Walter Ford’s Miraculous Recovery

By Bob Cox

The warm spring day started out like every other day for bicycle enthusiast Walter Ford. While his friends were racing in a triathlon, he decided to venture out to the foothills near Auburn, CA. While waiting for his friends at the bottom of Shirland Tract Road, he decided to make the steep climb and descent back down at a speed over 50mph! When his friends transitioned to the bike from the swim at Rattlesnake Bar, he began to ride back up Shirland Tract Road. While on this climb, his front carbon forks snapped off, sending him headfirst into the pavement. He was rushed to the hospital with a laundry list of serious injuries, including a crushed chest, collapsed lung, broken ribs, broken and separated shoulder, broken neck and a clavicle that was torn from his chest. Much to Walter’s shock and amazement, the hospital released him the next day!

I believe the average person could’ve easily been overwhelmed by the number and degree of serious injuries, but Walter has a very unique perspective when it comes to problem solving. One day his younger brother told him that he wished he could be more like Walter because problems didn’t seem to be a problem for Walter.

“You know, there are only two kinds of problems in the world: The one’s you can’t do anything about, so you don’t and the one’s you can do something about. With my bike crash, I never saw it coming and was not expecting it, but in the aftermath, I needed to figure out how I was going to get through it,” explained Walter.

When it comes to problems that can be solved, Walter has another unconventional approach that helped him make an amazing recovery. “I think some people see a tragic event as one huge problem, an unsolvable problem that you can’t get over, under or around. But really, most problems are just a bunch of small problems that you can nibble away at by taking care of the things you can do right away and then let everything else fall into place,” Walter said.

The first few months after the accident were the most difficult for Walter because along with all the injuries, his kidneys failed and he had to summon the strength to get up and visit the restroom every 15 minutes. In those agonizing first few months, just getting out of bed was excruciatingly painful, but Walter persevered by breaking the problem down into small and manageable tasks.

During those difficult early weeks of recovery, Walter also found a tremendous source of inspiration and courage from others that were facing even greater adversities. “In spite all the things that I’ve gone through, I have friends that are going through much worse things and I think about them and how they deal with things and it gives me a lot of strength. I have friends with cancer, so in light of what I’m going through, there’s light at the end of my tunnel,” Walter explained.

Walter’s amazing outlook on life has served him well, both personally and professionally. He owned and operated a very successful auto repair business in Rancho Cordova for over 10 years and his approach to problem solving was something that made many of his customers fiercely loyal.

Just one year after Walter’s bicycle accident, he got the itch to jump back into the business world by filling a glaring need in our community. While he was operating his auto repair business, it was very difficult for him to find a reputable and stable detail shop he could send his customers to. After sharing his idea with several other respected colleagues, who loved his new idea, Walter was encouraged to open up his own detail shop in Rancho Cordova called Gold River Auto Spa.

Q: How did you come up with the business name Gold River Auto Spa?

A: Conceptually, the word spa is very appropriate. When people go to a traditional spa, they feel and look better by rejuvenating themselves. This is the same thing for your car. If you brought your car to us and it is several years old and your paint or interior is a little tired, we can help you by making it look significantly better.

Q: Is there a trend for people to keep their cars longer?

A: Yes, I think people are keeping their cars a little longer now, especially the European models. In many cases, taking it in and making it look new again is well worth the money spent.

Q: What kinds of damage can happen to a car’s interior and exterior during the long summer days in Sacramento?

A: Sacramento is very hot and we have a very intense sun presence here, so tinting the windows, even if it’s visually clear, will block over 90% of UV rays that will crack, fade and heat your interior. So you can make your car more comfortable to drive in the summertime just by tinting the windows.

Q: What makes you different and unique from other detail shops?

A: We are truly a one stop shop. The system we use reclaims all the water back, so it’s very eco friendly. Your car is literally taking a bath in a six inch tall bathtub. The water comes off the car and is pulled into a unit that cleans it, filters it and puts it back through to be used on the next car. The soaps and chemicals we use are all green and organic and no water drains into our sewer systems.

Q: So, your system is a very environmentally friendly and efficient way to clean a car, right?

A: Correct. And we do it inside so we don’t have to worry about getting it done quickly because of drying time from the sun. We can do a better job because we can take our time.

Q: Are you able to take your system directly to the customer?

A: Yes, we have a truck and a trailer. All the equipment that we use inside the building is portable. We will be offering this mobile service to some of the larger companies in the area that want several vehicles cleaned on the same day. The products we use are the best in the industry and our customers will have the option to purchase them directly from us for future use.

Q: What personal qualities do you possess that will help you excel in the auto detail industry?

A: In my automotive business, I was known throughout the BMW community and the racing world as somebody with a very high attention to detail. I’ve always said that if I like it, I know the customer will like it. And I probably take that to the nth degree in this business because it’s purely appearance.

Editor’s notes: For more information about Gold River Auto Spa, call (916) 399-4198 and ask them about their pre grand opening specials.