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Had the rear-skid-scare in the first few hundred miles of my first bike. Yellow light at the worst time. Crowned road, slick intersection. Fishtailed like crazy but thanks to the MSF, I knew to stand on it and managed to keep it shiny-side up all the way to a stop. Queue some emergency stop practice next chance I got, and I haven't made the same mistake yet. Almost 10,000 miles and 2 years later, I had my first real wreck. Riding one of the few interesting roads around here, my passenger and I picked up too much speed in a series of downhill curves. Managed to get it down below 30 or so before I ran out of road. Should have minded the grade, the effect of a passenger, and the speed limit. Should have braked more aggressively when I could have. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. Got really lucky going off the shoulder on the uphill side and having a soft forest floor. We were geared up, escaping with only brushed helmets and a few bruises. Bike got tossed onto its opposite side. Mangled the crash bars and bent the handlebars, mussed up some other stuff. No leaks, tires/wheels good, forks & frame as far as I can tell. Rode it home. Passenger too.   Besides the shame and the repair cost, the worst part is the haunting memory. Especially the sound...the engine revving as the rear wheel leaves the ground. But hey! I live to abuse my body another day. soggywaffles fucked around with this message at 04:51 on Jul 9, 2009 |
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Jul 9, 2009 04:23
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| # ¿ Apr 29, 2024 10:13 |
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Sepist posted:How's the pillion feel about riding on the back again? I don't think I could 2-UP if I crashed with someone. I hear ya. I can't imagine feeling worse than being responsible for a passenger casualty. She's pretty resilient though, and I think it has had a worse effect on me than her. She was wearing a helmet and leather, and swore she'd never go without it again. Had been advised how to take a slide, so thankfully she didn't do anything dumb like try to step off and break a leg. We had someone meet us with a car but she still opted to ride home on back. I guess we've done a non-trivial amount of miles together. It was an abnormally difficult stretch of road, I had just gotten back from a solo tour on a different bike and I suppose not fully re-acclimated to the difference in weight/handling. I'm solo-seating it for a while but she's said she's ready to go back. It's kind of nice, most girls I've met are pretty scared of riding at all, she actually asks to take the bike! I think I'll feel better when she has her own bike though...
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Jul 10, 2009 15:03
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