CrashTestDanny
Registered
It started out like many other Saturday mornings - though I'm not normally late as I was this morning. I met BusaWhipped for breakfast at the T/A and had a pretty good meal and got finished in time to leave the T/A on schedule. I was doing alright. We pulled out and passed over the highway to get on the Eastbound ramp with BW in the lead.
Just after BW made the turn onto the ramp, I saw that there was a red pickup heading toward the ramp from the opposite direction. I wanted to stay together with BW, so I leaned aggressively into the turn applying power smoothly.
Suddenly, the ST came over hard, the back wheel slipping out from under her. With everything on the ground, I thought for a second that I could save it and began to try to put it back up. The the warning bells went off in my head and said "HIGH SIDE!"
So rather than risk the dreaded high side, I decided to keep the hand I had been dealy and go with the lowside. I separated from the bike and continued sliding on my left side. I may be biased, but I think this was about the most graceful get-off one could have with stands up.
Howver, I was a little concerned about that red pickup truck I mentioned earlier, so I rolled over - still sliding, mind you - and up onto my butt. The pickup was there, just as I remembered it, though a little closer and still headed straight for me. A little worried that the pickup might not care to stop, I stood up - still sliding - and walked toward the bike.
Oh - I forgot to mention the bike. Once it shed its top-heaviness (that'd be me), it balanced on three points (the two tires and the left tip-over wing) and just kept on rolling in a graceful circle toward the guard-rail! And that was where it was heading about the time I stood up...
Praise the Lord, He stopped the bike about a foot short of the guard rail and He protected me. Other than a little bruise on my hip and a little stiffness and soreness in my back and shoulders, I am uninjured. BusaWhipped stopped and helped me pick the bike up along with another stranger who also stopped to help.
The guy in the pickup, on the other hand, just moved right along, passing BW on the ramp. The truck that was behind me, likewise went around, completely ignoring the crash he had just witnessed. What's with people? I ALWAYS stop if I witness a crash even if it's just one vehicle... I always thought that was normal...
Luckily, the police officer had better things to do, too... He stopped and asked "Do you need me to make a report?"
No thanks, officer! Neither I nor the insurance company need a reminder of this little incident...
Nine hours and 310 miles down the road, here we are, hoping that I get this post up before BW posts his version...
Now, here's today's object lesson: These things are always preceded by a momentary lapse of attention and judgment. Sure, there was a slick surface, but clearly this could have been navigated successfully (since BW did it less than a second before). I was focused on beating the truck and not paying any attention to anything else, this was the real cause of his morning's crash. It was a "graceful" crash with no real damages or injuries, which is nice, but it was still a crash and still the blame for such an incident lies entirely with the rider.
Though this is clearly the best kind of crash to have if you're going to have a crash, I must stand by my earlier statement that crashes SUCK HARD. My recommendation to avoid them at all costs stands.
This has been a public service announcement.
Just after BW made the turn onto the ramp, I saw that there was a red pickup heading toward the ramp from the opposite direction. I wanted to stay together with BW, so I leaned aggressively into the turn applying power smoothly.
Suddenly, the ST came over hard, the back wheel slipping out from under her. With everything on the ground, I thought for a second that I could save it and began to try to put it back up. The the warning bells went off in my head and said "HIGH SIDE!"
So rather than risk the dreaded high side, I decided to keep the hand I had been dealy and go with the lowside. I separated from the bike and continued sliding on my left side. I may be biased, but I think this was about the most graceful get-off one could have with stands up.
Howver, I was a little concerned about that red pickup truck I mentioned earlier, so I rolled over - still sliding, mind you - and up onto my butt. The pickup was there, just as I remembered it, though a little closer and still headed straight for me. A little worried that the pickup might not care to stop, I stood up - still sliding - and walked toward the bike.
Oh - I forgot to mention the bike. Once it shed its top-heaviness (that'd be me), it balanced on three points (the two tires and the left tip-over wing) and just kept on rolling in a graceful circle toward the guard-rail! And that was where it was heading about the time I stood up...
Praise the Lord, He stopped the bike about a foot short of the guard rail and He protected me. Other than a little bruise on my hip and a little stiffness and soreness in my back and shoulders, I am uninjured. BusaWhipped stopped and helped me pick the bike up along with another stranger who also stopped to help.
The guy in the pickup, on the other hand, just moved right along, passing BW on the ramp. The truck that was behind me, likewise went around, completely ignoring the crash he had just witnessed. What's with people? I ALWAYS stop if I witness a crash even if it's just one vehicle... I always thought that was normal...
Luckily, the police officer had better things to do, too... He stopped and asked "Do you need me to make a report?"
No thanks, officer! Neither I nor the insurance company need a reminder of this little incident...
Nine hours and 310 miles down the road, here we are, hoping that I get this post up before BW posts his version...
Now, here's today's object lesson: These things are always preceded by a momentary lapse of attention and judgment. Sure, there was a slick surface, but clearly this could have been navigated successfully (since BW did it less than a second before). I was focused on beating the truck and not paying any attention to anything else, this was the real cause of his morning's crash. It was a "graceful" crash with no real damages or injuries, which is nice, but it was still a crash and still the blame for such an incident lies entirely with the rider.
Though this is clearly the best kind of crash to have if you're going to have a crash, I must stand by my earlier statement that crashes SUCK HARD. My recommendation to avoid them at all costs stands.
This has been a public service announcement.
