind of easy to be forgotten.

So, I think it's kind of one of those things of going through all of this and I'm not bogging too hard on today's social media culture, but it's super easy to send a message to someone on Instagram or whatever that kind of stuff is.

But just picking up a phone and actually calling someone and seeing how they're doing, is kind of a forgotten thing that when I was going through what I was going through, there wasn't that many people that actually called to see how I'm doing. There were great people that showed up at the hospital and did all this stuff and went — and beyond.

But then there's also that whole group of kind of surface level friends and that kind of stuff that I just wasn't around anymore, and world moved on without me. So, that was a little tough.

Dale Spangler:

Yeah, for sure. You definitely had some good friends and family down there. So, I'm curious to know, you probably had to lean on, I’ll call them the three Fs: faith, family, and friends. I know you're a man of faith, that's a big part of your life, but I feel like to get through something like this in addition, you had to be surrounded by family and good friends to help you get through that.

And I think I saw where you just had a child. So, I'm sure that definitely changed your perspectives. But how much did that help you get through this, those family and friends and your faith?

Cody Schafer:

The family and friends thing was just huge of I just didn't work like a physical laborer, do a lot of stuff like that and then having that taken away. There was so many of my friends and my family that just helped me still accomplish the jobs I needed to do, because work didn't stop just because I was broken.

So, they really stepped up and helped huge on that thing. And then just the mental aspect too of having someone to talk to about what I'm going through and where I'm feeling and being able to get deep with some people.

I feel like it's a small community of people that really have your back. And I was just really thankful to be able to have those people around me that really went out of their way to make sure when I was hurting and really struggling that they were there even just to spend time with me. So, that was huge.

And then, on the faith part of it, it was a real-life changing thing and it was everything that my identity was, was a racer and doing this kind of thing. And that's what made me who I was. And then having all that stripped away, it kind of made me reassess what my priorities were and what mattered most.

And then, even just in that video that we just released of the first time I went to church and heard a message, it was like, “Whoa, how is that just for me and just, I don't know.” The weird things that are put in your life, I can't explain, I don't have answers for.

Dale Spangler:

Right when you needed to hear it, you were able to hear it, right?

Cody Schafer:

Right.

Dale Spangler:

That's what it seems like, I got from what you mentioned in there. But it seems to me, I think I know the answer to this just from talking to you already, but I feel like this accident really has in a lot of ways changed your perspective on life. Like you said, you identified as a racer so much in your life and now you've got so much more.

So, let's talk a little bit about that. Because it seems like this has definitely changed your life, but you've turned it into kind of a positive and you've changed your perspective and you’re just looking at it in a different way.

Cody Schafer:

For sure. As racers we're selfish. We focus on ourselves and it's about what we can do to get the best result on the track and you just kind of use, or don't use people, but you're around people but you don't invest a ton of time into them when it's not going in the same direction as you want for your goal to be the best you can be on the track.

And just with this injury and this accident, I wasn't able to race at the same level as I was. But I still had all of these talents and gifts and skills that I'd learned that I was now able to turn around and teach to people and talk with them through. Life is hard, so everything you're going through, mine right now is a visible thing that you can see you're struggling with.

But the amount of just mental battles people are dealing with all the time, I really re-shifted my focus to be able to give into the people around me and be like, “Yeah, you're doing that, that's fine, but how are you?” And actually, go deeper than the surface level and that sort of thing and try to make something good out of the roadblock I hit to be able to help other people.

Dale Spangler:

And I would imagine that just overall, it's just changed your perspective when you go to a racetrack now. Like it just probably feels different. You look at it through a different lens now.

Cody Schafer:

For sure. It's for fun again. I guess that's how things have changed. When you're at the top level and you're expected to win and expected to do all this stuff, the fun kind of can get taken out of it.

But now no one expects a thing out of me, and I can go hang out and just talk to kids and talk to other people and actually be able to help like, “Hey, you're doing this a little weird in this corner, try this different,” or, “Hey, you're doing this this way.”

My brain still knows what I should have been doing and even if I can't do it fully on the same levels I used to, it changes how you approach a weekend and all that sort of stuff.

Dale Spangler:

Well, I think it's a fantastic lesson for anyone out there on perspective and adaptation in a lot of ways. Because what you've done, it's incredible, from where you came from with this injury and now you're back on the bike. You have a pretty normal life for the most part. And so, what's next for Cody Schafer, down the road?

Cody Schafer:

Just keep having fun and not bagging on racing or this kind of stuff, but I guess once you got to that higher level, the fun part of it kind of goes away. I wasn't paid enough to make it a job, but I still looked at it like it was a job, right?

Dale Spangler:

Yep.

Cody Schafer:

So, I guess going forward it's picking out events that I just want to go do that have a cool environment and going for fun. And giving of myself in a different way than just trying to win races or do that kind of stuff. Like hey, how can I give back to this community that I've shaped my life around and just keep working forward and making the things I go to the best they can be.

Dale Spangler:

And you still got, I saw where you're doing a little bit of UTV racing, so you got a little bit of that to kind of get your competitive element out of yourself. Is that something you're doing with your brother or your dad?

Cody Schafer:

Full family adventure. Yeah.

Dale Spangler:

Oh wow.

Cody Schafer:

My dad and my brother actually really got into it a couple years before my accident, and I wasn't that interested. Why do I need to go do that? I'll do that when my body doesn't work. Well, that day came a little sooner than I was thinking.

And so, we're diving into the UTV stuff pretty seriously and it's very similar as far as reading terrain and doing that kind of stuff, but it's got that cage thing. So, it's a little different but it's still very fun and it's a great thing to pour my competitive passions into when I'm not able to do as much on a dirt bike.

Dale Spangler:

Are you able to be a passenger? Because I know I can't. I can't be in the passenger seat in one of those things.

Cody Schafer:

That is a very special gift, and I am able to be a passenger. I don't know how many people I would sign up to ride with. Riding with my brother, no worries, no nothing. We've joked about it because he rides with me, and I'll ride with him. It's like where you have that thought like, “Hey, don't hit that rock.” He's already steering that way, so I don't even have to say it out loud.

Now riding with my dad is a little scarier. I got to work on him a little bit. Like, “Hey, you know we're doing a loop race, right dad?” “Yeah.” “Well, you know how you blew that corner last lap?” “Yeah.” “Do you want to not do that again?” “Well, I guess so.” “Dad, you need to break, stop.” “Oh, oh, oh yeah. Oh yeah.” So, it's definitely who you're riding with.

Dale Spangler:

I always tell people that I think having ridden a dirt bike my entire life, I look at things differently in an automobile. We understand traction, we understand things like that to where, like you're saying, we anticipate a little more.

Whereas someone that just drives an automobile every day might not have that same sort of reaction and we're able to retrain and stuff like that. Do you find that to be the case for you as well?

Cody Schafer:

Oh, for sure. It's so much your skills just transfer over, reading terrain is the biggest thing in whatever you're racing, mountain bikes, dirt bikes, the UTVs. Our nervous system feels like it's infinitely extendable.

So, you're a fighter pilot, you are sitting in the jet, you can feel what the corners of the jets are doing, or you're sitting in a race car, you know where every corner is, you know where your tires are at, you know all that kind of stuff. And it's like, it just becomes one with you. So, I feel like it's not on a dirt bike, but you get the same feelings.

Dale Spangler:

Yep, definitely. Well, it's been great talking to you Cody. Anybody out there who wants to read Cody's story, pick up a copy of the latest edition of VAHNA Magazine and the article's titled Out of the Depths, Cody Schafer's Journey to Hell and Back.

And he also has a video that accompanies it called Why Not Me. And so, I'm curious to know the name difference on the video, where did the name come from for Why Not Me?

Cody Schafer:

So, I was actually listening to, I guess the more of the connections you don't understand kind of thing. The day I got hurt; David Pingree's Whiskey Throttle Show had Doug Henry on it. And I didn't listen to it for four months, five months after my accident.

But in there, there's a line he talks about and was like, “Everything you're going through, the only thing you can change is your attitude.” And it just like I said, jabbed me in the side. I am having a pity party for myself. I'm crying about all the things I can't do. I'm crying about why this happened and I'm like just going from that why me attitude to why not me.

If I was given this, I can handle it. I'm strong enough, I will deal with it. So, I guess that's kind of where that comes from.

Dale Spangler:

Awesome. Well, like I said, it's a lesson in perspective and what a great story Cody. Glad to see you're back doing well. Riding your motorcycle, riding your mountain bike, raising your son. It's got to be an amazing place you're at right now.

Any last words you'd like to share with our listeners out there and or people you want to thank or any other shout outs? Now would be the time.

Cody Schafer:

My last words would be, you don't know what someone's going through. So, if you have the opportunity to not just send them a message on Instagram, give them a call or stop by and see how they're really doing, is something that really can make a difference in someone's life.

Dale Spangler:

Really appreciate your time today and all the best with everything going forward.

[Music Playing]

If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to follow Pit Pass Moto on your favorite podcast listening app, so you never miss an episode. And if you have a moment, please rate and review our show. We'd appreciate it. You can also follow us on social media or visit pitpassmoto.com where you can listen to past episodes and purchase your very own Pit Pass Moto swag.

This has been a production of Evergreen Podcasts. A special thank you to Tommy Boy Halverson and the production team at Wessler Media. I'm Dale Spangler. I hope you'll join us next week for another episode of Pit Pass Moto. Thanks for listening.