SuzukiSavage.com - Print Page

SuzukiSavage.com
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl
General Category >> The Cafe >> Pine's First Group Ride - Labor Day Ride
/cgi-bin/YaBB.pl?num=1346766109

Message started by Pine on 09/04/12 at 06:41:49

Title: Pine's First Group Ride - Labor Day Ride
Post by Pine on 09/04/12 at 06:41:49

So I was invited to go on a group ride Labor Day. This wasn't CMA though they were represented... more of the "Wild Hoggs" type group. A bunch grampas on harleys with the occassional Honda Shadow thrown into the mix.... and my Savage. We said a prayer... passed out stickers saying my bike had been "Blessed 2012" and headed out.

First leg was just hitting the interstate.. same ride I had made ... actually going right back out where I had ridden before ( Clinton MS to Brandon MS via I-20). We then got off on a small rode I had been on many times ... but never on my bike. Its a very twisty hilly ride, with more than a few million dollar homes and some high end neighborhoods. (however the reason I go out, is that I drove my daughter out to the girl scout camp out there). Sure enough just as we get of the worst of the curves, and about 300 yards from the camp.. grampa goes down. We had all strung out and were taking the turns marked 35 at about .... 50. I was two bikes back from the slide. Gramps wobbled a bit and poof down he went on his 1200 Sportster. Best we could figure ... he used the front brake deep in the turn.

He was wearing tennis shoes.. yep broke ankle ... pretty sure about that. He was complaining about his shoulder, and of course no leathers.. so gramps is missing some hide. Other then that .. all I can say is God looks out for kids and fools. He never lost conciousness, and seemed in good enough spirits, though he admitted this was likely the end of his riding days. Between, damage to the bike, wife aggro, kids aggro ( son is a doctor)... knowing he went down for no real good reason. It was my first time to witness a bike accident... I have to say I was a little shaken. Of course, these are "good ole boys", so things were well in hand. Bike in front and back had radios so we all got stopped, cell phone to 911, call the mrs., two guys went back for the trailer, several went on to the hospital, more of us stayed with the bike till the trailer came.

Then came the long lonely ride home, In talking with folks... I found connections that would surely be there.. but that I didn't really know. I had been invited by my barber, his brother is also a barber and had asked me if my daugher wanted a summer baby-sitting job. Well it all worked out and my daughter did baby-sit. Turns out gramps was the grampa for the kids she sat for on the fathers side, while the barber was the grampa on the mothers side. Small world... or maybe I just play in a small pond ( most likely). I stopped at Arbys alone for my noon meal as the ride was over (plan had been for a fine catfish dinner at the end of ride). I called my daughter with the news in case she wanted to give them a call. Call and dinner done I plopped my cell in my shirt pocket with intentions of moving it to my front pants pocket when I got on the bike. Yep... I forgot. Only got about two lights down, hit a bump... there went the phone. I did recover it, but besides the phone being in parts.. the SIM chip seems to be dead... thus total loss of all my stored numbers.

Other notable.. HD Sportster.. looks alot my savage... very cool. We had two, the one that went down (1200) and a 883. Both were belt drive, the guy with the 883, was impressed that my bike was belt drive as well. Only had one "jerk" ask if it was 125 or 250. Of course he was a Victory 1300 with more gaudy crap thatn you can shake a stick at. He obviuosly had a ton of money and would have been perfect in Wild Hoggs as Travolta. The rest wer just good ole guys, I had worked with one, he was a retired lawyer with the state and former State trooper.

Anyway hope yall had a great labor Day!

Title: Re: Pine's First Group Ride - Labor Day Ride
Post by Paraquat on 09/04/12 at 09:11:54

I was invited to a biker bbq in Mass. but since I have yet to procure a brain bucket I could not attend.
I met up with one of my friends who has a Harley and two people from a different forum (one with a c50 and one with a c90) and we took a long cruise. It was about 1.5-2.0 hours long and we ended up at the Goshen Fair here in CT.
The GF and I then did fair related stuff. The petting zoo, watched a pig race, ate awful food, got sunburned even though we packed SPF45 lotion. (Helps if you apply it and don't just carry it in the backpack).

--Steve

Title: Re: Pine's First Group Ride - Labor Day Ride
Post by mpescatori on 09/04/12 at 23:44:13

Hi Pine, never mind about the envious old dude on the Victory, just ~~ask him~~... CHALLENGE him to lean over his bike until the pegs touch the ground and raise it back by his own self ! ;D

About the SIM chip, those are mean little devils but hardy as can be.
My boy went swimming with his cellphone in his cutoffs pocket, only remembered about it when the water was waist high (or higher ? ::))
The battery was shot, the internal circuits corroded beyond hope but the SIM chip was alive and well, and ~~one~~ two new cellphones later it is still working.

So I would suggest you try and fit that SIM into any other ohone, it should work OK :)

Title: Re: Pine's First Group Ride - Labor Day Ride
Post by Pine on 09/06/12 at 05:49:53

Update:
Gramps ( Mr. Poag) is doing fine and is good spirits and is being well taken care of. He had his ankle set with pins and screws... and is slated for more work on the shoulder. He insists though, his bike riding days are behind him.

We have been told that when the bike was loaded up on the trailer to tow home, and the front straps were cranked down on to put pressure on the front forks the front tire gave way nearly to the rim. Air pressure was 12 PSI. I know myself that I rapped on the tire after the wreck and it felt and sounded fine. Maybe the wreck bent the rim and caused a slow leak, or maybe the tire was already low and the stress and the hard leaning into the curve caused the tire to roll or buckle causeing the wreck. We may never know for sure... but lesson learned... check your tires with a guage and not just eye-balling it or thumping it.